• Introduction

Introduction to livelihoods and agriculture

In most poor countries growth in agriculture tends to be pro-poor, because it increases the value of poor people’s key assets of land and labour. Achieving internationally agreed poverty reduction targets therefore depends on boosting growth in agricultural sector productivity for the majority of countries. This report identifies four principles of engagement at the core of what is called here the ‘new agenda’. These principles define how the new agriculture agenda should be promoted, and in how the proposed investment and policy options should be articulated.

The principles are:

• Adapt approaches to diverse contexts. The report builds on a typology of five ‘rural worlds’ spanning a variety of livelihood patterns to guide policymakers in designing the appropriate policy responses
• Build institutions and empower stakeholders. Public institutions need to be strengthened in their capacity to develop an appropriate blend of policies, regulatory frameworks and investments to kick-start the agricultural sector. Private sector involvement must also be strengthened, and there must be more investment in the skills, capacity and organisation rural farmers
• Support pro-poor international actions. These are steering agricultural trade negotiations, scaling up aid to meet the Millennium Development Goal targets, and improving aid effectiveness and supporting the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) agricultural initiatives
• Foster country-led partnerships. A key challenge is to redress past imbalances in many national poverty reduction strategies (PRS) by raising the profile of agriculture

Efforts to stimulate agriculture’s role in pro-poor growth should, on the basis of the principles above, be used to guide renewed attention to three priority areas. These are to:

• enhance agricultural sector productivity and market opportunities
• promote diversified livelihoods on and off the farm
• reduce risk and vulnerability.

The paper concludes that pro-poor policies lower constraints faced by poor households as well as providing new incentives and support for their sustainable participation in more equal, market based relations and exchanges. It strongly suggests that economic policy, including agricultural policy, should be consistent with social objectives, and should address them directly where possible.

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