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  International Fund for Agricultural Development
Promoting an integrated approach to rural development in developing countries for poverty eradication and sustainable development

Informational Paper
30 June 2003 Ministerial Roundtable
Global Partnerships for Rural Development
Jointly Organized by the World Bank and IFAD.

1. There is growing consensus within the international community that national and global poverty reduction targets will not be met unless poverty in rural areas is reduced. More than seventy percent of the poor in developing countries live and work in rural areas, and about 800 million people do not have enough food to meet their daily dietary requirements. It is generally recognized that no single development agency can on its own devices effectively address the challenges of rural development, nor single-handedly serve as an advocate for rural development in a world of competing agendas and limited finance. Thus, global partnerships are critical for addressing the challenges of rural development and implementing the goals contained in the Millennium Declaration. One of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the MDG 8, focuses exclusively on the development of global partnerships and can be considered as an implementation mechanism for the other seven nationally-based MDGs. In addition, the idea of partnerships between development actors from the North and South is at the heart of the Monterey Consensus. Partnerships will be especially necessary to address the special needs of the lowest income countries and in developing an open, rule-based, predictable, and non-discriminatory trading and financial system.

2. Many development agencies and developing country governments have renewed their commitments to achieving increased economic growth, employment, and farm and non-farm incomes in rural areas. They recognize the need to enhance sustainable natural resource management, and develop and strengthen institutions responsive to the needs of the rural poor. There is also general agreement that the focus for collaborative efforts must be at the country level. However, differences remain on the best instruments to achieve rural development objectives, including the best set of policies, the appropriate balance between investment and balance of payments or budget interventions, and the required institutional reforms.

3. Global partnerships would serve to tackle the problems of rural development, as well as provide support for agricultural growth, essential for achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty and hunger by half, by 2015. Partnerships take different forms and can include multilateral/bilateral development agencies, inter-governmental agencies, non-governmental and civil society organizations, and the private sector. Some global partnerships include the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the World Agriculture Forum (WAF), International Alliance against Hunger, the Global Water Forum, International Taskforce for Commodities Price Risk Management, etc. One of the oldest global of these partnerships is the CGIAR, which has been generating and mainstreaming improved agricultural technology developed through participatory research in low income countries. Its focus is on global public goods. The increased agricultural yields and productivity in a number of low income countries, especially in Asia are, in part, attributable to the research products of the CGIAR.

Measures for Improving the Effectiveness of Global Partnerships.

4. In order to improve the effectiveness of global partnerships, many bilateral and multilateral development agencies are supporting programs aimed at increasing the impact of development assistance for rural development. However the implementation of these programs remains poorly coordinated. What may be needed to improve efficiency of development assistance and enhance rural development impact could be the strengthening of coordination and implementation linkages with all stakeholders, including civil society, at global, regional, country and local levels. This would involve systematic sharing of lessons of experience and learning, including carrying out jointly agreed analytical work and coordinating information exchanges among global partnerships and recipient countries’ stakeholders and related institutions. Already, knowledge sharing is taking place, albeit on a limited scale, but it could be quickly expanded to include multiple partners/stakeholders and can be systematically implemented through consolidation of financial reporting, standardized procurement systems and the elimination of tied aid. It could also be built around the common and shared monitoring from the OECD peer review system which has been used to assess the overall performance of member states’ official development assistance programs. The Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) also serve as good coordination mechanism at the country level. In this regard, jointly preparing and implementing national rural strategies in recipient countries would be an effective way of fostering mutual learning and information exchange that is required to ensure maximum development impact. It is critical to include the rural poor in the formulation and implemention of all aspects of strategic development frameworks. In addition, when global partnerships and recipient countries work together to jointly implement development programs, development impact should be increased.

5. Empirical evidence shows that sound macro- and micro-economic policy frameworks, and appropriate institutions and legal frameworks are likely to increase income and employment opportunities in both farm and non-farm activities on a sustainable basis. For global partnerships to have an impact in this regard, they need to focus on the following challenges: (i) creation of an enabling policy environment conducive to the development of functioning markets, and business and farm enterprises; (ii) promotion of private associations and public-private co-operation to reduce transaction costs; (iii) empowerment of disadvantaged groups in rural areas, including women, socially excluded groups, smallholders, etc. by improving their market access and developing their skills to benefit from new opportunities created by globalization; and (iv) provision of safety nets for the rural poor and vulnerable groups, where appropriate. In addition, the global partnerships should also support measures that increase the market access for developing countries’ agricultural products. In addition, global partnerships should engage in the debate on the adverse impact of OECD countries domestic production and export subsidies, which artificially inflate industrial country agricultural production, depress prices on world markets, and as a result reduce the incomes of developing country producers.

6. Building and strengthening the capacity of rural institutions and stakeholders charged with implementing development assistance in developing countries are essential for formulating and implementing good policies and programs. Capacity and institution building should receive greater support from global partnerships. Sound rural institutions, including rural producer organizations, co-operatives and other community groups are necessary for economic growth, food security, poverty alleviation and the development of human and natural resources. Strengthening capacity of stakeholders for rural development in recipient countries would also enhance the effectiveness of global partnerships’ advocacy strategies for rural development. In many developing countries, the rural peoples lack political power and voice in national and local level discourse, in part, because of their limited capacity. Urban bias and intra-rural disparities in the provision of basic services, public investments, etc. remain common. Rural development is viewed in some development agencies and recipient countries as a “sunset industry” that deserves only limited resources even though more than seventy percent of the poor in low income countries live in rural areas. It is time to fine-tune the advocacy strategies for rural development among global partnerships and in recipient countries.

Tackling Challenges.

7. To increase the volume of resources committed to rural development and to achieve development impact in rural areas, global partnerships need to adopt a new mechanism for sharing lessons of experience, building local capacity and enhancing global advocacy for rural poverty reduction. This would requires tackling some challenges, including:

  • Making rural development a major thrust for the new millennium and facilitating the achievement of the MDGs would require a broad-based global coalition. The challenge becomes either to establish new ones or use existing alliances. For example the recently created Global Platform for Rural Development (GPRD) is a donor coordination mechanism which works towards the elimination of rural poverty through deepened global, regional and national cooperation and collaboration. What other partnerships are needed?;
  • The effectiveness of development assistance can be undermined by donors imposing inconsistent conditions on aid, low capacity in developing countries to appropriately design and execute projects, weak monitoring systems and governance issues. How can those issues be addressed in a coordinated fashion?; and
  • Despite the fact that the majority of the world’s poor live and work in rural areas, ODA transfers for rural development have declined significantly from the 1980s levels. What strategies are required to reverse this trend?

 
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