Small Farmer Development In Asia And The Pacific

A comparative study which describes and analyses the contribution of agriculture to the economies of East Asia. Until now, little attention has been paid to the agricultural sector which actually underpins industrial and commercial development. Recently, this sector has become the focus of increasingly bitter economic disputes, especially over protection and the use of import tariffs. A comparative framework is used, employing case studies from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea to highlight both the common characteristics of agriculture's role in East Asian development, and features particular to the political economy of agriculture in each country.

Of the estimated 1 billion people in the developing world who survive in conditions of extreme poverty, 70 percent live in Asia. The majority of these people live in rural areas and agriculture is their main occupation. Most of the rural poor are small and marginal farmers, landless agricultural workers, fisherfolk, artisans, female headed households, the aged and infirm, and children. The incidence of poverty is highest among female heads of households and children. The seminar on "Poverty Alleviation through Agricultural Projects" provided thirty development practitioners with an opportunity to consider strategies, policies, and practices that help alleviate rural poverty. The seminar discussed four key issues of relevance to policy makers: (1) poverty cannot be measured by income alone; (2) poverty cannot be alleviated through a short-term, piecemeal approach; (3) agricultural projects constitute one of the many means available to governments for alleviating rural poverty; and (4) the role of public sector in poverty alleviation needs to be reconsidered.

A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.

This book explores the links between globalization, agriculture and development in a number of contemporary Asia-Pacific nations. It highlights the complex and diversified nature of agricultural change in these contexts, and the ways in which this shapes patterns of economic and social development. Globalisation, Agriculture and Development shows that while agriculture continues to play an important role in local, regional and national development, both the industry and the communities it supports are facing an increasing number of economic, social and environmental challenges.