In a new report, the World Bank says agriculture is essential to reducing poverty and spurring growth. The World Development Report 2008 notes three-quarters of all poor people live in rural areas and rely on farming and related activities for their livelihoods. It calls for more investment in this sector. Lisa Schlein was at the launch of the report in Geneva and has this report for you.
The World Bank reports three out of every four poor people in developing countries live in rural areas, and most of them depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods.
The World Development Report argues there must be a renewed emphasis on agriculture and increased investments in the rural sector if the Millennium Development Goals of cutting poverty and hunger in half by 2015 are to be met.
Co-author of the report, Derek Byerlee, says about one-third of sub-Saharan Africa's Gross Domestic Product originates in agriculture.
"And, it is a sector that is also very important in terms of providing affordable food and affecting the wages and the competitiveness of the economy," said Derek Byerlee. "It is a sector that in the early stages of development often has a comparative advantage in international trade. And, it is a sector that is shown in the evidence we present in chapter one of the report, it has quite strong growth linkages with other sectors. So, if you can generate growth in the agricultural sector, it has strong spillover effects on growth in the other sectors."
The report notes about 86 percent of rural people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. It says farming provides jobs for 1.3 billion small land holders and landless workers.
The report finds agricultural growth in sub-Saharan Africa has accelerated from 2.3 percent in the 1980s to 3.5 percent in the first years of this decade. It says countries such as Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique and Kenya are all experiencing accelerated growth rates in agriculture.
Byerlee says there are new market opportunities into which countries are able to tap.
"Increasing demand coming from bio-fuel," he said. "This is mostly, at the moment, especially in terms of grain coming from the U.S., sugar cane from Brazil. But, it is a market that is out there and one that presents significant new opportunities for the agricultural sector, but also significant risk in terms of trade-offs for food prices and the environment."
The report says rapidly expanding domestic and global markets, the revolutions in biotechnology and information technology offer exciting opportunities to use agriculture to promote development.
But, it warns land and water resources are becoming ever scarcer. It says the future of agriculture is intrinsically tied to better management of natural resources. It also says for African farmers to be successful, trade barriers must come down.
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世界银行在一份新的报告中说，农业是降低贫穷和刺激经济增长的重要因素。世行在2008年世界发展报告中指出，世界上四分之三的贫困人口居住在农村，仅靠务农和与之相关的工作为生。世界银行呼吁在农业方面作更多的投资。
报告：必须增加在农业方面的投资
世界银行的报告说，在发展中国家，每4名穷人中，就有3人住在农村，他们中的大部分人都是直接或间接依靠农业耕种为生。
世界银行的发展报告说，如果要完成联合国的“千年发展目标”，在2015年以前将贫困人口减少一半的话，就必须再度强调在农业方面的努力，增加在农业方面的投资。
报告撰写人：农业发展可以带动其他行业
报告的撰写人之一拜尔利说，非洲的撒哈拉以南地区国家的三分之一的国民生产总值来自农业。
拜尔利说：“在提供足够的粮食、增加工资和经济竞争力方面，农业都是非常重要的。在一个国家的经济发展的初期阶段，农业相对来说常常在国际贸易中有一定的优势。同时，正如本报告第一章所陈述的，农业与其它产业有很紧密的联系。农业发展了，可以带动其他行业的发展。”
报告：世界上从事农业耕种者多达13亿
这项报告指出，大约86%的农村地区人口靠务农为生，世界上从事农业耕种的人多达13亿。
这项报告同时发现，非洲撒哈拉以南地区的农业增长率已经从1980年代的2.3%增加到十年前的3.05%。报告说，在加纳、马拉维、莫桑比克和肯尼亚这类非洲国家，农业都有很大发展。
报告：农业未来取决于更好管理自然资源
拜尔利说，还有些新的市场有待一些国家去开拓。他说：“市场对有机燃料有很大的需求。 目前有机燃料市场上大多为来自美国的谷类和巴西的蔗糖。但是，因为市场就在那里，它为农业经济提供了新的商机。当然，发展农业在粮食价格和环境保护方面也存在很大风险。”
这份报告说，目前各国国内和全球市场都在快速发展，生物科技和信息革命为利用农业带动经济提供了令人兴奋的机会。
但是， 报告也提出警告，土地和水资源日益贫乏， 农业的未来从根本上来说取决于对自然资源更好的管理。报告同时说，非洲农业要成功的发展，还必须打破各种贸易壁垒。
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