BEIJING, April 18 -- In the last decade, developing
economies in Asia and the Pacific doubled in size, growing by over 7 percent on
average. This growth has garnered much attention and plaudits. Yet, 641 million
of the world's poorest - nearly two-thirds of the global total - live in the
Asia-Pacific region.
Other statistics are equally shocking. Ninety-seven
million children remain underweight. Four million children die before reaching
the age of 5. About 566 million people living in rural areas have no access to
clean water. And less than a third of rural inhabitants have access to basic
sanitation.
These fault lines question the sustainability and
validity of the current development paradigm, which leaves millions of people
trapped in extreme poverty, while so much wealth has been generated in such a
short time. Most of the poor are in the rural sector and agriculture is their
main livelihood. And this is where the problem lies.
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has carried out research which shows that
persistent poverty and widening inequality in the region are the result of
decades of neglect of agriculture.
The analysis - contained in ESCAP's flagship
publication, the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2008, shows
that growth strategies and economic policies in the region have systematically
overlooked the agricultural sector. And this is despite the fact that
agriculture is the main livelihood of the poor and still provides employment for
60 percent of the working population in Asia and the Pacific.
The tremendous potential of the agricultural sector
to reduce poverty has been weakened by unfavorable macroeconomic policies that
led to high and variable interest rates and inflation in the 1980s as well as
the erosion of public services such as agricultural extension services since the
1980s, the failure of agricultural credit policies and the massive scaling down
of public investment in irrigation and rural infrastructure. The list goes on.
Official development assistance (ODA) has shown a
similar disregard for the sector. Between 1983-1987 and 1998-2000, ODA for
agriculture fell by 57 percent to an annual average of $5.1 billion. Lending for
agriculture by multilateral agencies, such as the World Bank and the Asian
Development Bank, also showed a downward trend.
As a result, growth and productivity in agriculture
have stalled. Alongside this, the decline in poverty has been slowing down in
the region since the late 1980s. Our analysis also shows that the role of
agriculture in creating jobs is diminishing in some sub-regions. In East Asia,
South-East Asia and the Pacific, agriculture generates fewer new jobs these
days.
In China, for example, half of the decline in poverty
occurred in the first half of the 1980s when agriculture was given priority. We
see this pattern repeat itself time and time again. When agricultural
development was placed high on the development agenda, poverty declined rapidly
in Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, and many other countries in Asia and the
Pacific.
The neglect of agriculture has put enormous pressure
on farmers. Low yields, high input prices and low market prices for agricultural
produce have led to a vicious cycle of low income and stagnation.
Massive scaling down of public services, particularly
in irrigation and agricultural extension services, has dealt a blow to the
sector. The distress in rural areas is reflected in rising farm indebtedness and
suicides in many countries. The figures are tragic and astounding - in India
alone, almost 87,000 farmers committed suicide between 2001 and 2005.
Unless the neglect of agriculture is addressed,
poverty will not be reduced significantly in the region, and inequalities will
widen further. In turn, this will jeopardize the economic prospects of our
countries and the social cohesion of our communities.
The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the
Pacific 2008 shows that improving agricultural labor productivity could have a
profound impact on poverty reduction.
For example, raising the region's average
agricultural labor productivity to the level seen in Thailand would take 218
million people - a third of the region's poor - out of poverty. India, China,
Bangladesh and Indonesia would gain the most.
Large gains in reducing poverty are also possible
through the comprehensive liberalization of global agricultural trade, with the
potential to take another 48 million people out of poverty. Our research also
shows that raising productivity in agriculture will reduce income inequality
significantly.
If more reasons were needed for our call to focus on
agriculture, then one need only look at the rising food prices that are being
witnessed across the region. With the demand for biofuel apparently unstoppable,
the region needs a renewed and urgent effort to revive its agricultural sector
to increase food production and stop food prices from spiraling even further.
ESCAP's Survey shows that the strategy required to
make agriculture economically, socially and ecologically viable - and thus
returning it to its rightful place in reducing poverty and inequality - is a
straightforward one.
Quite simply, agriculture needs another revolution.
Increasing agricultural productivity should be at the center of this new
approach. It is crucial that the sector's productivity is improved through
increased investment in research and development, human capital, extension
services, irrigation and rural infrastructure. Land tenure systems need to be
revamped, where necessary.
The rural poor need to be better connected to cities
and markets. Macroeconomic policies, credit instruments and crop insurance need
to be made farmer-friendly. A market orientation with a focus on quality and
standards would be part of this strategy. In short, agriculture should be
treated as a high-value added, diversified, marketable sector - not a charity
case.
Given its natural limitations, agriculture alone
cannot take the region's 641 million poor people out of poverty. Therefore, a
gradual transition from agriculture should complement productivity improvements
- by empowering the poor, particularly women, with the skills to tap labor
market opportunities and by promoting rural non-farm activities and regional
growth centers.
The region's agriculture sector faces serious
challenges. Without the political will to revive the sector, it will only
worsen. Governments have the opportunity now to help more than 200 million
people of our region escape the shackles of poverty. This opportunity should not
be missed.
Noeleen Heyzer is UN under-secretary-general and
Executive secretary of ESCAP, which is based in Bangkok The Korea Herald
(Source: China Daily)
