Implementation of the Rural Strategy

Implementation of the World Bank's Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy is centered on four main thrusts.

Integrating the Needs of the Rural Poor in National Policy Dialogues: The principal focus of this thrust is to strengthen the voice of the rural poor, in national processes for strategy formulation. This is designed to mitigate the pro-urban bias that is still often apparent in policy decisions.

Scaling Up Investments and Innovative Approaches in Rural Development: Piloting innovative new approaches to project design or implementation is an active component of this thrust. Identifying current and recent initiatives that have been successful, and show potential for scaling up within a country, or for transfer to other countries or regions is also a critical component for achieving broad ranging impact on rural poverty.

Improving the Quality and the Impact of Bank Operations: The World Bank recognizes that its agriculture and rural development operations are not always as focused on poverty reduction as they could be. This thrust will strive to ensure that the poverty focus is sharpened, and that operations achieve great ongoing sustainability for lasting impact.

Implementing Global Corporate Priorities and Enhancing Partnerships: This thrust recognizes that in a fast paced, ever changing globalized world, all stakeholders need to work together to ensure that the interests of the rural poor remain in focus and that access to new and appropriate technology is available.