Agriculture and Achieving the Millenium Development Goals

In 2000 the member states of the United Nations adopted the Millennium Declaration as a renewed commitment to human development. The Declaration includes eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), each with quantified targets, to motivate the international community and provide an accountability mechanism for actions taken to enable millions of poor people to improve their livelihoods.

About 70 percent of the MDGs’ target group live in rural areas, particularly in Asia and Africa, and for most of the rural poor agriculture is a critical component in the successful attainment of the MDGs. Thus, a necessary component in meeting the MDGs by 2015 in many parts of the world is a more productive and profitable agricultural sector.

This report shows the continuing importance of agriculture, both directly and indirectly, towards achieving the MDGs, especially in low income countries. Specifically, it examines alternative development scenarios in country-wide models that show how investments in different areas of agriculture can impact poverty in countries like Ethiopia and Zambia. For example, model results for Ethiopia show that if the country stays on a business-as-usual growth path, poverty will increase by another 10 million people, and food security will be compromised even further. In Zambia, the poverty rate under business-as-usual growth would still be 68 percent by 2015, only seven percentage points lower than the current poverty rate of 75 percent. In addition to examining the targeted investments required to help agriculture achieve its potential contribution for the MDGs, this report analyzes the policies and governance systems needed to be supportive for agriculture to achieve maximum impact.

It is a promising development that the review of progress—and lack thereof—in achieving the MDGs has reached global attention. Policy action and increased investment in the critical arenas of sustainable agriculture productivity and food and nutrition security will be essential for responding effectively and responsibly to reach the Millennium Development Goals.

This report was produced in collaboration between The Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) Department of The World Bank and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). If you wish to discuss the role of agriculture in achieving the MDGs, please contact the team leader Nwanze Okidegbe, Policy & Strategy Advisor in ARD, at ard@worldbank.org.

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