the report highlights some strategies to secure access. Access to water, land, non-farm activities and human assets such as health, education and child nutrition are discussed in sufficient detail with the support of case studies from different countries. However, the report overlooks the fact that unused land and unequal access to land can seriously be affected by human-made disasters such as civil wars which are common in much of Africa. Although good quality schooling and training to provide skills for effective integration into the labour market are important in securing a better future for the poor, much of the report seems to suggest that access to education alone is an instrument to escape poverty.
Chapter 4 is about technology and natural resources. The role of the green revolution in poverty reduction is emphasized but the report fails to explain why Africa derived so little benefit. Some new technological prospects to reduce rural poverty are indicated (e.g. bio-agricultural technology) but it excessively emphasizes technologies that increase rice yields. It is a good observation by IFAD to note that poverty is often concentrated in areas where the technology to improve the production of staples has not yet been introduced.
Another aspect of poverty reduction emphasized in Chapter 5 is the various institutional, physical and other barriers to markets (i.e. credit, water and land markets with insurance options) with a proposal to circumvent the problems particularly to enhance the benefits of trade liberalization policies. However, ways of improving Third World farmers' access to international markets are not explicitly discussed. The report seems to argue that the problem is mainly from the side of third world countries. There is no mention of protectionist policies by rich countries which are partly to blame for the poor market access. The final important focus of the report in Chapter 6 relates to institutions and issues related with institutional reform such as decentralization and privatization with a purpose of deterring corruption and promote transparency, accountability and efficiency. Various institutional settings (e.g. role of NGOs) are examined in an informative way and proposals are forwarded to strengthen the intensity of poverty reduction options.
The report proposes solutions to reduce poverty and indicates how the proposed strategies may fail by citing case studies from past failures in various parts of the world. It rightly points to the unrealistic proposal of using the Internet as a remedy for the communication problems of the rural poor. It also indicates that user fees for education and health harm the poor. The report concludes with a discussion of challenges and opportunities and various levels of partnerships to end poverty. It does not support the view that the poor and their governments need to expect aid from the rest of the world and act passively. Rather it indicates how the poor can be pro-active in the development process. It also urges governments to be responsible for much of the poverty reduction drive. The report explores the nature of the rural poor; who they are; where they are; what accounts for the successes; gaps and failures of rural poverty reduction; and what can be done about rural poverty and by whom. The report is easy to follow, touches on many issues in rural development, and provides good non-technical reference material for students of development economics.