Agriculture & rural development

Agriculture and rural development are essential to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by half by 2016.
Three in four poor people in developing countries live on the countryside. Most of them depend directly or indirectly from agriculture to survive. Women play an important role in food production, in food processing and in the commercialisation of food. Agricultural development can make a difference in the lives of a billion of poor people, mainly of women, and can contribute to both economic growth and to poverty reduction and food security.
Climate change will have a far-reaching impact on agriculture and mainly hit the poor. There is an urgent need for measures to reduce the impact on crop yields. On the other hand, agriculture also has a huge potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if the right agricultural practices are used.