Development strategies for the rural poor: analysis of country experiences in the implementation of the WCARRD program of action

The agreement by the international community at the WCARRD to initiate a monitoring system on progress in agrarian reform and rural development was a turning point for judging progress in alleviating rural poverty. The present report is prepared and presented in response to the WCARRD recommendation that countries undertake to collect, on a regular basis, quantitative data on various aspects of agrarian reform and rural development and monitor progress towards meeting objectives and quantifiable time-bound targets set by themselves, and report changes at every other FAO Conference thereafter 1/. The 1981 FAO Conference decided to start the four-year cycle of reporting beginning in 1983 and requested that the FAO Secretariat, based on such reports and other relevant material, prepare a consolidated report, both factual and analytical.
It was not possible to document progress made in all countries: rather an attempt has been made to analyse changing trends with specific country examples to the extent of data availability.