The World Bank. Pakistan Promoting Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction.

Khan, Faheem Jehangir

The World Bank. Pakistan Promoting Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction. Sustainable Development Unit. 2007. 164 pages. Paperback. Price not given.

Despite impressive achievements--in agricultural growth, rural incomes, rural poverty, and social welfare indicators--there is little reason for satisfaction, as around 35 million people in the rural areas remain poor, representing about 80 percent of Pakistan's poor. Unequal distribution of land and access to water for the rural poor in Pakistan limit the scope for agricultural growth. This report on rural growth and poverty reduction argues that agricultural growth is necessary but not sufficient to alleviate rural poverty in Pakistan. However, ensuring efficient use of water and building partnerships with the private sector can help fulfill agriculture's potential for diversification and growth.

The study puts emphasis on an effective poverty reduction strategy, however, must also address the rural non-farm economy and the needs of the rural non-farm poor. The report says that social mobilisation can empower the poor, enabling them to have a , greater role in the development process, not only to improve delivery of public services, but also to increase their market power by building the voice and scale in the farm and non-farm sectors.

The report highlights two critical elements underpin the necessary transformation of the rural sector. First, is the efficiency of public institutions and the need to make them more accountable and flexible. Second, is the capacity to organise the "people sector" so that farmers, communities, and villages can gain voice and reach the scale needed to attract the private sector and financial services and to strengthen the demand side of development by making government more accountable.

Lack of participation and influence of rural poor households are the major reason for the limited impact of rural development efforts in Pakistan, the report articulates. This limits effective demand for public services and reduces the efficiency in development programmes. Although inclusive economic growth should be the main mechanism for reducing poverty, increased social protection efforts are needed to protect the most vulnerable.

Moreover, too often a top-down approach is implemented---one that sees the rural poor simply as beneficiaries of public programmes supplied by the government. Instead, the report suggests, the development paradigm should be changed to one that puts the household and its community at the origin of development initiatives. Empowering the rural poor to take on this role, however, requires social mobilisation.

The report concludes that social mobilisation, along with economic empowerment, should be at the heart of the rural livelihood development strategy, as the benefits of broad economic growth trickle down very slowly when the poor have little access to key physical, social, and financial endowments. To overcome highly unequal distribution of these endowments and achieve rapid pro-poor growth, poor people need new opportunities to organise, and to generate business, and also to link with mainstream development activities. (Faheem Jehangir Khan)