RURAL POVERTY IN ASIA

• Eastern Asia has been at the center of what has been called an “economic miracle”. In the last three decades, poverty in the region has been reduced by about two thirds. Gross domestic product has been growing by 7 to 10 per cent each year and gross national income by about 7 per cent each year. Agricultural growth has contributed significantly to this economic upturn, especially in those countries where an egalitarian distribution of land took place, and where macroeconomic policies were stable and trade policies relatively open. China is an outstanding example.Like Eastern Asia, South-Eastern Asia has also been the scene of a dramatic economic upturn. In the last three decades, poverty in the region has been reduced by about two thirds. Gross domestic product has been growing at the same rate as that of Eastern Asia and gross national income has been increasing by about 4.4 per cent. In Asia, and in South-Eastern Asia in particular, the ravages of HIV/AIDS are spreading at a faster pace than in Africa. Epidemiologists expect Asia to be the next epicentre of the pandemic. HIV/AIDS is increasingly affecting the rural poor, and the threat of this disease – if not checked – will weaken many of the gains made in reducing rural poverty. The recent tsunami struck hardest in South-Eastern Asia, killing untold thousands of people and destroying innumerable villages, fishing communities and already precarious livelihoods for years to come.Many countries in Central Asia have been going through periods of dramatic economic transition as they consolidate their independence. Governments have implemented structural adjustment programmes and privatization of the agricultural sector. Large state-run farm enterprises have been transformed into small, privately owned concerns. “New farmers” have limited knowledge of management practices and cultivation techniques, and have no capital to implement necessary innovations. Moreover, privatization efforts have largely neglected many remote mountainous areas, and poverty among mountain communities remains virtually unchanged. Herders and small farmers in these areas have few resources to work with, and the land is becoming increasingly degraded. Women are particularly affected, as many men go to urban areas in search of employment, leaving women with the entire burden of farm and family work.