World Bank Document

food system and reducing rural poverty. With scarce land and water assets, a growing population, 

climate change risks, and volatile export markets, comprehensive modernization of agriculture is 

indispensable to improve its performance and to contribute to its integration into a more open and 

competitive economy, while minimizing social disruptions. Poverty is concentrated in rural areas, 

which account for half the population but three-quarters of the poor and where the bulk of the 

population is engaged in agricultural or related activities. FAO projects that, while the proportion of 

people living in rural areas will decline, the number of people living in rural areas will remain largely 

unchanged, as the population grows (up by one-third since 1991). 

 

4. 

Low value-added crops continue to absorb a disproportionate share of land, water and