Transforming Agriculture

How do we accelerate the transformation from low-income, rural, agriculture-based economies to high-income, more urbanized and industrial service-based ones? This is at the heart of IFPRI’s efforts to foster policies that allow agriculture and rural transformation to contribute to poverty reduction as well as food and nutrition security.

The aim of IFPRI research in this area is to improve overall development strategies to ensure broad-based growth in rural economies, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Underpinning that work is the question of which structural factors and policies have led to successful or failed rural and agricultural development outcomes, with consideration given to elements beyond the agriculture sector, such as demographic structure, conflict, urbanization and income inequalities. Focus is also on gender aspects of migration and employment as well as equal access to resources and public services.

Success for IFPRI in this research depends on developing the capacity of countries to implement monitoring and evaluation systems, which also implies the need for effective partnerships and capacity strengthening. We expect to strengthen those countries’ ability to weigh different options to enhance strategy formulation, improve governance and ensure that targeted agricultural growth can lead to poverty reduction and food security.