The Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD is organizing an international conference titled ‘Rural Inequalities: Evaluating approaches to overcome disparities’. The conference will explore critical questions regarding whether strategies and programmes that aim to eradicate rural poverty reduce disparities within rural areas.
Nearly 60 international speakers – representatives of universities, think tanks, governments, UN agencies and civil society organizations – from more than 15 countries will participate in the conference which will take place on May 2-3d, in Rome. Among them are Eko Putro Sandjojo, Minister for Village, Transmigration and Disadvantaged Areas of Indonesia; Diana Alarcón, Chief of the Development Strategy and Policy Unit at the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Development; and Estrella Penunia, Secretary General of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development.
The number of people living in extreme poverty stands at 836 million. This figure is especially alarming given the rise in the estimated number of chronically undernourished people in the world – from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016. In all regions of the world, rates of extreme poverty and food insecurity are higher in rural areas, where three-quarters of the extremely poor and food-insecure people live.
A wide range of approaches have been adopted to reduce rural poverty, from social protection to sustainable livelihoods to wealth creation. The impact of such approaches on rural poverty is typically measured in terms of household incomes and assets, and social empowerment, food security and agricultural productivity, and institutions and policies. The underlying measure of success is whether these approaches have contributed to reducing inequality within rural communities.
Evaluation has the potential to inform organizations and governments if their interventions are indeed contributing to reducing inequality within rural communities. This Conference will contribute to defining what is needed to reorient strategies towards higher impact.
Original source: IFAD
Published on 19 April 2018