Rural poverty
Rural poverty refers to situations where people living in non-urban regions are in a state or condition of lacking the financial resources and essentials for living. It takes account of factors of rural society, rural economy, and political systems that give rise to the marginalization and economic
disadvantage found there. Rural areas, because of their small, spread-out populations, typically have less well maintained infrastructure and a harder time accessing markets, which tend to be concentrated in population centers.
Rural communities also face disadvantages in terms of legal and social protections, with women and marginalized communities frequently having a harder time accessing land, education and other support systems that help with economic development. Several policies have been tested in both developing and developed economies, including rural electrification and access to other technologies such as internet, gender parity, and improved access to credit and income.
In academic studies, rural poverty is often discussed in conjunction with spatial inequality, which in this context refers to the inequality between urban and rural areas. Both rural poverty and spatial inequality are global phenomena, but like poverty in general, there are higher rates of rural poverty in developing countries than in developed countries.
Eradicating rural poverty through effective policies and economic growth is a continuing difficulty for the international community, as it invests in rural development. According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, 70 percent of the people in extreme poverty are in rural areas, most of whom are smallholders or agricultural workers whose livelihoods are heavily dependent on agriculture. These food systems are vulnerable to extreme weather, which is expected to affect agricultural systems the world over more as climate change increases.
Thus the climate crisis is expected to reduce the effectiveness of programs reducing rural poverty and cause displacement of rural communities to urban centers. Sustainable Development Goal 1: No Poverty sets international goals to address these issues, and is deeply connected with investments in a sustainable food system as part of Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.
Prevalence
The first target of the Millennium Development Goals was to decrease the extent of extreme poverty by one-half by the year 2015, which was achieved globally before its deadline in 2010. By 2011, this MDG target was achieved in all developing regions, with the exception of sub-Saharan Africa. However the International Fund for Agricultural Development reported that the world progress in cutting extreme poverty in rural areas lagged behind that of urban areas. Between the 1990s and the 2010s, more than 800 million people escaped "moderate poverty" – defined as living on less than US$3.10 a day.An analysis by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations found that the urban poor exited poverty at faster rates than the rural poor between the 1990s and 2010s, but the overall rural poverty reduction varied by region. Only in East and Southeast Asia had rural poverty been substantially reduced, where the share of the rural non-poor in total population increased from 9 percent in the 1990s to 33 percent in the 2010s. The poverty rates in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s were comparable with those of East and Southeast Asia, but both urban and rural poor in both regions only modestly reduced. On the other hand, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Near East and North Africa had low overall moderate poverty rates even in the 1990s, and over the course of the studied decades, the exit from poverty was mainly in urban areas. Estimates from 2016 indicate that 58 percent of Latin America’s poor live in urban centres, compared with rates of 25–30 percent in other regions.
Estimates from the 2021 edition of the Rural Development Report found that globally 627 million people lived in extreme poverty, of which 70 percent were in rural areas. Moderate poverty was also most concentrated in rural areas, with 74% in rural area. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the regions facing the highest rates of extreme and moderate poverty in both urban and rural areas.
Contributing factors
Lack of infrastructure
Rural poverty is often a product of poor infrastructure that hinders development and mobility. Rural areas tend to lack sufficient roads that would increase access to agricultural inputs and markets. Without roads, the rural poor are cut off from technological development and emerging markets in more urban areas. Poor infrastructure hinders communication, resulting in social isolation among the rural poor, many of whom have limited access to media and news outlets. Such isolation hinders integration with urban society and established markets, which could result in greater development and economic security. Moreover, poor or nonexistent irrigation systems threaten agricultural yields because of uncertainty in the supply of water for crop production. Many poor rural areas lack any irrigation to store or pump water, resulting in fewer crops, fewer days of employment and less productivity. Both a lack of roads and insufficient irrigation systems result in greater Work Intensity in many rural communities.Researchers at the ODI conducted a literature review to assess the relationship between all types of roads and both their security impacts and the effects of road building on access to for example health and education particularly in fragile, sparsely populated and/or ill-served rural areas in developing countries.
They found no direct evidence relating to the security impact of road infrastructure, and that only theoretical linkages of infrastructure development are discussed in studies. There are various direct and indirect channels through which transport infrastructure may affect security and peace building. They agree that infrastructure programmes can potentially play three roles in a fragile context: as an engine of economic recovery and improved service provision, as part of a process of strengthening institutions, and in stabilisation and peace-building.
They claim the state of evidence regarding these causal links is weak but some aspects of infrastructure development, including but not exclusive to road construction, has been shown to be effective in fragile country contexts. Quick Impact has not yet proven to be effective in enhancing peace building and security in Fragile and Conflict Affected States.
Their literature search presented some evidence of road development resulting in employment sometimes for the most vulnerable and/or poor groups. They found case studies show road development programmes can produce short-term employment opportunities in fragile and conflict affected regions particularly applying to programmes where rural road development is carried out through community-driven development or with special emphasis on inclusion through participatory methods. Evidence is mostly limited to number of hours of employment generated or individuals employed and include little rigorous impact evaluation.
There was also some evidence that rural road construction reduced isolation for minority groups and provided more opportunities for inclusion in wider economic activity. However, this evidence did not relate directly to reducing conflict or improving security. Poverty and isolation literature defines this as access to inputs and output markets, access to education and health services, and access to labour opportunities through which road access contributes to reduced poverty.
Mostly qualitative evidence found suggests that rural road construction or maintenance has a positive impact on public service delivery. In general rural road development leads to improved access of both users and suppliers. This occurs due to a reduction in commuting time, as well transport costs but these benefits tend to accrue disproportionately to the influential and well-educated. Rural communities tend to ascribe great importance to road development and perceive it to improve access to markets, health and education facilities.