A lot is expected of poverty reduction strategies, and high hopes have been placed in the Voluntary Guidelines on the right to food. One question frequently raised is whether it is possible to integrate the right to food into the established instrument of poverty reduction strategies.The present article discusses to what extent the two approaches can mesh to make a significant contribution to hunger reduction.

More than 70 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas.The World Bank's approach to rural development is holistic and multisectoral, focused on improving the wellbeing of rural people by building their productive, social, and environmental assets. The author of this article explores what this means in the longer term horizon of beyond 2015.

Development assistance is contingent upon the efficiency and effectiveness of delivery mechanisms. EU regional policy offers an appealing paradigm of how to achieve tangible outcomes with sound financial management

Following unanimous approval of the Voluntary Guidelines (VGs) on the Right to Adequate Food by FAO member states, with civil society's broad support, the question of «next steps» arises. To explore how to put this important new tool to use, the German government, with support from FAO and German NGOs, organized its fourth International Workshop on «Policies Against Hunger», held in June 2005 in Berlin.

Few aspects of development policy are better furnished with empirical evidence than the interplay between support for agriculture in the context of rural development and the reduction of poverty and hunger. It is therefore surprising that German Development Cooperation has today largely disengaged from activities in this area: Despite the evidence that practically nothing is more effective and sustainable than combating poverty where it is most often found, namely in the rural areas of poor countries,we fail to take that route.

Four billion people who live on less than two US dollars per day represent in total an enormous purchasing power. Multinational corporations such as Nestlé, Unilever, Danone and Dr. Oetker discovered these markets long ago and now seek to attract this customer group with new products and marketing strategies. It is time to take a close look at the effects of this development on poverty

Fragile states, posing a major challenge of our times, are increasingly becoming a focus of attention in international politics and development cooperation. But very often, the viewpoint of the people affected by fragile statehood is not sufficiently heard. Parts of the international community prioritize their own security policy interests, the motto being the «war on terrorism». People in fragile states, by contrast, are primarily concerned with their own survival and the quest for development opportunities for themselves and their communities.

Somalia is the longest known case in modern times of a country whose central state has ceased to exist for many years. Although Somalia is often said to be a country in chaos and anarchy, a new form of social organization emerged here some time ago. Indeed, many Somalis appear to have adapted well to their country's statelessness.

After ten years of civil war in which grave human rights violations and atrocities were committed, especially against women and children, Sierra Leone was regarded as a «failed state». A massive UN peacekeeping mission managed to demobilize the combatants in 2002 and peace was restored. Public institutions have begun to resume their functions and the economy is showing signs of recovery. Nonetheless, the country's stability and structures are still fragile. So how can development cooperation contribute towards stabilizing Sierra Leone?

Development policy has to deal with the full spectrum of fragility in developing countries, which can range from individual deficits, for example in guaranteeing security, to the total collapse of state structures.The scope available to development policy and other external actors is always limited. Nevertheless, starting points are often on hand to achieve some measure of stability and help overcome weak state structures.

Urbanisation and economic transformation - the growth of non-farm, industrial and service sectors - offer many opportunities for improvements in poor people's lives.The crucial challenge is to ensure that places work better for people, providing an enabling and supporting environment for changing livelihoods and economies. But all too often there is a failure to recognise and manage the urban transition, resulting in the continuing urbanisation of poverty, vulnerability and exclusion.

Rural livelihoods are far more multi-locational than is often assumed with many rural people spending a part of the year outside the village working in non-farm occupations. Contrary to early theory, persistent circular or seasonal migration within countries or between neighbouring countries is emerging as the migration pattern of the poor. Nowhere is this more evident than in Asia.