After 30 years of dynamic growth and substantial poverty reduction in Asia, do agriculture and rural development still have a role to play in that region? The policy briefs in this collection provide abundant evidence that they do. Although the incidence of people living in poverty fell from more than 50 percent in the mid-1970s to 18 percent in 2004, and the incidence of hunger fell to 16 percent, Asia is still home to more than half of the world’s poor, most of whom live in rural areas. Agriculture and rural development are thus still key to reducing poverty and hunger in the region.

Book chapter

The Hogares Comunitarios Program (HCP) was established in Guatemala City in 1991 as a direct response to the increased need for affordable and reliable childcare for women in urban Guatemala. The government-sponsored pilot program was designed as a strategy to alleviate poverty by providing working parents with low-cost, quality childcare within their communities. The program aimed at promoting child development and at filling the existing gap in preschool education in Guatemala. The pilot program rapidly expanded to both urban and rural areas of all 22 departments of the country.

We estimate the impact of Bolsa Família on a range of education outcomes, including school participation, grade progression, grade repetition, and dropout rates. Using a large-sample household panel survey from 2005–2009 collected for this evaluation, we develop a statistically balanced comparison group of eligible nonparticipant households and estimate impacts using propensity-score-weighted regression. We estimate that Bolsa Família increased average school participation among all children age 6 to 17 years by (a weakly significant) 4.5 percent.

This brief describes research in Bangladesh. The brief argues that poor diet quality and low bioavailability of dietary iron are important factors contributing to iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Nevertheless, can food-based interventions be successful in reducing IDA? Will such interventions be cost-effective as compared with alternative interventions such as supplementation? Unfortunately in attempting to answer these questions, little is known, under actual living conditions in rural areas, about the magnitude of the effects of various components of the diet in reducing IDA.

Once relatively prosperous, Côte d’Ivoire is still emerging from crisis. Two waves of armed conflict and violence – in 2002 and following presidential elections in 2010 – both led to massive population upheaval, displacing around a million people on each occasion. Subsequent conflicts have exacerbated tensions over land between autochtones, allochtones and allogènes. Women have largely borne the brunt of the country’s conflicts and its protracted displacement crises.

In the eighth booklet of the Land Governance Booklet Series, several of the case studies by Uttaran are described.

The content of the booklet is as follows:

1. Khasland utilisation
2. Gender in land governance
3. Legal Support
4. Media coverage

Download the full booklet here.

Click here for the next booklet in the series.

Poverty is sexist. But where in the world is it toughest to be born a girl? The biggest determinants of a girl’s chances in life include her health, nutrition, education, economic opportunities and participation in decision-making.

New infographic by FAO and PIM on the correct use of land ownership statistics

“Making sense of Land, Statistics and Gender”, a new infographic by the Gender and Land Rights database (GLRD) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) explores the correct use of land ownership statistics (ownership understood in a broad sense beyond individual property rights) and highlights how gender can influence land rights. 

In many parts of the world, women’s rights to land and property are systematically denied. Women have fewer or less secure rights than men, and discriminatory attitudes and practices undermine them. This leaves many women vulnerable, and almost entirely dependent on the men in their lives for basic economic survival. 

Dependance on men can lead to entrapment in abusive relationships, less control over sexual relations, and less ability to produce food or secure food.

This training course from the Global Land Tool Network is part of the Network’s activities on Islamic dimensions of land. In most Muslim countries, Islamic law, principles and practices make an important contribution to shaping access to land. GLTN therefore has as one of its objectives the identification and development of Islamic land tools and case studies through a cross-cultural, interdisciplinary and global process, owned by Muslims, but also including other civil society and development partners.

This training package provides an introduction to the important, complex, and sometimes daunting theme of improving land governance as a means to enhance gender equality and grassroots participation in land matters. This training package is designed for professionals, working in the field of land, governance, grassroots participation and gender in public institutions or civil society organizations.