ECOSOC SUBSTANTIVE SESSION 2003
High Level Segment
Statement by Ms Caroline Millar,
First Assistant Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Geneva
1 July, 2003
Mr President
The challenges of rural development, and particularly addressing rural poverty, are daunting but must be tackled if we are to see the benefits of sustainable development shared by all.
Three quarters of the world’s poor live in rural areas, where farming is the dominant economic activity. On average, agriculture accounts for a third of developing countries’ GDP and exports, and employs half the population. In the poorest countries of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, an even larger share of national income and employment is dependent on farming. But while the face of rural poverty varies from region to region, its central feature is the same – the lack of adequate and secure incomes.
Australia welcomes the Secretary-General’s Report to ECOSOC on ‘Promoting an integrated approach to rural development’. We welcome in particular the Report’s focus on the importance of trade liberalisation and the need for an enabling environment for rural development. It provides an excellent basis for our discussion during this Session on how to marshal global resources to aid the world’s rural poor.
Income generation for the rural poor must be central to our rural development strategy. Economic growth alone will not be sufficient to raise rural incomes. While recent research demonstrates that sustained growth nearly always reduces absolute poverty, the incomes of the rural poor have grown at a less significant pace.
Mr President
In June 2000, the Australian Government announced an enhanced rural development strategy for the Australian aid program. The strategy entitled ‘Income Generation for the rural poor’, refocuses the Australian aid program’s rural development initiatives and offers a range of options to promote income generation that can be drawn on according to the needs of each country. The three components of the program are:
• increasing agricultural sector productivity;
• stimulating rural non-farm employment; and
• managing natural resources in a sustainable way.
Last year Australia provided 310 million dollars Australian in direct and indirect aid flows to assist rural development activities. We deliver this aid through Australian businesses, NGOs and research and development organisations, as well as through multilateral agencies as appropriate. We work with the international donor community and partner countries to provide this assistance particularly focusing on those areas in which Australia has technical expertise.
Mr President, Australia’s strategy is premised on a number of lessons learned from 40 years of development practice.
First, when considering rural development policies we must recognise that one size does not fit all developing countries. The South Pacific region has quite different circumstances and needs from Asia or Africa. Solutions designed for large countries where desertification is an important problem will not be suitable for small islands with limited land and fragile ecosystems prone to natural disasters. Similarly, solutions for countries where rice is the staple in a monetised economy will not work in subsistence economies based on root crop cultivation with remote populations.
Second, sustaining rural development requires good governance. A system of governance which creates the enabling conditions for income generation is essential. Governments have an important role in developing this enabling environment. Their task is to promote policies that encourage stability, lay the foundations for economic growth, integrate the rural poor into the market economy and promote improved income distribution. Policies that allow market mechanisms to guide determination of exchange rates and prices and wages encourage stability and also help integrate rural areas into national and global economies.
This links directly with a third pre-condition for rural development – agricultural trade liberalisation. Australia has long argued for the liberalisation of trade in agriculture. Nations cannot trade their way out of poverty while developed country markets remain closed to them. Aid cannot be effective when export subsidies in rich countries prevent developing country farmers from selling in their own markets. In the year 2002, support to agricultural producers in OECD countries totalled 318 billion dollars US, about five times the total amount of overseas development assistance. We urge all countries to seize the opportunity presented by the Doha round of trade negotiations to open their markets through genuine efforts to reduce unjust levels of agricultural support and to bring down the very high market access barriers that prevent developing countries from competing fairly in world markets.
Mr President
My delegation hopes that that the strong theme of this year’s Substantive Session will ensure a greater focus on implementation and concrete outcomes. We look forward to exploring these important issues further throughout this session, under your guidance.
Thank you, Mr President.