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Chapter 2
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Agricultural Research and
Development: A Way Out?
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"History has taught
us that wars produce hunger, but we are less aware that mass
poverty can lead to war or end in chaos."
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-Willy Brandt, Former
Chancellor, Federal Republic of Germany
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agricultural development reduce conflict and disaster vulnerability
on a wide scale? |
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ost poverty is rural,
and most of the rural poor are engaged in agriculture (Lipton
2002; UN 2001). Since the poor typically spend more than half
of their incomes on food, stimulus to the agricultural sector
can provide them with a double benefit as both producers (through
more employment |
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higher incomes) and consumers (through more affordable food).
In addition to weakening the underpinnings of violence, more
remunerative agricultural livelihoods can free up more financial
resources for investing in infrastructure and systems to reduce
vulnerability to climatic disasters. |
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An example of crop-livestock
integration by an African farm family. Photo: ICARDA |
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