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Economy

To make sure economic growth benefits poor people, governments should direct resources disproportionately to the areas where poor people live and work (Hunger Report 2005, Page 82).
[The] key to alleviating rural poverty is to improve farmers' income because, as the evidence shows, the outcome is to raise living standards for farmers and non-farmers alike. Sustained poverty reduction relies on increasing the amount that small farmers can grow and increasing their ability to sell what they grow; in other words, enhancing the ability of small farmers to use markets to their benefit (Hunger Report 2005, Page 66).
Raising education levels and quality is essential to improving economic life in rural communities and the well-being of the rural population (Hunger Report 2005, Page 59). Cross Reference: Education
Africa and its development partners must fully embrace the challenge of building African markets and integrating Africa into regional and world markets (Hunger Report 2005, Side Bar: Page 12).
Improving a country's overall economic growth, while necessary, will not, in and of itself, reduce poverty and hunger. To succeed, poor and hungry people must participate in this economic growth as well. Toward that end, funding must be targeted toward: Small-scale farmers and people living in rural areas, who comprise three out of four poor people worldwide; Women and children, who are among the most socially, politically, economically and physically vulnerable to hunger; and People who are sick and infirm who often have greater nutrition needs. Resources also should be directed toward very poor countries (Hunger Report 2004, Page 84) Cross Reference: Development Assistance, Empowerment of Women, and Health Care
African economies also must participate more actively in shaping the rules that govern global trade, notably international trade negotiations. Because the current rules favor industrialized countries' trade and limit African trade, African countries must demand that this bias be eliminated and international trade rules made fair (Hunger Report 2003, Page 85) Cross Reference: Trade
Because agriculture is the foundation of rural African economies and provides the main income for most poor Africans, efforts to strengthen rural economies must emphasize agricultural development. Policies must ensure that small farmers have access to markets, technologies, credit and farm inputs in a global economy (Hunger Report 2003, Page 85). Cross Reference: African Agriculture
African governments should respond to new demands for the rule of law and greater democracy. Responsible governance must be fostered and nourished, and democratic institutions strengthened to decentralize power, encouraging public participation in policymaking and promoting transparency and accountability (Hunger Report 2003, Page 81).
While increasing global agricultural trade is important to Africa's future, agriculture itself also must be supported and developed. African poor farmers need: better access to resources, such as land, credit, extension and market information; better roads, communication networks and other infrastructure; superior agricultural production and processing technologies; and more stable economic and political environments (Hunger Report 2003, Page 73). Cross Reference: African Agriculture
It is important for developing countries to adopt broad-based development strategies that devote sufficient resources to health, education, nutrition, sanitation, and other social sectors, and policies that will direct the benefits of trade and investment to low-income people and reduce inequality among their citizens (Hunger Report 2002, Page 80).
The international financial institutions should conduct social assessments of loan transactions tied to macroeconomic policy, in order to identify benefits and losses (Hunger Report 2000, Page 70).
From the national to the local levels, broad based economic growth should be promoted in ways that give priority to the needs of hungry and poor people (Hunger Report 2000, Page 79).
Southern governments and civil society organizations should promote access to productive assets such as land and credit, so that poor people have the means to develop economically secure livelihoods and thereby promote broad-based economic growth (Hunger Report 2000, Page 81).

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