Agricultural Resources Information System (AgRIS): An e ...

development cannot be achieved merely though agricultural
development (Choudhry and Rajakutty, 2000) 20 .
1.15 Raising agricultural productivity complements natural
resources conservation because it requires better management
of soil, water and nutrients. Where feasible, farmers in the
semiarid tropics have made large investments in irrigation wells
to convert small dryland areas into highly productive irrigated
plots, which now provide a significant share of household food,
fodder, and cash needs (John Kerr, 2000) 21 .
1.16 Rural Poverty is as diverse as are the rural poor in their
livelihood strategies. But in most of the poorest countries,
agriculture is the main source of rural economic growth.
International experience has demonstrated the direct
relationship between agricultural growth and rural poverty
reduction [(Timmer, 1997) 22 and (Hazell and Ramaswamy, 1991) 23 ].
Growth of the agricultural sector is, therefore, essential to
reducing hunger and poverty. Since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992,
20 Choudhury R.C and Rajakutty S (2000) : “Changing the Focus” published in “Survey of Indian Agriculture 2000”,
The Hindu Publications, Chennai (India).
21 John Kerr (2000) : Promoting Sustainable Development in Less-Favoured Areas : Development
Strategies for Semiarid South Asia”, IFPRI, Focus 4, Brief 6 of 9, 2000
22 C.P. Timmer (1997): “How Well Do the Poor Connect to growth process, consulting Assistance on Economic
Reforms”, Discussion paper 178 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Institute for International Development)
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