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From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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FROM POVERTY TO POWERFIGURE 3.2: MORE EQUAL INITIAL LAND DISTRIBUTIONS GOTOGETHER WITH HIGHER ECONOMIC GROWTH86TAIWANSOUTH KOREAAVERAGE GDPPER CAPITAGROWTH,1960–2000%420-2COLOMBIAINDIAPARAGUAYGUATEMALACOSTA RICAKENYAMEXICOARGENTINASOUTH AFRICAPERUEL SALVADORHONDURASVENEZUELADOMINICANREPUBLICBRAZILMALAYSIANICARAGUAEGYPTSRI LANKAVIET NAM THAILAND JAPANINDONESIACHINA1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3INITIAL LAND DISTRIBUTION (Gini co-efficient, inverted scale)Source: World Bank, World Development Report 2006Beyond its role as a springboard for economic growth, small-scaleagriculture also acts as a vital social safety net, employing millions ofpeople who would have minimal prospects of finding decent work inthe cities, and providing a social security system of last resort for thoseunable <strong>to</strong> survive in the city in times of economic crisis. DuringIndonesia’s financial crash of 1998, agriculture absorbed an extraordinary4.5 million people in a mass out-migration from the cities, as migrantsheaded back <strong>to</strong> their old villages after losing their jobs in fac<strong>to</strong>ries andon building sites. 27Agricultural growth reduces poverty most effectively when smallfarmers capture a fair share of the benefits. That in turn requiresstrengthening their power in markets, reinvigorating the role of thestate, and ensuring that all the rural poor, male and female, indigenousand non-indigenous, have a voice in these processes.New trends in agriculture have transformed rural people’s livesand livelihoods and have reawakened the interest of governments andaid donors. The rising global demand for food, the advent of super-122

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