Rural development among key priorities for world’s poorest countries – UN envoy

Increased focus on agriculture and infrastructure development is critical in the fight against poverty and hunger in the world’s 50 least developed countries (LDCs), a senior United Nations envoy said today in Benin.

“Since 2001 we have seen positive economic growth in many of the LDCs but that has not significantly impacted on the level of poverty,” Anwarul Chowdhury told the opening of a two-day ministerial meeting in Cotonou, where over 100 LDC representatives have gathered to review progress of a 10-year plan to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in their territories.

“Social and human development indicators are still cause for concern. Our resolve over the next five years should be to ensure that the millions of impoverished people in LDCs see a tangible difference in their daily lives,” said Mr. Chowdhury, who is the UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

He noted that although more than 72 per cent of the population in LDCs live in rural areas, the agricultural sector remains over-reliant on rudimentary equipment and outdated technologies. Erratic weather conditions have further exacerbated the situation, often leading to widespread food insecurity in these already fragile countries, he said.

The High Representative stressed that although there had been encouraging developments during the first five years of the implementation of the Programme of Action, the overall results were mixed.

The UN envoy drew attention to the need for further capacity development in the LDCs, with particular focus on women and young people. “There should be greater local ownership of the Programme of Action. The LDCs must be fully committed to placing the Brussels Programme at the heart of their national development plans and poverty reduction strategies,” he said.

He added that there should be increased focus on improving governance at the local level where the actual implementation of development projects and programmes take place.

Mr. Chowdhury also urged the international community to “stay the course on promised aid, debt relief, tariff-free access for LDC exports and access to technology.” He pointed out that the external debt overhang in most LDCs was unsustainable and reiterated his call for its total cancellation.

Many least developed countries have also been unable to benefit fully from the duty-and quota-free market access offered by industrialized countries, mainly because of the lack of capacity to produce exportable products of sufficient quantity or quality.

Mr. Chowdhury concluded by pointing out the increase over the past five years of overseas development aid (ODA) to LDCs but warned that much more needs to be done to improve the quality of aid to make the increase more meaningful for the LDCs.