Summary Policy makers have high expectations for the rural non-farm economy (RNFE). Given high income shares, growing employment, and frequently low capital requirements, they see the RNFE as a potential pathway out of poverty for their rural poor. Yet available evidence suggests that pro-poor...

Summary Widespread rural poverty in Africa and the success of Asia's Green Revolution suggest that agriculture is a key sector for African development. However, in response to recent skepticism, this paper examines whether the conventional wisdom about agriculture's contribution to the...

Summary While smallholder development has, in the past, led to reductions in poverty and hunger, does this still apply in today's more globalized world? This paper reviews the debates on the contemporary role of agriculture in development and the case for small farms in light of the rise of...