The positive experience with the latest rural development intervention in Northeast Brazil suggests that rapid progress can be made if community participation is enhanced and decisionmaking authority is decentralized to lower levels of government and other institutions. In Northeast Brazil,...

"From Vision to Action", the Bank's previous rural development strategy launched in 1997, had a decisive influence on global thinking - but disappointing results on the ground. In 2001, lending for agricultural projects was the lowest in the Bank's history. The new strategy is results oriented:...