FOREWORD

The reduction of rural poverty continues to be a paramount goal of the developing countries as the majority of the poor population still reside in the countryside. The World Bank, for example, estimates that more than 70 percent of the world poor live in rural areas. So far, various strategies have been pursued to address this concern, and among the major ones is rural employment creation. The agriculture sector has played a central role in providing rural employment opportunities in the Asia and Pacific region. The sector, however, has been contending with a number of factors that have limited its further potential for generating new jobs in rural areas. Those factors include, for example, the small size of landholdings, insufficient capital and investment incentives, the inadequate farm infrastructure, limited markets, and stagnant prices of agricultural products. All of these have contributed to restricting the capacity for job creation in the agriculture sector.

It is therefore necessary to focus on a broader spectrum of the rural economy, not just on agriculture. The development of various non-farm activities, for example, offers great potential for creating additional rural jobs and hence for stimulating the further growth of rural economies. The establishment of rural-based industries, in particular, has often been very effective in creating new job opportunities and providing supplemental income. Diversified production and trade activities have also offered rural communities better employment prospects and accordingly more stable growth of their economies.

To review the present situation of non-farm employment in rural areas and identify major issues/problems, as well as measures for promoting rural non-farm employment in member countries, the APO organized a Seminar on Non-farm Employment Opportunities in Rural Areas in September 2001 in the Philippines. This volume is a compilation of the papers and proceedings of the seminar. I hope that it will serve as a useful reference on the subject in APO member countries.

The APO is grateful to the Government of the Philippines for hosting the seminar, and in particular to the Productivity and Development Center of the Development Academy of the Philippines for implementing the program, and to the resource speakers for their valuable contributions. Special thanks are due to Professor Dr. Tongroj Onchan for editing the present volume.

– TAKASHI TAJIMA, APO Secretary-General, Tokyo, April 2004