Rural poverty concern in East Asia

16/11/2007
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

"It's probably not enough just to say we have to have strong economic growth overall. On top of that, countries are going to have to think of more targeted social instruments to help those people get on their feet" - Milan Brahmbhatt of the World Bank

A new report by the World Bank says despite robust economic growth in East Asia, rural poverty is a growing concern.

Using the poverty measure of $2 a day, the latest report says fewer than 500 million people now live in poverty in East Asia, down from one billion in 1990.

Indonesia's Papua province, and on a conservative measure, 41 per cent of the population live in poverty, in Java and Sumatra the rate is 16 per cent.

The lead author on the report, Milan Brahmbhatt, has told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program the biggest concerns is the growing gap between incomes in urban areas and those living in poverty in rural areas.

"One of the important social issues that many economies in the region are facing is growing income inequality," he said.

"And it's not a easy thing to tackle, because some of it has very deep roots, and is actually, in some sense, a reflection of success."

More work needed

In Thailand the level of income inequality is moderately high by international standards, in Cambodia the living standards of the poorest have risen by 8 per cent , for the richest by 45 per cent.

Mr Brahmbhatt says governments could do more to help raise rural incomes, including targeted social policies, better infrastructure and most importantly, improved agriculture.

"If, on top of facilitating movement to the cities in the long run, if you can also facilitate faster agricultural growth, then that's where we have powerful impact.

It's probably not enough just to say we have to have strong economic growth overall. On top of that, countries are going to have to think of more targeted social instruments to help those people get on their feet."

Rural Poor Worse Off Than Ever, Rights Official Argue

Krapeu school located about 20 km from Angkor Wat (Photo: NUS Students' Science Club)

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
15 October 2007

Many of Cambodia's rural poor are in worse shape than they have been in the past, a human rights official said Monday.

Emerging political conflict, food and land shortages and a low standard of living continue to plague the rural population—about 80 percent of Cambodians, said Ou Vireak, director for the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.

Even 10 kilometers out of Siem Reap, the gem of the country's tourism sector, most people live in abject poverty, he said, as a guest on "Hello VOA."

The Center runs a public forum that has come under recent governmental interference.

The central government has done little so far to tackle the issues facing the rural poor, despite continuous documentation by the Center, Ou Vireak said.

Ruling party officials ignore such complaints because it could cost them their position and "grip on power," he said.

Watch out! Hun Sen promises maximum reduction of poverty: Meaning all poor Cambodians will be banished from Cambodia soon

October 05, 2007
Cambodian PM promises maximum reduction of poverty

The Cambodian government will flow more capital into the rural areas and the agricultural sector to build infrastructures, roads and irrigation systems in collaboration with private enterprises, so as to reduce poverty to its minimum level, said Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh on Thursday.

The government is also trying to improve the transportation system to assist the farmers to access their products to the markets and make their living better, he said at a ceremony marking the International Day of Poverty Reduction, which also featured the launch of the Cambodian Human Development Report in 2007.

Lack of professional personnel and land resources are major obstacles to poverty reduction in Cambodia, so that the government has to guarantee the poor people's rights to land and persuade parents to send their children to school, he said.

The government views poverty reduction as one of its top priorities in the national strategic development plan for the 2006- 2010 period and has realized macro-economic and political stability to ensure the goal to be made true, he added.

Meanwhile, Planning Minister Chhay Than said the government has fully and properly implemented the national plan and is confident that the objectives of poverty reduction can be achieved.

In addition, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the UN Development Program Resident Representative Douglas Gardner said a key challenge facing Cambodia today is how to ensure that the benefits of a growing economy reach the 75 percent of Cambodians who live in rural areas.

The gap between Cambodia's urban areas and the rural poor areas continues to grow and needs to be tackled with vigor and urgency, he said, adding that the poverty rate in the rural areas currently stands at around 39 percent, compared with five percent in Phnom Penh.

According to official figures, the poverty rate in Cambodia has been brought down from 47 percent to 35 percent in the past decade and the economic growth rate stood at 11.2 percent in average in the past three years.

Poverty rates vary in different regions of the country. It stands at 52 percent in the north and northeast region, 43 percent in the Tonle Sap region, 32 percent in the Mekong Delta plains, and 28 percent in the coastal zone, according to figures released at the ceremony.

Source: Xinhua

Poverty reduction strategy in Cambodia needs improvement - ADB

10.01.07

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said its five-year strategy to help reduce poverty in Cambodia remains relevant but needs improvements to enhance its effectiveness, according to a midterm program review.

'Persistent high levels of rural poverty have implications for the program's strategic thrust,' Arjun Goswami, country director of ADB's Cambodia Resident Mission said in a special report.

ADB's assistance for the remainder of the plan period should increasingly have an agricultural and rural focus, including rural development projects, fostering rural infrastructure, enhancing access to credit, and decentralized registration of businesses in rural areas, he explained.

The initiative also needs to place emphasis on private sector-led growth, and in accordance with this, ADB's participation in the private sector will be intensified to translate public policy advances into sustainable investment in the economy, the report said.

The ADB's overall portfolio performance in Cambodia has been below expectations during the review period, as the number of projects at risk has increased and the disbursement level remains below projections.

To address the overall decline in portfolio performance, intensive project administration follow-up will be undertaken through a joint country portfolio performance review, sector policy reforms and recommendations on cost sharing of eligible expenditures, the ADB said.