BOOK REVIEW

Fabrizio Bresciani and Alberto Valdes (Eds.). Beyond Food Production: The Role of

Agriculture in Poverty Reduction. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar and the FAO,

2007, 232 pp., ISBN: 978-1-84720-075-4 (FAO ISBN: 978-92-5-1055351), $110.

This edited volume presents the main findings ‘‘of the study on the role ofagriculture (RoA) in poverty alleviation’’ (p.3) conducted by the Food andAgriculture Organization. It contains two parts. The first part synthesizes the extanttheoretical and empirical literature on agriculture’s role in poverty reduction indeveloping nations and is composed of two chapters. The second presents a series ofcountry case studies (Chile, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Ghana, and South Africa) toillustrate and elucidate the conceptual frameworks presented in the first twochapters.In the first chapter, the editors provide the main arguments that inform the rest of

the volume. For instance, they explain the selection of the six nations as case studies.The case studies were selected to obtain ya range of farming conditions and levelsof development and to take advantage of available data sets. But the editors arecareful to argue that despite the diversity of the cases, they do not attempt togeneralize their findings to the whole developing world. In addition, the editors arguethat ‘‘An effective rural poverty alleviation strategy calls for a broad economy-wideperspective on the role of agriculture in the overall growth process’’ (p.3). Therefore,the volume is less an investigation of whether agriculture has a role in povertyreduction, but how investments can be structured to maximize the effect of growth inthe agricultural sector on overall economic growth. To that end, the authors of thevarious chapters take care to explain the importance of linkages between economicsectors vis-a-vis agriculture and the resulting potential for generally positiveeconomic returns from agricultural economic development.The RoA projects focus on three vehicles for linking agricultural growth to

poverty: (a) labor markets and employment and wages, (b) income effects onsmallholders, and (c) the food price-effect. And the importance of the three vehicles,or channels, for alleviating poverty are explained in some detail in the second chapteron Agricultural Growth and Poverty Reduction by Ramon Lopez. Lopez’s succinctpresentation of the ways that investment and growth in agriculture can lowerpoverty rates across the economy is extremely persuasive and helpful. Of particularsignificance is his finding that the structure of land-holding and public investment isa critical factor in whether agricultural growth can boost the prosperity of poorpeople. The more unequal the ownership of land and other productive assets withinagriculture, the less effective in alleviating poverty are investments that increaseproductivity and growth. Likewise, ‘‘removing [agricultural policies] that favorcapital-intensive technologies in commercial agriculture’’ (p.48) is in the interests ofthe poor and is more efficient.The case studies that follow employ a diversity of approaches and data sets for

elaborating on the concepts developed in the initial two chapters. In general, theauthors find substantial empirical support for the importance of investments in

Agribusiness, Vol. 25 (4) 576–577 (2009) rr 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/agr.20225

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agriculture to alleviate poverty. The multiplier effect from growth in the agriculturalsector is such that it makes policy sense to see agricultural investment as a linchpinfor broad-based poverty reduction and increasing the income of poor farmers, rurallaborers, and other workers. The authors also lament the bias against agriculturewithin policy circles and the view that industrial and commercial growth in othersectors is more important for realizing broad-based economic growth and reductionsin poverty. An important finding in this vein from the Mexico case is that ‘‘ruralgrowth enhances equality of income distribution at total and urban levels, whileurban growthy.’’ (p.100) results in the opposite impact. And from the India case itis discovered that ‘‘agricultural income growth thus seems to affect the very poory’’more strongly than the moderately poor’’ (p.127). In addition, the Indonesiaexperience with agriculture and poverty alleviation is that prior to the 1997 Asianfinancial crisis ‘‘yagricultural growth account[ed] for 66% of total povertyreduction, 55% of urban poverty reduction and 74% of rural poverty reduction’’(p.12). Overall, the volume makes a very strong case for properly structuredinvestments in the agricultural sector to reduce poverty.The volume would have been strengthened by a concluding chapter that went into

some detail on the lessons learned from the case studies. There is an overly briefsynthesis section in the final chapter on South Africa. Also, some discussion on howpoverty reduction might fit within arguments about agricultural sustainability wouldhave been helpful. The unitary focus on poverty as measured through relativeincome levels made the volume seem a bit redundant at times and perhaps somewhatanachronistic.However, the book would be very useful for policy makers and analysts interested

in the topic. In addition, the entire book or selected chapters would be appropriatefor classes on international development or even some area studies classes.

Rick WelshAssociate Professor, Department of Humanities andSocial Sciences, Clarkson University, Postdam, NY 13699E-mail: welshjr@clarkson.edu

577BOOK REVIEW

Agribusiness DOI 10.1002/agr