IFAD Rural Povery Report 2011 offers a comprehensive overview of the current state of rural poverty. In the last 10 years 350 million people have moved out of extreme rural povery but still 70% of the 1.4 billion extremely poor people live in rural area. The volatility of food prices, climate change and water shortages add up to the challenges. The solution lies in investment in agriculture and farmer capabilities to substantially improve the farm productivity. In order to support small farmers and grass roots enterprises an enabling ecosystem needs to be created which manages the risks and help them to successfully grow their enterprises.

The second report by European Report on Development Social Protection for Inclusive Development fills in the gap and makes a strong case of placing social protection high on the agenda of development in Africa.