About 45% of the world’s populace reside in rural areas of developing countries; outside of densely populated urban towns and cities, in sparsely populated places covering large swathes of land and often remote. Many times, rurality is synonymous with a lack of access to civilization or modernity, amenities and government interventions and often evokes images of deep poverty and hunger. This stereotype isn’t without merit, as 80 percent of persons living in extreme poverty are in rural areas. However, this category is also responsible for growing food that feeds nations. Investing in rural development can prove a strategy central to ending hunger and poverty and meeting SDGs.
Read more about how agribusiness can be a precursor to ensuring rural development here