Cultivating the green shoots of rural areas
The ILO looks to harnessing the potential of the world’s rural areas as city dwellers in the developing world struggle to find work.
It is impossible to talk about sustainable development without taking into account this simple fact: half of the world’s population and 75 per cent of the world’s poor live in rural areas.
The challenge is even more pressing when we look at what’s happening in urban spaces.
“The cities are often saturated in terms of housing and jobs. Living conditions and the types of jobs available are sometimes also quite poor,” says Loretta de Luca, ILO’s Co-ordinator for Rural Employment and Decent Work. (…)
“Migrating to cities cannot be the only option for the millions of rural workers who are desperate for a better life,” adds de Luca. “But there will be more poverty and even hunger and political unrest if people return to rural areas without any support to increase their productivity and incomes.”
See on ilo.org
