Public policy, poverty and inequality

What are the factors that exacerbate inequality and poverty?

• Identifying vulnerable stakeholders and groups' ability to adapt to poverty or pauperization, so as to understand the influence of the political situation and compare situations in developing countries.
• Understanding social, economic and political, public and private processes better, on various scales, as regards producers and consumers, supply chains and distribution circuits.
• Characterizing the factors linked to increased inequality and poverty in rural areas.

How can we assess the impact of policies on living conditions in rural areas?

• Assessing the impact of sectorial and territorial policies aimed at reducing inequality and of international regulatory mechanisms on living conditions in rural areas and on production methods.
• Determining the influence of access to production factors (including appropriation of genetic resources and chemical inputs) and the effects of production and marketing techniques.
• Interpreting the interactions between agricultural production and political processes, established and implemented on various levels.
• Implementing ways of monitoring the situation of farming systems worldwide.

What new forms of public action and governance are required?

• Analysing and supporting the drafting of public policies concerning the agricultural sector, food, land use planning and environmental and resource management.
• Establishing new regulatory frameworks.

What role can agriculture play in reducing inequality and poverty?

• Taking action on jobs and income, living conditions, food supply and public health, and migratory processes.
• Fuelling debate on the redefinition of development models.
• Situating the debate on multifunctionality in agriculture and the role of family agriculture more appropriately.