The majority of the world’s rural poor are family farmers, fishers, livestock and forest users who
live in isolated areas and who depend on agriculture and natural resources for their livelihoods.

Being both marginalized and geographically dispersed, the rural poor face major
constraints in seizing social and economic opportunities to improve their lives and
those of their families. This is especially true for women, youth and indigenous
peoples as they often bear the brunt of the socio-economic disparities that hinder
equal access to land, resources, education, information and opportunities to
participate in development processes.

The work of FAO on Rural Institutions, Services and Empowerment (RISE)
contributes to the Organization’s efforts to eradicate poverty, hunger and malnutrition
and to unlock the development potential of rural areas. This is tackled through the
promotion of inclusive, gender-transformative socio-economic development and
sustainable livelihoods in rural areas.

FAO supports territorial and place-based policies to reduce within country
disparities in poverty, food security and nutrition levels and allow for more
inclusive, effective and equitable governance of natural resources.
 FAO supports development of pluralistic market-oriented service systems,
with an emphasis on collective action and producer organizations, to enable
small-scale family farmers to increase productivity, link to markets and improve
their livelihoods.
 FAO develops capacities for sustainable and inclusive rural financial systems
and agribusiness investments to assist poor rural families better manage their
current livelihoods, ensure economic resiliency and to shift towards more
profitable production systems.
 FAO promotes the socio-economic empowerment of women, men and youth
through inclusive social mobilization, participatory communication, women’s
leadership and voice in decision-making and community governance.

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Originally published on the FAO website