Impact of the Bank's rural development lending.

Following the global food crisis of the early 1970s, the World Bank has placed a priority on funding agriculture and rural development projects. These projects have been funded with a view to raising the productivity of low-income groups. Projects aimed at increasing the incomes of rural poor must clearly identify the target group and be designed so that they will benefit directly. Some of these Bank-funded projects have been in the following areas: 1) irrigation; 2) fertilizer; 3) general rural development, e.g., road construction and rural electrification; 4) agricultural extension; 5) credit extension in rural areas; and 6) comprehensive projects. So far, the Bank programs seem to have exerted an influence on government development policies. Experience shows, however, that expansion of the income-employment sector is limited in scope. It is evident also that poverty-oriented programs must be longer-term than more conventional programs. Real success in this field will be measured in terms of community development and self-sufficiency.