During the past several decades, developing countries have had mixed results in reducing poverty. While East Asia (particularly China) has achieved astonishing progress in eradicating severe poverty through strong agricultural and overall economic growth, many African countries have experienced an increase in the number of poor. Today, more than 1 billion people still live on less than US$1 per day, and the recent surge in food prices has caused another 100 million people in developing countries to fall into poverty. It is obvious, therefore, that a “business as usual” approach is wholly inadequate.
