Extreme poverty is mainly a rural phenomenon. Four of every five people below the $1.90-a-day international income poverty line lived in rural areas in 2013 but there has been tremendous progress in reducing rural poverty over the last few decades, partly as a result of successful policies promoting economic opportunities for the rural poor and expanding social protection in rural areas.

Not until 2020, where the global pandemic hits, the pace of change is decelerating and the COVID-19 crisis risks reversing decades of progress in the fight against poverty. New research published by the UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research warns that the economic fallout from the global pandemic could increase global poverty by as much as half a billion people, or 8% of the total human population. This would be the first time that poverty has increased globally in thirty years, since 1990.

The situation of the rural poor is made worse by inadequate access to public services, infrastructure and social protection. The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded their already vulnerable position by reducing incomes, limiting mobility and undermining food security.

According to UN, the global poverty rate in rural areas is 17.2 per cent—which is three times higher than in urban areas. To ensure that both poverty and inequality of rural area are reduced, UN has established the following policy lessons:

• Invest in infrastructure and public services.

• Promote inclusive agricultural development.

• Ensure a fair distribution of and secure access to land and its natural resources.

• Improve social protection coverage in rural areas.

• End all forms of discrimination.