Rural poor 'being short-changed'

People in rural poverty receive less aid per head than those in urban areas

The government has a "poor grasp" of how much its international aid helps the poorest in rural areas, the Commons public accounts committee has said.

Chairman Edward Leigh said the "poorest of the poor" were being "short-changed" on international aid.

The government must improve its information on the costs and benefits of aid programmes, the committee said.

The Department for International Development said its agriculture policy was being evaluated.

It was working hard to tackle rural poverty, it said.

The committee looked at how DfID is tackling rural poverty in developing countries - thought to account for 75% of the world's 1.1 billion people living in extreme poverty.

Not assessed

If it is to meet its own targets on UN Millennium Development Goals - which aim to halve poverty by 2015 - it needs to tackle rural poverty, the report said.

But while DfID assistance does benefit people living in rural poverty "to some degree" - it does not assess how much does so, the report said.

DFID currently has a poor grasp of how much of its assistance reaches the rural poor and the extent to which they benefit Edward Leigh Committee chairman

It also does not have a "clear picture" of what it costs to deliver education, health and other services in rural areas - so can not assess the fairness of aid allocations.

Conservative MP Mr Leigh said the rural poor in developing countries received less aid per head than their counterparts in urban areas and the "short-changing of the poorest of the poor" needed to be addressed.

He said: "To do that it needs better information on the costs and benefits of its aid programmes. DFID currently has a poor grasp of how much of its assistance reaches the rural poor and the extent to which they benefit."

Trade deals

Actions should include the department keeping track of benefits after aid projects have been completed and using its new responsibility for UK trade to get better benefits for people in rural areas.

And DfID's professional staff should spend more time "actually out in the more remote areas where the rural poor live" to better understand their priorities.

In response a DfID spokesman said the department welcomed the report and the recognition of the "serious challenge of tackling rural poverty".

"Agriculture and rural development are significant elements of DFID's portfolio. But rural poverty cannot be tackled in isolation," he said.

"As the committee acknowledges in its report, DFID is working hard to address the effects of climate change, and is supporting developing countries in the implementation of policies which encourage investment and growth.

"DFID is also using its increasing influence to press for poor people to benefit more from international trade, including trade in agricultural products, for example through the current round of WTO talks. "