Since the early 1950s assisting rural development has been a priority of the Foundation's work in developing countries. Despite substantial increases in global food production resulting from the Green Revolution, millions of landless agricultural workers and resource-poor farmers continue to endure hunger, illiteracy, and precarious incomes. To help improve the welfare and opportunities of the rural poor, the Foundation supports efforts that:

• analyze factors limiting agricultural productivity;

• encourage more efficient, equitable, and environmentally sound management of natural resources;

• increase the capacity of individuals and institutions to contribute to the formulation of rural policies;

• help generate non-farm employment and income for women and other disadvantaged groups; and

• strengthen grass-roots and intermediary organizations providing credit, training, and other services to the rural poor.

In 1982 the Foundation began a companion program in rural areas of the United States, where a large proportion of low-income people live. Support focuses on promoting coherent rural development policies, improving environmental protection, helping the rural poor participate more effectively in managing the natural resources on which they depend, and expanding employment opportunities for rural people at or below the poverty line, with special emphasis on helping low-income women and minorities. The Foundation also supports projects in environmental protection and natural resource management in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

In 1990 the Foundation awarded grants totaling $39.1 million for rural initiatives worldwide.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY

New high-yielding crop varieties, combined with greater use of fertilizers and irrigation, have dramatically increased food supplies over the past thirty years. Modern agricultural technologies, however, have not been universally beneficial. More than one billion people in the developing world live in resource-poor regions ill adapted to the demanding water and nutrient requirements of high-yielding crop varieties. To address the needs of these areas, a growing number of agricultural scientists have shifted from the pursuit of ever-higher yields under the ideal conditions of the research station to concentrate on improving traditional farming systems practiced on marginal lands.

In recent years farming systems research (fsr) has emerged as a promising approach to assessing factors that limit the productivity of resource-poor lands. fsr departs from traditional agricultural research and extension in