Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts – to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. FAO's three main goals are: the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and, the sustainable management and utilization of...

Compiled by Dennis M. Brown, Food and Rural Economics Division, US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (USDA ERS) (described in the July 2, 1999 Scout Report for Business & Economics), this annotated bibliography summarizes studies on the rural economic development implications of highway investment. The bibliography includes some urban studies in addition to rural and covers the...

With the rise of the so-called information age, a number of research institutes have felt compelled to research the digital divide that seems to exist between the mainstream and certain marginalized groups, such as those with lower incomes or those in rural areas. Released in February 2004, this intriguing 38-page report authored by Peter Bell of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, examines...

The Rural Development Briefing Room is new to the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) site (described in the July 2, 1998 Scout Report for Business & Economics). Easy access to non-metropolitan information is available including Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, Urban Influence Codes, Typology Codes, links to Rural Development Perspectives and Rural Conditions and Trends, and metro-nonmetro labor...

Since John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson declared war on rural poverty during their time in the White House, there has been an overriding concern with alleviating the persistently high levels of poverty in the American South. A number of organizations have developed to provide assistance to the region, and the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC), located at Mississippi State University is one...

These two sites should be useful for urban planners or anyone interested in the issues surrounding development and "sprawl." The first, a report from the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the US Department of Agriculture, covers the "forces driving development, its character and impacts on agriculture and rural communities, the means available to channel and control growth, and the pros and cons...

The USDA Rural Development agency is committed "to helping improve the economy and quality of life in all of rural America". Its various financial programs and loans support the development and realization of such public facilities as water and sewer systems and also aid in various economic development initiatives aimed at improving conditions in rural settings across the country. On the site...