Agriculture is a vital development tool for achieving the Millennium Development Goal that calls for halving by 2015 the share of people suffering from extreme poverty and hunger. Three out of every four people in developing countries live in rural areas, and most depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. This report highlights two major regional challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia and identifies many solutions and emerging successes that can be scaled up. Ultimately success will depend on the political motivation to move forward with reforms as well as on the concerted action of the international development community to confront the challenged ahead. The report provides guidance to governments and the international community on designing and implementing agriculture-for-development agendas that can make a difference in the lives of hundreds of millions of rural poor.