Local Development and Poverty Reduction in Low-Income Rural Communities in the Northeast Brazil

The problem of poverty is becoming a concern worldwide for the potential for its dissemination. The phenomenon affects not only the less industrialized countries, but also those that have overcome the stage of underdevelopment. This chapter describes three case studies to understand how low-income rural communities in the Brazilian Northeast managed to mitigate their problems of social exclusion from a set of actions involving several agents. The results showed that the joint application of actions, such as the settlement of producers in expropriated lands, the installation of basic infrastructure, investments financed in irrigated agriculture, technical assistance, training, marketing support, and self-management are sufficient to reduce poverty and present results satisfactory.