the second and less acknowledged reality is that food insecurity can be much higher in rural areas because of a far greater reliance on a narrow range of locally produced foodstuffs whose yields are unstable limited access to national and global food markets and high levels of poverty can price rural people out of food markets in the last decade greater focus has been placed on integrating rural regions into the national and global economies broadening the economic base of rural regions and improving agricultural productivity in many respects the pursuit of competitiveness productivity and income generation regional development are necessary to sustain progress in the effort to reduce hunger malnutrition and poverty however they are far from sufficient on their own