This report examines the constraints faced by the extremely poor – some 1.2 billion of them – and the opportunities they have to escape from poverty in the near future. The focus is on the rural poor, who constitute the bulk of the poor. The report examines the potential of smallholder production and water conservation in agriculture, of existing and recent technologies, and the roles of small producers, markets and institutions in providing opportunities to the poor. It builds on the argument that, with appropriate and focused support for enhancing the productive potential of the poor in a pro-poor environment, the poor can help themselves to escape from poverty.