This paper summarises recent work on poverty, agriculture and land. First, we report on panel data analysis in five countries – Vietnam, Uganda, India, Nicaragua and Ethiopia. We focus on rural exits from poverty, their relation with agricultural growth trends, and the contingent factors that supported these exits. We suggest that three ‘pillars’ can help to make agriculture work for the rural poor – infrastructure, education and information. Second, we summarise recent CPRC work on land tenure, focusing on the relationship between tenure and agricultural productivity.