Yoghurt and Cucumbers?

Poverty all around the world is and will always be a problem. Certain authors have now written books about special initiatives, either personal or external, that were introduced to defeat poverty.
One of these is Mr. Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel Prize winner of 2006, who suggest the concept of "social business". The Danone chief executive (multinational) and he have created a business in Bangladesh which creates yoghurt with nutrients and other food for the poor. This social business is, according to Yunus, a new concept to help eradicate poverty and redeem capitalism. The two distinguishing features are that the poor are willing to pay for the products and the profits are directly reinvested in the enterprise. Mr. Yunus also sees great potential in this system, but the article's author argues that this form of enterprise is hardly new. He implies that the poor may be fed with this system, but won’t get out of poverty.
A way that is more efficient is Paul Polak's, the author of "out of Poverty" and founder of International Development Enterprise. He suggests that the way for the poor to get out of their farming equilibrium, in which they remain poor, is to teach them to set aside part of their crops for the dry season, when they'll achieve higher prices for it. Polak's system also allows the poor access to irrigation, markets and fertilizers. With this system, he supposedly ensures the poor a brighter future, since if you teach a man to fish, he'll be fed for life.
Melissa John

Feb 21st 2008
From The Economist print edition
http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10717813