The research pillar of COPLA Peru is focused on the small agricultural sector, which is the main livelihood source for the rural poor. Despite Peru’s classification as a middle-income country, high poverty indicators persist among structural inequalities and patterns of social exclusion based on socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender. Recent national assessments have revealed that rural poverty in Peru reaches the dramatic figure of 70%, which clearly reflects that the recent process of macroeconomic growth has been highly unequitable.