How can we enhance the capacity of smallholder producers to capture benefits from the national and international markets? How can we ensure sustainable management of natural resources? Does decentralization help to fight poverty? These are the major question posed in the morning session ‘rural development’ on 16 September. ‘If we had many gold we would change it to rice, whatever the price it would be’ a testimony of the presentation of ‘Maria Schwab hints on the necessity to consider multiple livelihoods options seriously under market vulnerability and shocks in Cambodia . 'Institutional factors such as land size matters for smallholder to get the benefit of the producers group. Since smallholders do not have required land size to increase the production, collective marketing approach may not work for the benefit to their livelihoods'- are major conclusions of the presentation of Elisabeth Fischer taking the Banana Market in Kenya as a case.//// Village bylaws, a local institutions in Trygary, Ehiopia, enhanced collective action of the users by driving towards common goals in the management of exlosures and resolving conflicts using monetary sanctions. This presentation of Mastewall Yami, highlights that this type of local institutional mechanisms is constrained by high social capital in villages closer to market and district town and resulted in the negligence among users in exposing free riders indicating that high social capital does not always enhance communal resources. /// The presentation of Wibe Crewett highlights that there was no effective rules for participation of poor communities in the context of reformed institutional mechanism in Kyrgyzstan pasture user communities. Adding to the ongoing debate on decentralization and natural resource managements her presentation marked ‘Decentralization may not necessarily be pro-poor’. She is of the opinion that process of decentralization is not well planned; there is always an extreme pressure to implement the project. Decentralization needs careful implementation and involves high transaction costs.