The green shoots of the world's rural areas should be cultivated as city dwellers in the developing world struggle to find work, said the International Labor Organization (ILO) on Thursday.

"Let's stop talking of rural areas only in terms of poverty. They have potential and they need to be fully tapped in terms of physical and human resources," said Loretta de Luca, ILO's Coordinator for Rural Employment and Decent Work.

Based on the fact that half of the world's population and 75 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas, it is impossible to talk about sustainable development without taking into account the economic growth in rural areas, he said.

The ILO's work on rural areas includes improvement of the quality and productivity of rural jobs, the promotion of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as research and other technical assistance to co-operatives and rural community-based organizations.

A number of existing conventions on labor standards are also being promoted, along with the extension of social protection for the rural poor, according to de Luca.

"They (rural areas) can be engines for job rich growth that can benefit local communities and the broader economy," he said.