Resource information
After 20 years of neglect by
international donors, agriculture is now again in the
headlines because higher food prices are increasing food
insecurity and poverty. In the coming years it will be
essential to increase food productivity and production in
developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and
with smallholders. This however requires finding viable
solutions to a number of complex technical, institutional
and policy issues including land markets, research on seeds
and inputs; agricultural extension; credit; rural
infrastructure; storage; connection to markets; rural
nonfarm employment and food price stabilization. This paper
reviews what the economic literature has to say on these
topics. It discusses in turn the role played by agriculture
in the development process and the interactions between
agriculture and other economic sectors; the determinants of
the Green Revolution and discuss the foundations of
agricultural growth; issues of income diversification by
farmers; approaches to rural development; and finally issues
of international trade policy and food security which are at
the root of the crisis in agricultural commodity volatility
in the past few years.
