Lao PDR's economic outlook remains favorable, with continued strong growth. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth remained at above 7 percent in 2007. Output expanded in mining, newly emerging processing industries, agriculture, and new construction of hydropower projects, tourism and other services. Non-resource sectors contributed over 5 percent to this growth, and the resource sector around 2.5 percent.

The Lao PDR economy continues to grow, but at a relatively slower pace as the impacts of the global financial turmoil are starting to be felt. Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to slow in 2008 to about 7 percent as result of the impacts of the global financial crisis. GDP growth is also projected to slow to between 5 and 6 percent in 2009. However, growth remains fairly strong and still driven by the ongoing hydropower projects as well as agro processing industries, construction and other services.

El dramático aumento y la volatilidad de los precios de los alimentos durante el último año han sacudido al sistema alimentario mundial. Por lo general, tanto los gobiernos como la comunidad dedicada al desarrollo internacional han respondido ante diversos aspectos de la crisis alimentaria, pero todavía permanecen las preguntas sobre si se han tomado o no las acciones más adecuadas, cuál es la mejor forma de responder y qué nos aguarda en el futuro.

The report includes three essays about Responding to the World Food Crisis: Getting on the Right Track by Joachim von Braun, High Global Food Prices: The Challenges and Opportunities by Josette Sheeran, and Policy Implications of High Food Prices for Africa by Namanga Ngongi.

"African agriculture is at a crossroads. The current high food prices and the instability they have provoked in several countries have added impetus for African countries to review their agricultural policies and programs. New agricultural policies will have to be more focused on staple food crops and on their main producers-smallholders, most of whom are women. The new policies must remove constraints that impede access by smallholder farmers to the knowledge, technology, and financial services they need to increase farm productivity in a profitable and environmentally sustainable manner.

High food prices are not only causing a humanitarian crisis, but also putting at risk the development potential of millions of people. Global agriculture markets are undergoing structural changes, and the next three to four years will pose great challenges for achieving an affordable and accessible food supply for the world's most vulnerable. Soaring food and fuel prices are creating a "perfect storm" for the world's most vulnerable.

"Part of the difficulty in responding to the food crisis is the lack of credible and up-todate data on the impacts of food prices on poor people and on the effects of policy responses. Such information would allow international and national decision makers to use feedback to adjust their responses and achieve maximum effectiveness. Much more investment and sound coordination is needed in this area. So far, national and international responses to the food crisis are mixed in terms of their likely effectiveness.

"The dramatic rise and volatility of food prices over the last year have shaken the global food system. Governments and the international development community generally have responded to various aspects of the food crisis, but questions remain about whether the right actions are being pursued, how best to respond, and what the future holds.

In 2008, a year in which the global population—particularly the world’s poor—was confronted by both the financial and food-price crises, agricultural systems faced changes that led to market disruptions, reduced growth, mass protests, and a string of political efforts to reshape the design and governance of food systems.

Research on collective action confronts two major obstacles. First, inconsistency in the conceptualization and operationalization of collective action, the key factors expected to affect collective action, and the outcomes of collective action hampers the accumulation of knowledge. Inconsistent terminology obscures consistent patterns. Second, the scarcity of comparable data thwarts evaluation of the relative importance of the many variables identified in the literature as likely to influence collective action.

The changes in global agricultural markets over the past decade have major implications on agricultural policy. What are the challenges and opportunities for development-oriented agricultural policy-making? And what advisory capacities are needed to deliver substantive advice to developing countries’ governments? The answers to these questions constitute a new agenda for contemporary capacity development for agricultural policy advice.