Chapter 4

Agricultural Transformation and Rural

development :Agriculture for Development
Agricultural Transformation and Rural
Development: Introduction
üThe heavy emphasis in the past on rapid
industrialization may have been
misplaced.

üAgricultural development is now seen as an

important part of any development strategy.

üAlthough agriculture employs the majority

of the LDC labor force, it accounts for a
much lower share of total output. 2
qUnderstanding the nature of agriculture is
fundamental to understanding the development.
§ Income distribution, extreme poverty and the
rural poor
§ Human capital: Nutrition, food production and
distribution
§ Contribution of agricultural exports to
development
qAgriculture is one industry among many, but
it is an industry with a difference.
§ At early stages of development, this sector
employs far more people than all
others.
§ Agricultural activities have existed for
thousands of years, and so the rural
economy is “tradition bound”.
§ Crucial importance of land as a factor of
pro du cti o n a n d t h e i n f l u e n ce of t h e
weather/climate.
§ It is the only sector that produces food
 I. Historical perspective on agriculture in
development
qWell defined classical paradigm of the role of
agriculture in development in the 1960s
•Grounded in history: Western experience, Asian
miracles
•Grounded in theory: Agriculture on the road to
industrialization
•Grounded in empirical regularities: Agricultural
transformation
•Grounded in behavior: Agriculture responsive to
incentives
5
 I. Historical perspective on agriculture in
development
qSuccesses, but many implementation failures in the
1970s

•Urban bias in Import Substitution Industrialization

•Integrated rural development to meet broadened
development objectives flawed:
•Overestimated state capacity to coordinate
•Underestimated emerging private sector roles
•Undermined cooperative producer organizations
•Many failures in agriculture-based projects
•Too complex, insufficient support
6
 I. Historical perspective on agriculture in
development
qLeading to 20 years of neglect of agriculture under the
Washington Consensus (1985-2005)

•Adjust the macro-fundamentals but no sectoral policy

•Industrialize through open economy not through agriculture
•Descale the role of the state in agriculture despite
pervasive market failures
•Reduce rural poverty through transfers instead of rising
autonomous incomes
•Investment in agriculture discouraged by low international
commodity prices (OECD farm policies) and adverse
environmental effects
7
I. Historical perspective on agriculture in development

Share of agriculture in public expenditure Share of agriculture in ODA (%)

14 14

12
12
NEPAD objective
10
10
8
8
6
6
4
4
2
2
0
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 0
Uganda NEPAD Nigeria 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Neglect of agriculture: Decline of the shares of agriculture in

public expenditures and in overseas development assistance 8
II. Current crises and resurgence of demands
on agriculture for development
q Following 20 years of neglect, five crises put
agriculture back on the development agenda:
1) The global food and financial crises: Rising
food insecurity and hunger
2) Stagnation of productivity growth in Sub-
Saharan Africa agriculture
3) World poverty still overwhelmingly rural
4) Increasing rural-urban income disparities
5) Rising resource scarcity and unmet demands
for environmental services 9
II. Current crises and resurgence of demands
on agriculture for development
Crisis 1: Global food and financial crises
The world food situation has changed drastically in the last few
years. This implies three major policy shifts:

• Need give greater attention to the supply side of agriculture to

achieve sustainable productivity gains and greater resilience to
shocks.

• Need raise again the issue of food security as a policy concern:

Combine trade, national food reserves, level of food self-sufficiency,
social safety nets, and role of subsistence farming.

• Need focus not only on chronic poverty but also on vulnerability

to price and income shocks for net buyers of food: “new poor” and 10
risks of irreversibilities in assets, health, and education due to shocks.
 II. Current crises and resurgence of demands on
agriculture for development
Crisis 2: Stagnant productivity growth in SS-Africa agriculture

Sources of growth in cereal production

400

East Asia
350

300

South Asia
Latin America
250

200
SS-Africa
150

100
100 120 140 160 180 200
Area (1961=100)

Area expansion has historically been the main source of output

11
growth in cereal production in SS-Africa, but largely exhausted
II. Current crises and resurgence of demands
on agriculture for development
Fertilizer use (kg/ha of arable land) Irrigated area (% of cropland)

300 40
East Asia
35
250 ME&N Africa
30
200 South Asia
25

150 20
South Asia

LAC 15
100
Latin America
ME&N Africa 10
50
SS-Africa
SS-Africa 5

0
0
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Stagnant yields are associated with low fertilizer use and limited
irrigated area. Understanding the determinants of yield growth 12
(technology adoption) is a major research challenge
 II. Current crises and resurgence of demands on agriculture for development

Crisis 3: World poverty still overwhelmingly rural

% of world poor rural by continent Number of rural poor (1993=100)

100 120
SS-Africa
110
80 South Asia
100

60
90
Latin America

40 80

70
20
East Asia
60

0
50
LAC ECA SSA SAS MNA EAP World
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

75% of world poor are still rural, and rural poverty is rising in 13SS-
Africa and South Asia: Key to meet MDG#1
 II. Current crises and resurgence of demands on agriculture for development

Crisis 4: Rural-urban disparities are increasing

India: Mean per capita expenditure by sector in constant LCU China: Mean per capita expenditure by sector
(Average annual growth rate 1983-05 in parenthesis) in constant LCU
410
Urban(1.43/year) 1200
390
Urban
1000
370

350 800

330
600
Rural(0.92)
Rural
310
400
290

270 200

250 0
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Rising urban-rural income disparities in India and China as sources

14
of political tensions
II. Current crises and resurgence of demands on agriculture for
development

Crisis 5: Rising resource scarcities and unmet demands for

environmental services
Average annual rate of change in forest area

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
EAP SA LAC SSA
-0.1

-0.2

-0.3

-0.4

-0.5

-0.6

-0.7

1990-99 2000-05

The rate of deforestation is accelerating in LAC and SS-Africa.

Conservation agriculture, rapidly expanding worldwide, is barely
15
adopted in Africa due to lower yields and high labor costs
III. Emergence of a new paradigm of agriculture for development

These crises put new demands on using agriculture for

development, but with no possible return to the classical
paradigm for two reasons:

q“Development” is no longer just industrialization

(1950-60) but multidimensional (1970-)
•Growth, poverty/hunger, vulnerability, equity,
sustainability

qThe structural context for agricultural growth has

changed drastically
•Globalization, integrated value chains, technological and
institutional innovations, environmental constraints 16
 III. Emergence of a new paradigm of
agriculture for development
Hence emergence of a new paradigm of Agriculture for
Development to replace the classical paradigm

qTwo features of the emerging paradigm

1) Because development is multidimensional:
•Win-wins exist, but trade-offs are expected
•Need priority setting at the national level
2) Need use both the process and the outcome of agricultural
growth to achieve these multiple dimensions
•Role of smallholder farming
But two barriers to overcome:
Continued under-use of agriculture for development
Unclear how to succeed in using agriculture for development
17
 Economics of agricultural development

qThree broad stages in the evolution of agricultural

production:
Primitive stage- subsistence peasant farm
Mixed family agriculture- consumption + sale

Modern farm- specialized and commercial farming

18
 Economics of agricultural
development: Transition process

Diversified or Specialized, modern

commercial farming
mixed farming

Subsistence farming

19
 The Structure of Agrarian Systems in the
Developing World
Three Systems of Agriculture
qAccording to the World Bank’s 2008 World
Development Report, there are three quite
different situations found among developing
countries.
qFirst, in what the report terms agriculture-
based countries , agriculture is still a major
source of economic growth—although mainly
because agriculture makes up such a large
share of GDP. 20
qThe World Bank estimates that agriculture accounts
for some 32% of GDP growth on average in these
countries, in which 417 million people live. More than
two-thirds of the poor of these countries live in rural
areas.
qSome 82% of the rural population of sub-Saharan
Africa lives in these countries.
qIt also includes a few countries outside the region,
such as Laos. And a few African countries, such as
Senegal, are undergoing transformation.

21
qSecond, most of the world’s rural people—
some 2.2 billi on—li ve in what the report
categorizes as transforming countries, in
which the share of the poor who are rural is
v e r y h i gh (a l m o s t 8 0 % o n a v e r a g e ) b u t
agriculture now contributes only a small
share to GDP growth (7% on average).

qMost of the population of South and East

Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East lives
in these countries, along with some outliers
such as Guatemala. 22
qThird, in what the report calls urbanized
countries, rural-urban migration has reached
the point at which nearly half, or more, of the
poor are found in the cities, and agriculture
tends to contribute even less to output growth.

qThe urbanized countries are largely found in

Latin America and the Caribbean, along with
developing eastern Europe and Central Asia,
and contain about 255 million rural dwellers.
23
 Agricultural in Latin America, Asia, and
Africa
qPeasant agriculture in Latin America, Asia, and
Africa
§ Latin America
• The Latifundio-Minifundio pattern
• Resource underutilization
§ Asia
• Fragmentation and subdivision of peasant land in
Asia
§ Africa
• Extensive cultivation patterns
• Shifting cultivation
320RK 24
qLatifundio : A very large landholding found
particularly in the Latin American agrarian
system, capable of providing employment for
m o re t h a n 1 2 pe o pl e , ow n e d b y a s m a l l
number of landlords, and comprising a
disproportionate share of total agricultural land.

qMinifundio A landholding: found particularly

in the Latin American agrarian system
considered too small to provide adequate
employment for a single family.

25
Roles of agriculture in economic
development
 Agriculture plays a major role in
economic development
qIt can enhance economic growth, but it can
also constraint it
qIt is legitimate to observe that each country in
its process of growth has to solve its ‘agrarian
question’ in order to reach a sustainable and
balanced growth
qThe type and quality of growth depends on the
ways in which the agrarian question is solved.
Three major theoretical approaches explain
the role of agriculture in economic growth
qThe theories that stress the passive role of
agriculture as supplier of resources to the
economy (Lewis, Fei-Ranis, Jorgenson; 1950-
60)
qThe theories that stress the active role of
agriculture as a sector that is able to promote
economic growth due to specific actions
and behaviour (Mellor; 1970-90)
qThe theories that stress the active role of
agriculture as a sector that is able to promote
sustainable economic growth (FAO, 2000)
The first approach is based on a dualistic view of
the economy inherited by the Classicals
qAgriculture is a backward sector, while
industry is modern and advanced.
qTechnical backwardness is due to institutional
and social constraints and gives origin to
productivity and income differentials among
sectors.
qTechnical backwardness is at the origin of the
subaltern role of agriculture in economic
growth
Agriculture produces a surplus that
needs to be transferred to the
economy

• Food and primary goods

• Labour-force
• Capital and foreign exchange
 The approach is based on the following
hypotheses
qAgriculture produces as surplus in relation to
its internal needs
qIn agriculture there exists non-productive
labour-force (non necessary to the sector)
that is free to move among sectors
qPeasants are in condition to save, then they
can supply savings to the economy
qA g r i c u l t u r e p r o d u c e s g o o d s t h a t a r e
internationally tradable
 The extraction of agricultural surplus has
created many problems

qIt has reduced the incentives to farmers

qIt has increased the pace of the decline of

agriculture with serious consequences on
environment and society

qI t h a s i n c re a s e d r u r a l po v e r ty a n d f o o d
insecurity
Also a ‘weak’ version of the approach exists

qAgriculture is a surplus supplier

qYet ‘traditional’ agriculture might not be able to
produce surpluses and then might not be able
to transfer them to the economy
qIt follows that surpluses need to be produced
first in order to be transferred
qOnly a ‘moder n’ agr iculture can produce
surpluses
 The second approach builds on the
dualistic view of the economy but

qAssumes the ‘modernisation’ of agriculture

as the necessary starting step that creates the
condition for the surplus to exist

qSees public intervention as necessary to

‘modernise’ agriculture
The approach of the active role is based on
the following hypotheses
qA m ong sectors linkage s e xi st t ha t are
important for their implication in economic
terms
qInter-sectoral linkages are activated by the
market
qAlso agriculture has linkages with the other
sectors
qIn the capitalist economy agriculture has
important linkages with other sectors via input
and output markets
 J. Mellor (1976) introduces his theory of
growth linkages taking as an example the
case of the Green Revolution in India
qThe public intervention to ‘modernise’ agriculture
increases farmers’ incomes

qF a r m e r s i n c r e a s e t h e i r c o n s u m p t i o n , b o t h o f
production means and consumption goods

qThe increased demand leads to the emergence of local

firms producing the newly demanded goods

q T he final re sul t is that, due to the i niti al

intervention in agriculture, the rural economy
develops in a balanced manner
The growth of rural industry is a major
factor for a balanced growth
qIt increases non-farm employment providing work
opportunities for the labour-force that leaves the
primary sector or is underemployed in it
qIt reduces the pressure on towns and metropolises,
keeping under control the level of pollution
qIt exploits ‘traditional skills’ that are typical to each
area
qIt exploit the competitive advantages of rural areas in
terms of costs (labour-force and infrastructures)
 The rural economy is a differentiated
economy
qSectors co-exist in the same territory

qSectors share the same resources that are

employed according to the needs of each
sector

qSectors are market integrated (via input and

output market)
The necessary condition for the growth linkages
model to work is public intervention on
agriculture
qAgricultural ‘modernisation’ plays a central role
qBut the very concept of agricultural ‘modernisation’
raises many problems:
§ Mellor’s model emphasises the importance of
modernisation in terms of technical change, but
technical change is only one aspect of a ‘modern’
agricultural sector
§ Non-technological modernisation is also important
§ To react to market signals is important in economic
activity, but self-sufficiency is also a major aim
 Agricultural modernisation has raised many
problems
qOn environment
§ Industrial pollution
§ Misuse of natural resources
qOn society
§ Pressure on families and communities
§ Migration from rural to urban areas
qOn the economy
§ Food insecurity
§ Food dependency
The joint consequences of surplus extraction and
agricultural modernisation are
qRural and urban poverty
qIncreased inequality between the town and the
country
qUrban migration
qPressure on urban infrastructures
qThe widening of the informal sector
 The third approach is based on the
following hypotheses
qAgriculture is, jointly, a social, economic, and spatial
system
qAs such, it plays many roles
qB e cau se of i ts m ul t i- f u nct i on a l i ty , ag ri cu l tu re
contributes to collective welfare in many different
ways, not only as surplus supplier or buyer of goods
qIn the past many of these contributions were not
taken into account as they could not been valued in
market terms
 FAO (2000) stresses two major
categories of non ‘conventional’ roles
of agriculture

qEconomic roles that agriculture plays as a by-

product of its primary role and that the market
underestimates

qNon-economic roles that agriculture plays as a

consequence of its primary role and that the
market neglects
Because of its non-conventional roles agriculture
can contribute to sustainable economic growth
qEconomic roles underestimated by the market
§ Income generation
§ Poverty reduction
§ Food security
qNon-economic roles neglected by the market
§ Management and conservation of natural
resources
§ Social cohesion and stability
§ Preservation of culture
 Other Facts on the Role Agriculture

qMost of the people in poor countries make their

living from the land.
qMost developing countries must rely on their
own agricultural sectors to produce the food
consumed by their people
qFarmers must produce enough to feed
themselves as well as the urban
population.
qThe rural sector is virtually the only source of
increased labor for the urban sector.
qThe agricultural sector can be a major source
of capital for modern economic growth.

qAgricultural exports are a key source of foreign

exchange with which to import capital
equipment and intermediate goods.

qThe rural population is an important

market for the output of the urban sector.
 Dwindling World Food Supplies
q History does not support the view that world supplies of
exportable food are steadily diminishing.

World Cereal Exports

300

250
metric tonnes, millions

200

150

100

50

0
1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1980 1985 1988 1992 1996 2002
Ye ar
qThe issue is not about running out of surplus
land, but our ability to increase the yields of
existing arable land to meet the needs of an
increasing population.
qResearch shows that the planet is not close to
its biological limit.
qThe real danger of a long-term food crisis
arises from a different source – internal social
and economic barriers to technical
progress in agriculture.
 Food Supply and Famine
qF a m i n e i s f a r m o r e a p r o b l e m o f f o o d
distribution than of food production.

qThe central issue is not what caused the crop

failure (drought or civil war) but why no one
intervened to assist those who lost the means
to survive.
qMarket forces are often not sufficient to the
task of relieving a famine.

qGovernments and NGOs must play a role.

qMechanisms to end starvation:

§ Free food shipments to distribution points

§ Food-for-work programs

qThe distribution problem must be tackled

qModernizing Agricultural Technology
§ Specific inputs and techniques can be
combined to increase production.
§ Mobil iza tion o f agr i cu ltu ral i npu ts an d
techniques

§ There is no universally best technology for

agriculture

§ Japan vs. United States

 The Mechanical Package

qTractors, combines, and other forms of

machinery are used primarily as
substitutes for labor that has left the farm
for the cities.
The Biological Package and the Green
Revolution
qYields are raised through the use of improved plant
varieties such as hybrid corn or new varieties of
rice.
qThe dramatic effect on yields brought about by the
new varieties is referred to as the Green Revolution.

qNew varieties raise yields only if combined with

adequate and timely water supplies and increased
amounts of chemical fertilizer.
 Consumption of Chemical Fertilizer in Developing
Countries

80000
70000
1,000 metric tonnes of

60000
50000 Latin America
nutrient

Far East
40000
Near East
30000 Africa
20000
10000
0
1969 1979 1984 1988 1993 2002
Year

Source: Food and Agricultural Organization: www.fao.org

 Food Production per Capita in Developing
Countries

120

100
(indices 2001 = 100)

80 World
South America
60
Asia
40 Africa

20

0
1975 1985 1997 2001 2003
Year

Source: Food and Agricultural Organization: www.fao.org

 Rural Banking and Micro Credit

qF a r m e r s o f t e n n e e d c r e d i t t o t a k e f u l l
advantage of their production opportunities.
qThey typically face unfavorable interest rates.
Rural money-lenders often charge over 100%
interest.
qUrban commercial banks are usually absent.
qWomen in particular have difficulty obtaining
credit when they farm land registered in the
name of an absentee husband.
 The Grameen Bank Model
qIt targets the poorest of the poor, particularly rural
women
qNo collateral is required
qThe borrower is required to join a group from the
same village where members provide support to each
other and ensure repayment.
qBank personnel work with the poor women.
qThe bank is not profitable on its own and often
requires subsidies from international aid agencies.
qThose who repay their loans are eligible for further
credit.
 Structure of 3rd World Agrarian
Systems
Two Kinds of World Agriculture

1. Hi gh ly Ef ficie nt A g ric ulture o f d ev el op ed

countries where substantial productive capacity and
high output per worker permit a small number of
farmers to feed entire nations
2. Inefficient and low productivity agriculture of
developing countries where many instances the
agricultural sector can barely sustain the farm
population, let alone burgeoning urban population,
even at a minimum level of subsistence
Sources of Small-Scale Agricultural
Progress

1. Technological change and Innovation

2. Appropriate government economic

policies

3. Supportive social institutions

 Conditions for General Rural
Advancement
1. Modernizing farm structures to meet rising
food demands

2. Creating an effective supporting system

3. Changing the rural environment to improve

levels of living
 The Economics of Agricultural
Development: Transition From Peasant to
Commercial Farming

qS u b s i s t e n c e f a r m i n g : r i s k a v e r s i o n ,
uncertainty, and survival
Figure 5.1 Small-Farmer Attitudes towards
Risk: Why It Is Sometimes Rational to Resist
Innovation and Change
Figure 5.2 Crop Yield
Probability Densities of Two
Different Farming Techniques
Incentives under share cropping

64
320RK
The Economics of Agricultural Development:
Transition From Peasant to Commercial
Farming

q Subsistence farming: risk aversion, uncertainty,

and survival
q The transition to mixed and diversified farming

q From divergence to specialization: modern

commercial farming
Toward a Strategy of Agricultural and
Rural Development

qImproving small-scale agriculture

qConditions for rural development
 Conditions for Rural Development
1. Land Reform
Farm structures and land tenure patterns must be
adapted to the dual objectives of increasing food
production and promoting wider distribution of
benefits of agrarian progress.

HIGHLY UNEQUAL structure of land ownership is

the single most important determinant of highly
inequitable distribution of rural income and wealth.
Land reform may take the following forms:

a. Transfer of ownership to tenants who already

work the land to create family farms

b. Transfer of lands from large estates to small

farms, rural cooperatives or state farms

c. A p pr opr i at i on o f l ar g e e s t a te s f o r n e w
settlement.
 Why Land Reform is most urgent today:
1. Income inequalities and unemployment in
rural areas have worsened
2. Rapid population growth threatens further
worsening existing inequalities
3. R e c e n t a n d p o t e n t i a l t e c h n o l o g i c a l
breakthroughs in agriculture can be exploited
primarily by large and powerful rural
landholders and result in an increase in power,
wealth and capacity to resist future reform.
2. Supportive Policies

The full benefits of small scale agricultural

development cannot be realized unless
government support systems are created that
provide the necessary incentives, economic
opportunities and access to needed credit and
inputs to enable small cultivators to expand
their output and raise their productivity.
3. Integrated Development Policies
Rural development though dependent primarily on
small-farmer agricultural progress, implies much more.
It encompasses:
a. Efforts to raise both farm and nonfarm rural real
incomes through job creation, rural industrialization
and the increased provision of education, health and
nutrition, housing and a variety of related social and
welfare services
b. A decreasing inequality in the distribution of
r u ra l i n c o m e s a n d a l e s s e n i n g o r u r b a n - r u r a l
imbalances in incomes and economic opportunities
c. Capacity of the rural sector to sustain and
accelerate the pace of these improvements over time
 The Important Role of Women
qWomen provide 60% to 80% of agricultural
labor in Africa and Asia, and 40% in Latin
America

qWomen work longer hours than men

qGovernment assistance programs tend to reach

men, not women
IV. Why the continued under-use of
agriculture for development?
Cross-section
Structural transformation in Asia Bangladesh
Cambodia
Hong Kong, China
India
1.0 Indonesia
Korea, Rep.
0.9 Malaysia
Myanmar
Pakistan
0.8 Papua New Guinea
China Philippines
0.7 Thailand
China
India Vietnam
0.6 Taiwan, China

0.5 Bangladesh

0.4 Pakistan
Rep. Korea
Malaysia
0.3

0.2

0.1
Normal pattern
0.0
4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.5
Log of GDP per capita (constant 2000 US$)

73
Successful structural transformations in Asia
 IV. Why the continued under-use of
agriculture for development?
Structural transformation in Sub-Saharan Structural transformation in Latin America and
Africa Cross-section
Angola Caribbean Cross-section
Argentina
Benin Bolivia
Cameroon Brazil
1.0 1.0 Chile
Chad
Colombia
Cote d'Ivoire 0.9 Dominican Republic
0.9 Kenya Ecuador
Madagascar 0.8 Guatemala
0.8 Honduras
Niger
Chad Haiti
0.7 Nigeria 0.7 Mexico
Rwanda Peru
Senegal 0.6 Paraguay
0.6 El Salvador
South Africa
Togo 0.5 x Venezuela, RB
0.5 Tanzania
Cote d'Ivoire Togo
0.4 Zambia 0.4
Zimbabwe
0.3 0.3
Nigeria
0.2 0.2
South Africa
0.1 0.1
Normal pattern
0.0 0.0
4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.5
Log of GDP per capita (constant 2000 US$) Log of GDP per capita (constant 2000 US$)

But agriculture is still under- and mis-used in Africa and Latin

America: Labor is pushed out of agriculture without associated74
growth in GDP per capita
 IV. Why the continued under-use of
agriculture for development?
qResources are being committed to a Green
Revolution for Africa (NEPAD, G8, WB, AGRA),
but will it succeed?
qWhat we know: It must be different from the
Asian GR because of
§Heterogeneity of conditions
 Need decentralization and participation
§Multiple effective constraints
 Need a multisectoral approach
§Small countries
 Need regional cooperation 75
 IV. Why the continued under-use of
agriculture for development?
qIt must be different from the Asian Green Revolution
In addition:
•It must go beyond cereals to include high value activities
•It must deal with sustainability and environmental friendliness
Beyond the seed-fertilizer-water package toward agro-ecology, agro-forestry,
and conservation agriculture.
•It must address brand new challenges
Energy prices, climate change, integrated value chains, globalization
•It must succeed urgently given the rapid changes in the world food
situation and distress of rural populations.

Answer: Continued under-use because we do not know enough

about how to do it, and are not adequately equipped to do it
successfully 76
V. Conditions for success in using agriculture
for development
q Proposition: Two conditions for success in using
agriculture for development

q Condition 1: Need to re-conceptualize the role of

agriculture for development in the new paradigm
1) Recognize the complementarities and trade-offs in the multiple
functions of agriculture for development
q Define country priorities and strategy
2) Design the process of agricultural growth to achieve development
beyond market forces
q With eventual growth opportunity costs (e.g., debate on farm size)
3) Redefine the role of the state in support of agriculture
q State to set social priorities among conflicting functions, overcome market
failures, regulate, and engage in private-public partnerships.
77
V. Conditions for success in using agriculture
for development
q Condition 2: Need to re-design approaches for
effective implementation in the new paradigm

1) Experiment with new approaches and internalize lessons for

scaling up successes in policy and practice
q Derive lessons from past mistakes and identify impacts in new options
2) Fix the governance structure for the state to fulfill its new
functions for agriculture
q Redesign ministries of agriculture to use growth for development with a
territorial perspective and a role for producer organizations
3) Develop expertise in using agriculture for development
q At the local (decentralization), national, and international levels
q Key role of the FAO as source of world expertise in using agriculture
for development
78
 VI. Conclusion: The way forward
Positive developments in support of using agriculture
for development: Grounds for optimism
qGreater public awareness of importance of agriculture
for development, including poverty, gender, environment
qMore resources committed by governments, foreign aid,
new players, private sector
qMore attention from politicians to food crises, hunger
qBut can we deliver?
qDo we know how to do it?
qDo we have the capacity to do it?
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 VI. Conclusion: The way forward
Guidelines for a successful use of agriculture for
development: Grounds for concern
qThe biggest mistake we can make is believe that it is
easy to do and that we already know enough to do it.
qEffort must be massive, concerted, and sustained to
succeed: commitments must be met and continued
qShort term political concerns with food must be
translated into long term concerns with agriculture
qNew approaches must be devised and evaluated(WDR)
qCapacity to effectively use the resource committed is
the main limiting factor to be addressed (FAO). 80
 VI. Conclusion: The way forward

Making the emerging paradigm of

Agriculture for Development succeed
is essential but still uncertain

It is a major challenge and opportunity

that the international community must
address

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