This chapter provides an overview of the patterns, composition, policies and institutional environment that have influenced the performance of the agriculture sector in recent years. The focus is on the changing dynamics of supply and demand for agriculture as a whole and for key commodity...

The agricultural sector's perceived importance in the international development circle waned dramatically after the 1980s, and investments in rural development and agricultural research and development declined sharply. This volume reasserts the role of agricultural and rural development in the...