Patterns of agricultural growth and economic development

The changes in international patterns of growth and productivity in agriculture described reflect distinctly different regional development paths. The paths were not unexpected; they tend to reflect the underlying and changing patterns of factor endowments and reinforce the notion that production techniques are adjusted to economize on the use of relatively scarce or expensive factors. The measured changes in factor productivity reflect substantial regional variation in output per hectare, output per worker, and in the factor mix of land and labor. A thorough understanding of agricultural development and the design of agricultural research policy requires an appreciation of historical development patterns. Since the nature and level of research investment are driven by the productivity of conventional inputs to agriculture and will, in turn, affect their future productivity, an understanding of the linkages between agriculture and other sectors and the dynamics of factor substitution within agriculture is critical for analysis and choice in research policy. -from Authors