The process by which poor countries develop involves a wrenching transition in which agriculture is pulled up to the productivity levels of the rest of the economy.

Establishing efficient policy mechanisms to guide developing economies through the structural transformation should be a priority of world governments in the twenty-first century.

Until very recently, the world was overwhelmingly agrarian and poor; today, an increasing number of developed societies are both overwhelmingly affluent and urban. But the role of agriculture in economic development presents a paradox. On the one hand, the transition out of agriculture is essential for the "structural transformation" that...

The role of agriculture is steadily diminishing in the world economy.