Common lands declined in area, productivity, and employment generation, and these changes hit poor people hardest since they depended most on these lands. Technology Development Improved agricultural technology, particularly more productive cultivars, is an important source of productivity growth in rainfed areas. Successfully introducing better agricultural technology will require that agricultural research and extension systems increase their focus on clients and appreciate the complex and often location-specific factors that determine technology adoption. For example, plant breeders need to pay more attention to fodder value, grain quality, and drought resistance. Fertilizer recommendations need to be tailored to location-specific agroclimatic conditions and rainfall fluctuations.
More attention needs to be paid to improving indigenous soil and water management systems.
Biotechnology may be a source of raised productivity, helping stabilize yields through drought tolerance and pest resistance. Government investment will be needed to apply biotechnology to less-favored areas that the private sector will likely bypass. Institutional Reforms in Natural Resource Management Land and water resources could be better managed by reforming outdated laws and bureaucratic procedures. Uneven access to land can prevent the most efficient allocation of land and complementary inputs such as labor, while insecure tenure inhibits investment in land improvement and conservation. Opening up lease markets would provide secure tenure to those poor people who can access agricultural land only through tenancy.