Addressing strategic cross-sectoral issues facing the rural sector. Evaluating the expected payoff from investments means assessing the riskiness of projects and giving consideration to future developments affecting the rural sector. The Changes There are vast changes shaping the future economics of markets for rural products. While some changes are largely unpredictable, many others are. We can count on the technological progress occurring and the world getting richer as a whole.
Richer people mean changes in the form and place of the products they consume.
And, as people get richer, they have different attitudes toward issues such as the environment. The world s population will continue to grow and place yet more pressure on resources. So the changes described below discuss some of the regular and reasonably predictable changes that will occur and the research and development implications that follow. For the unpredictable changes the only research and development implication is to ensure that participants in the industry have the ability to change and adapt to the new circumstances. That itself is a major challenge for the rural sector to face, and the whole issue of innovation and change forms an integral part of this strategic plan.