Agricultural Policy, Agricultural Sciences, and Rural Development
1990
Murdock, Steve H. | Albrecht, Don E. | Hamm, Rita R.
Agricultural policy and many agricultural scientists have functioned as if rural development and the goals of the larger society were independent of agricultural technology, productivity, and profitability. This paper traces some of the historical changes that have occurred in the socioeconomic and demographic structure of agriculture and of rural areas as agricultural production technologies have been adopted. Future socioeconomic, demographic, and technological changes, and their impact on the agricultural sciences, agriculturally dependent rural areas, and U.S. society are also examined. The clientele for agricultural research and the characteristics of the USA and world populations are likely to alter both the type of science demanded of agricultural scientists and the markets for agricultural products. Agricultural science and policy will be increasingly required to be responsive to social, developmental, environmental, and the productivity needs of an internationally integrated society. The need to more effectively interface the biological, economic, and social sciences is postulated to become of increasing importance as agriculture enters the 21st century.
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