David Bathrick, Chief of Party, Winrock International, Lima, Peru

This is the fifth in the sub-set of Policy Seminars on the 2020 Vision initiative.

As the world prepares for the new millennium, all countries are trying quickly to adjust to changing needs within the increasingly mobile global marketplace. After years of structural biases and general disinterest in the developing world's agricultural sector, global trade is forcing poorer, agrarian-based economies to assess their natural comparative advantages and quickly adapt. Revolutionary structures, policies, and strategies are required to meet such challenges. The changes under way offer considerable opportunities but many producers and rural residents lack the relevant experiences, skills, and support to adjust. Addressing these daunting needs in a comprehensive framework becomes a critical activity for future well-being.

The center-piece of the new paradigm is the rapid global shift from closed, nationally focused (protected and subsidized) markets to open, global (competitive and less subsidized) markets. Given this dramatic contrast, the new paradigm requires radically different working premises and strategies be introduced quickly, particularly as they relate to the changing agricultural sector.