HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT - Science for Agriculture and Rural Development in Low-income Countries - page 8

security, until the time that food supplies were more or less secure; it includes the
early phase of the Green Revolution period, starting in about 1960; the age of
uncertainty (1975-1985), with emphasis on parity farm income in the Western
world, growing overproduction of food, and trade wars until the Uruguay Round of
the GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, the predecessor of the World
Trade Organization), emergence of environmental concerns; consolidation of the
Green Revolution in the Developing World, attention for adoption of the associated
technologies in 'less-favoured areas'; and the age of adjustment (1986-2001),
characterized by increasing attention for environmental issues, rapid globalization
and integration, emergence of information and communication technology.
The period of reconstruction (1945-1974)
Although agricultural developments differed among individual countries, in broad
lines, a distinction can be made between the developed (in this period largely
equivalent to the 'Western', industrialized) countries and the developing countries
that at the end of WWII were largely ruled as colonies, and became independent in
the course of this period.
Developed countries
In the aftermath of World War II, when many countries, especially in Europe, had
suffered food shortages, the main objective of agricultural policy in the developed
economies was to ensure adequate supplies of food. The dominant driving force for
change was policy focusing on the consumer. The major concern was the need to
stimulate agricultural production using improved technologies and monetary incen-
tives. Consequently, this period was characterized by spectacular production gains
(De Wit 1986), through: (i) rapid integration of mechanization into farming activities,
(ii) increased use of inputs, such as fertilizers and other agro-chemicals and adoption
of crop varieties that effectively could utilize these inputs, (iii) increased levels of
state-funded research and development, particularly in plant and animal genetics,
and farm management. In this period, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the
European (then Community and currently) Union (further referred to as EU) was
formulated and implemented, following the Treaty of Rome (1958).
After restoration of the food supply, government concern increasingly shifted
towards supporting farmers' standards of living. Technological innovation remained
important, but the social welfare of rural communities and income parity for primary
producers became dominant issues in agricultural policies. In a review of agri-
cultural policies of developed countries, James (1971) identified similarities in
policy objectives between the USA, Australia and the EU in terms of their desire to
stabilize agricultural prices and the necessity to ensure an equitable standard of
living for the rural communities.
These objectives can be recognized in the objectives of the CAP, as formulated
in the Treaty of Rome (1958): (i) guarantee food supplies at stable and reasonable
prices; (ii) ensure a fair standard of living for farmers, and (iii) improve agricultural
productivity through technical progress, and develop more rational production