provides a useful background especially when viewed in a long-term (50-75 years)

context.

National Goals and Development Planning.

 -Nearly all of the less developed countries are continually preparing

 general development planning statements and project documentation for consider-

 ation by external funding agencies as well as their own domestic government

 agencies. The planning documents usually reflect basic underlying goals of

 increasing GNP per capital, maintaining full employment of the labor force and

 achieving an acceptable degree of equality in the distribution of income and

 economic opportunities. In recent years national planning goals have given

 increased emphasis to improving the relative well-being of rural people

 and to measures that will slow the migration from over-populated rural areas to

 the cities. This shift towards greater concern for the rural poor has been

 reinforced by the policies and program of international development agencies

 (24). As indicated later in this chapter there is need to give serious

 attention to research which will give direction to marketing programs that

 will benefit small farmers and rural communities. But in a broader context,

 agricultural marketing research should support the design and promotion of

 new technologies and new institutional arrangements that will contribute to

 the achievement of a broad set of economic development goals.

 Planning and Conducting Research.

 The lack of basic information about the organization and functioning of

the food system and a general distrust of "middlemen" are common characteris-

tics among the less developed countries. However, social and political pressures

dictate that development programs and public policies be made on the basis of

available but usually very inadequate information and analyses of alternative

courses of action. Policy makers and the small contingent of professionals

who staff the planning units and the ministries of agriculture desperately