in rural towns and large cities over the next 10 to

 20 years? What effects will these changes have on de-

 mand for food products and food marketing services?

 What are the existing characteristics and

 problems of the rural as well as urban consumer

 market for food with respect to quantities purchased

 by different income groups, shopping habits and

 attitudes toward existing retailing services?

 An area of relative neglect in marketing is the back flow (or within rural

area flow) of food, other consumer goods and agricultural inputs through

a hierarchical set of trading arrangements which link individual farmers and

small villages to larger villages, and ultimately to major urban centers.

The effectiveness of this portion of the agricultural marketing system can

have a major impact on the well-being of rural people and on the growth

and development of economic activity in rural areas. For example, there is a

need to understand how the type and effectiveness of marketing/distribution

services influences the mix and quality of foods marketed in rural areas,

and how these services influence farmers' ability to specialize in fewer

crop and livestock enterprises. Recently, researchers have begun to focus

on understanding rural demand and consumption linkages for nonfood inputs

and consumer goods (27). These are an important source of demand for in-

dustrialized products that are well matched to local, effective demand

characteristics. However, more research is needed to understand how to

promote the organization of lower cost mass distribution of these products

to rural consumers.