The critical role of agriculture The majority of poor people in developing countries live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for both food and income. Unfortunately, many developing countries have neglected the rural sector, giving priority instead to urban areas and the drive for industrialization. What little attention agriculture has received has focused, more often than not, on cash crops for export rather than on staple food crops for local consumption. In recent years, the developed world has also paid less attention to helping developing countries to increase agricultural production. Between 1980 and 1990, the share of development assistance directed to agriculture dropped from 20 to 14 percent.   pdf version of this graph       Yet, in many cases, the most effective way to strengthen food security and improve the lives of the poor is by helping the agricultural sector. Increased agricultural production can raise the incomes of farmers and agricultural workers, providing them with the money to purchase agricultural inputs, services and consumer goods. This, in turn, increases employment opportunities in rural areas and helps slow down migration to urban centres. These benefits are not restricted to the countryside; eventually they will reach the urban poor as more food becomes available in markets and food prices stabilize or decline. At the same time, a reduction in food imports will free foreign exchange for the purchase of capital goods and investment in local infrastructure, stimulating growth in a wide variety of productive enterprises and providing a further boost to employment and incomes in both rural and urban areas.