Examples of these goods and services are agricultural extension services and research and development. The modernisation of agriculture requires comprehensive, country wide, agricultural extension services. Such a service will have to be funded predominantly with public resources. In addition, budget resources are needed to ensure that the rural infrastructure, such as rural feeder roads, is adequate to support commercial agriculture throughout the country.
Scarce budget resources should not be misallocated to the provision and subsidy of marketable inputs, especially those which benefit mainly larger farmers. The second issue I want to highlight is how we can develop a feasible strategy for the transformation of smallholder farming.