Volume 3 of this series of the Handbooks in Economics follows on from the previous two volumes by focusing on the fundamental concepts of agricultural economics. The first part of the volume examines the developments in human resources and technology mastery. The second part follows on by considering the processes and impact of invention and innovation in this field. The effects of market forces are examined in the third part, and the volume concludes by analysing the economics of our changing natural resources, including the past effects of climate change.Overall this volume forms a comprehensive and accessible survey of the field of agricultural economics and is recommended reading for anyone with an interest, either academic or professional, in this area.*Part of the renown Handbooks in Economics series*Contributors are leaders of their areas*International in scope and comprehensive in coverage

Volume 3 of this series of the Handbooks in Economics follows on from the previous two volumes by focusing on the fundamental concepts of agricultural economics. The first part of the volume examines the developments in human resources and technology mastery. The second part follows on by considering the processes and impact of invention and innovation in this field. The effects of market forces are examined in the third part, and the volume concludes by analysing the economics of our changing natural resources, including the past effects of climate change. Overall this volume forms a comprehensive and accessible survey of the field of agricultural economics and is recommended reading for anyone with an interest, either academic or professional, in this area. *Part of the renown Handbooks in Economics series *Contributors are leaders of their areas *International in scope and comprehensive in coverage

World Bank Discussion Paper 236. Agricultural support services play an important role in increasing agricultural productivity. Given the importance of agriculture to developing countries, governments have taken the lead in providing such services.

Enduring low agricultural productivity is one of the major causes of rural poverty in South Asia. Based on a review of recent empirical studies, this paper focuses on three key questions: (1) why is agricultural productivity low in the region?; (2) what are the key constraints and opportunities for enhancing agricultural productivity; and (3) what are the effective mechanisms to improve access to key productivity enhancing technologies, factors and services. Two major points raised in the paper are: (a) improved management of land and water is important for increasing productivity, but equally important is farmer access to non land and water-related inputs and services, which through their complementary relationships with water, increase the productivity and value of water. Even if most of the constraints related to land and water are removed through improved management, the resulting gains in productivity may not be sufficient-in the presence of constraints related to other factors and services-to have any significant impacts on poverty. Therefore, in order to generate any major increases in productivity, improved access for farmers to non land and water-related factors and services is also important; (b) access to these factors and services can be improved by providing them in an integrated manner with public-private sector partnerships. Based on examples of various models, initiatives and practices from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, China, Sub-Saharan Africa and other countries, the study suggests a framework for integrated services provision in the agriculture sector, and raises key research issues and questions to be explored.