Pearl Harbor Essays (1515 words) - Attack On Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor On 7 December 1941 the greatest disaster in United States history occurred. Truly this was and is, A date which will live in infamy.(Costello 1), but not for the bombing of Pearl Harbor, rather for the deception and the mis-guidance used by the Government and Franklin D. Roosevelt. In a purely artificial chess game Roosevelt sacrificed over 2400 American Seamens lives, thanks to his power as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. By over-looking the obvious facts of an attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt was able to control both the political and economic systems of the United States. Most of American society before the Pearl Harbor bombing believed in the idea of isolationism. Franklin D. Roosevelt knew this, and knew the only way in which United States countrymen would take arms and fight in Europes War was to be an overt action against the United States by a member of the Axis Power. Roosevelt also believed Hitler would not declare war on the United States unless he knew they were beatable. There are numerous accounts of actions by Roosevelt and his top armed forces advisors, which reveal they were not only aware of an attack by Japan, but also they were planning on it, and instigating that attack. On 7 October 1940, Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. McCollum, head of the Far East desk of the Office of Naval Intelligence, wrote the eight-action memo. This memo outlined eight different steps the United States could do that he predicted would lead to an attack by Japan on the United States. The day after this memo was giving to Franklin D. Roosevelt, he began to implement these steps. By the time that Japan finally attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, all eight steps had occurred (Willy 1). The eight steps consisted of two main subject areas; the first being a sign of United States military preparedness and threat of attack, the second being a forceful control on Japans trade and economy. The main subject area of the eight-action memo was the sign of United States military preparedness and threat of attack. McCollum called for the United States to make arrangements with both Britain (Action A) and Holland (Action B), for the use of military facilities and acquisition of supplies in both Singapore and Indonesia. He also suggested for the deployment of a division of long-range heavy cruisers (Action D) and two divisions of submarines (Action E) to the Orient. The last key factor McCollum called for was to keep the United States Fleet in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands (Action F). Roosevelt personally took charge of Actions D and E; these actions were called pop up cruises. Roosevelt had this to say about the cruises, I just want them to keep popping up here and there and keep the Japs guessing (Stinnett 9). With the fleet located around Hawaii and particularly in Pearl Harbor a double-sided sword was created; it allowed for quicker deployment times into South Pacif ic Water, but more importantly it lacked many fundamental military needs, and was vulnerable due to its geographic location. To understand the true vulnerability of Pearl Harbor one must look at Oahu, the Hawaiian Island that the military base is located. The North part of the island is all mountains, these mountains hinder the vision of military look out points, making an attack from the North virtually a surprise until the sound of fighter planes are over head. There were many key military needs that were missing from Pearl Harbor, and they were; a lack of training facilities, lack of large-scale ammunition and fuel supplies, lack of support craft such as tugs and repair ships, and a lack of overhaul facilities such as dry-docking and machine shops. Commander in Chief, United States Fleet - Admiral James O. Richardson, was outraged when he was told by President Roosevelt of his plans on keeping the fleet in Hawaiian Waters. Richardson knew of the problems and vulnerability of Pearl Harbor, the safety of his men and warships was paramount. In a luncheon with Roosevelt, Richardson confronted the President, and by doing so ended his military career. Four months later Richardson

De Gaulles veto to British accession to EEC

De Gaulles veto to British accession to EEC Free Online Research Papers Charles de Gaulle, the French president successfully vetoed Britain’s accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1963 and 1967. In this research paper I wish to look at some of the reasons and experiences, which influenced de Gaulle in his decision. But before enlisting the causes let us see why was then a need for a unified Europe. As early as the 19th century significant thinkers of their times, such as Kant, Rousseau, Victor Hugo had their concepts on the degree and nature of union and association European national states were to form in order to ensure economic, political union. After World War I the necessity for some type of European integration to reorganise the European political map became evident. Three facts that led nations towards integration: 1. First, the countries of Europe realised their relative weakness. The war had been a drain on both the Allies and the Axes budget and they couldn’t do without the American Recovery programs to get their economies going (Marshall Plan). The European hegemony in the world had also come to an end leaving two superpowers in the spotlight, the USA and Russian and the coming of a Cold War. 2. Second, any confrontation among European states was believed to be prevented by any means. Basically it was the question of finding the best possible method to make peace between France and Germany. 3. Third, a desire among Europeans to establish a â€Å"freer, fairer and more prosperous continent†. Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister, in his Zurich speech in 1946 called for a union of the European states, which was considered the first step towards European integration: â€Å"It is to recreate the European Family, or as much of it as we can, and to provide it with a structure under which it can dwell in peace in safety and in freedom. We must build a kind of United States of Europe †¦ The first step in the recreation of European Family must be a partnership between France and Germany.† Even the United States government was convinced that barriers to free trade had been largely responsible for the international tensions that led to the outbreak of World War II. Moreover the adoption of a free trade policy became a basic condition for any country to receive American economic aid. In 1949 two institutions were established: the great Western military alliance formed together with the USA, that was the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (the NATO) and the Council of Europe, which meant another major step forward. A very influential push in the process of foundation of the European Community was given by the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman’s declaration. He suggested that France, Germany and any other European country interested pooling their coal and steel resources: â€Å"the pooling of coal and steel production should immediately provide for the setting up of common foundations for economic development as a first step in the federation of Europe.† After the failure of the European Defence Community (EDC) which existed between 1950 and 1954 the integration process went on with the Treaty of Paris that was signed in April 1951 establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) by six countries: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Low Countries and Luxembourg. It seemed to be evident that economic integration was the only practical way toward a political union that would be achieved in the long run. The Six met in a conference in Messina in 1955 where they reached such agreements which meant a definitive step in the European construction: in 1957 they signed the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). When the Six established their first major association leading to closer integration, that is ECSE, Britain kept his distance, didn’t join the institution as he felt it wouldn’t bring any benefit compared to its transatlantic and Commonwealth relations. The absence of the United Kingdom constituted a main political problem for the EEC, for which the following reasons can give an explanation: ? The commercial, political and sentimental bonds with the former colonies that were integrated in the Commonwealth were very important for the British. ? The British were against a customs union, though the British government defended the establishment of a free trade area, where internal customs were abolished but the national governments could maintain their competences to enact their own tariffs in case of third countries. ? Britain also opposed the idea of a project whose aim was to give up the sovereignty of national states and surrender to supranational European institutions. The OEEC countries with the leadership of Great Britain in January 1960, who didn’t belong to EEC, formed an alternative association, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which remained solely at the level of economic cooperation. However, Britain soon discovered that the newly formed association of the Six (EEC) was more successful economically than the EFTA and decided to apply for membership. Britain’s first application happened under the premiership of Harold McMillan, who was in favour of joining the EEC. The negotiations started in 1961 and a provisional agreement was reached in July 1962. However, Britain’s membership was vetoed by the French president, de Gaulle, in January 1963. The official explanation for his veto was that Britain was not European in thinking, that is he couldn’t break away form the Commonwealth and accept the terms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). His unfavourable decision could have been shaped by his relationship with Winston Churchill. At first there was mutual esteem between the two of them based on a different perception of the other, which was due to their culture and their respective situations. Churchill was familiar with French history and had great admiration for it while de Gaulle’s education didn’t incline him towards friendship with the British. Nonetheless, he acknowledged Churchill’s great political and diplomatic experience. The relationship between them had been on a even keel until 1941 when a number of external factors and in particular the entry of the USA into war created tension on their relationship. De Gaulle became extremely sensitive to any Allied interference, especially in France’s colonial empire. The entry of the USA as a powerful ally into World War II also worsened the situation in that that president Roosevelt continued considering France a defeated nation and looking upon de Gaulle as an arrogant, dangerous, blundering adventurer who in no way represented the French. Even Churchill was unable to make Roosevelt change his opinion of de Gaulle and resigned himself to following his political guidelines at the expense of a a closer alliance of Free France and event at the cost of his friendship with the General. In his memoir â€Å" The call of Honour (1955) de Gaulle wrote about this situation that†¦ †Churchill had made for himself a rule to do nothing important except in agreement with Roosevelt. Though he felt †¦the awkwardness of Washington’s methods, though he found it hard to bear the condition of subordination in which United States aid placed the British Empire†¦, Churchill had decided †¦ to bow to the imperious necessity of the American alliance.† Disagreements began to emerge between them especially after two incidents, which ere provide by Allied landing on French soil on both occasions de Gaulle/French were not informed nor included in the operations. These occasional disagreements could also have added to the factors, which influenced him in his negative attitude towards British accession. In may 1943 in a top secret telegram to his ministers from Washington, Churchill said about de Gaulle that â€Å"†he hates England and has left a trail of Anglophobia behind him everywhere† When vetoing Britain’s entry, de Gaulle said that Britain was not European minded enough to break away from the Commonwealth and accept CAP. The other reason included Britain’s close relationship with the US in terms of defence and fear of increasing American influence in case of British interference with European affairs. As for de Gaulle’s ideas of a union, he wished for a Europe without the United States, outside a transatlantic framework. He also had great power aspiration, a concept of a triumvirate (US, GB,F) with nuclear weapons, which idea however wasn’t favoured by the US. When first declining Britain’s request to be member of the EEC, de Gaulle refused this idea of â€Å"Atlantic† Europe. Britain’s second application occurred when Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister. He said in 1966 that now Britain was ready to apply for EEC membership in case certain British interests were secured. The next year saw the beginning of negotiations, however de Gaulle used his veto right again. The official explanation was that Britain was not strong economically and needed to improve before its acceptance but he actually feared the American influence would be felt in European matters. Only after de Gaulle’s resignation because of home affairs opened up the possibility for Britain to join the EEC, which occurred in 1973. Research Papers on De Gaulle’s veto to British accession to EECAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Definition of Export QuotasPETSTEL analysis of IndiaBringing Democracy to AfricaQuebec and CanadaTwilight of the UAWThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesCapital Punishment

Perform a rhetorical analysis of a work of your choosing Essay - 2

Perform a rhetorical analysis of a work of your choosing - Essay Example His words became a basis for us to understand the social and political condition of the era. It was a moment for the blacks and even those whites and others who were subjected to inequality and racial subjugation to see the bright future when all human beings irrespective of their caste, color or creed would be treated equally on all social, political and cultural levels. The speech took the form of political treatise with the words getting a political favor and a rhythmic tone while making the use of imagery, frequent repetition and alliteration. There is simplicity in the speech yet was quite forceful to shake the foundations of the American decrees. The first part espoused not the America of their dreams but shattering nightmares of Americans when they had to face racial abuse in every sphere of their lives. As King proclaimed, â€Å"we can never be satisfied† (226), had deep political overtures which challenged the white ruling government that just mere ‘wordsâ€℠¢ now would have no effect on them and they should get their dues. The second half of the speech took the shape of the verbatim voice further exhibiting the cause of freedom. Now was no time to involve in tranquilizing the spirit of freedom gradually but this was a time of a drastic change and to make promises that would change the lives of each American. Anaphoric device used by King made the speech the most powerful form of expression and increased the rhetorical impact. â€Å"I have a dream† is repeated eight times throughout the text and has become one of the most cited examples of anaphora. Similarly other words like â€Å"Now is the time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  in paragraph 6, â€Å"We must†¦Ã¢â‚¬  in paragraph 8, and â€Å"Go back to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  in paragraph 14 are all repetitive words intentionally used many times to make the world understand the intensity and depth of what he was speaking. Through these words, he made people realized that these were not merely spoke n words but to put the same into practice. Repetition helps the people to remember the words and also to imbibe them in their mind, heart and soul and King ardently applied this technique to stimulate them to carry the momentum of their struggle forward and towards their successful end. Martin Luther King explicitly implied direct quotations from historical and literary works to give thrust to his speech and at the same time implicitly made use of the allusions to arouse the consciousness of the audience towards his words. â€Å"Five score years ago† in paragraph two of his speech from Gettysburg address had a deep emotional impact as the King spoke just at the Lincoln memorial. Referring to the United States Declaration of Independence, King retorted â€Å"life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness† (225) would be the norm in America and from the Jeremiah 2: 13 he urged, â€Å"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness an d hatred† (225). These pleas allowed the minds of all the listeners to get disposed towards his words as he said even the Declaration of the Independence and constitution had not given them their rights for which they were promised. By making people aware of this document, he insisted his brethren towards the real situation of racism which even after this promissory note was prevalent in their lives. King persuaded all to unite together for a common cause and be judged not by the color of their skin but by their attributes and character. These words created an

Women's studies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women's studies - Assignment Example It can be liposuction which is also known as tummy reduction, breast enlargement and reduction and more popularly, Cosmetic Surgery has been used by the older generation of women who feel that they need to look better than they already do. By this we mean that they want to alter parts of their bodies to slow down the aging process. The most common and most frequent form of cosmetic surgery that is normally performed on these women is abdominoplasty which mainly involves reshaping the abdomen to give it a firm characteristic as well as shape it. The other is the blepharoplasty which is normally the reshaping of the eyelids and the areas around the eye. Aging in the women is normally on the faces and this procedure involves the removal of the excess tissue and in the process reinforcing the muscles. The criticism that is levelled against these women is that they should accept who they really are and should also be proud of their age. The procedure is also considered ethical and immoral as well as one that goes against nature where age cannot be reversed. Women who don’t undergo the procedure are those who are proud of their age and those who feel they are still beautiful despite having grown and matured. My thought on the issue is that if the procedure is not a medical case, it is best to accept who we are as change such as aging is inevitable. Gender reassignment is a surgical procedure where the gender factors of an individual such as the resemblance, the physical appearance as well as the way of life are changed to be like those of the opposite sex. The procedure is normally performed mainly at an early age as therapy and treatment for gender identity disorder or transgender. The person who undergoes the procedure is thus referred to as transgender. The procedure normally involves a series of activities where the genitals are changed

Accounting for Small Business Essay Example for Free

Accounting for Small Business Essay ABSTRACT SMEs play a very important role in Indias economy and have a great potential for strengthening the real sector in India. But there has not been appropriate infrastructure yet which is accounting system to show the business feasibility. Traditional business in Indian Villages had been started by a family and ancestors, but has gotten bigger now. This business has many strengths and weaknesses. Based on the condition and background, the proposed-accounting system has been developed. It has been also successfully tested for a month transaction and revised. Adding knowledge management into accounting system is an alternative way to develop the proposed-accounting system. The four modes of knowledge creation will facilitate the business and its owner to add some modules in accounting system and to reengineer the business process. See more: Distinguish between problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping Essay INTRODUCTION: Small business plays a very important role in Indias economy, particularly in aspects increased employment, income generating, economic development. In addition, this sector is considered as a driving force for the rural economy. But until now there are still many problems to hinder the small business growth. Facts in the Asia Pacific region revealed that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) employ about 60 percent of the workforce. Only 10 percent of the total companies in Asia Pacific which is a big business, the rest are SMEs. For India, according to Small Medium Business Corner (SMBC) data in 2012 the numbers of micro, small and medium enterprises develop into 130 Lakhs (http://www.smeindia.net/export_schemes/OverviewofMSME.html) by giving employment to 410 Lakhs people and able to contribute to the total national GDP amounted to 8-9 percent in 2012. Basic problem of management in small business is inability of owners to determine their management style that appropriate with the business need and development stage. In early stage of business, family management style leads to one-man show. According to improvement of business environment, that conventional style could not be pushed longer. Especially in financial management, the business owners could not be able to separate the financial management of business and family yet. Besides, they have not well planned, managed and reported periodically yet. It is caused by there is no appropriate infrastructure which is accounting system. The impact is that the owners of small business have difficulties to cooperate with external such as bank or another financial institution. The owners have difficulties to show their feasibility business when they want to propose credit or make a business contract with another business. Based on the importance of an accounting system, this research results a proposed-accounting system which can be applied by owners of small business in India. The proposed-accounting system is a generic model of purchasing and selling system that should be enhanced according to business need and by refer to the knowledge management approach. LITERATURE REVIEW: ACCOUNTING SYSTEM: According to Gillespie, accounting system is an organization of document, form and report which is managed to provide information for management. Based on that definition, elements of accounting system are documents, forms and reports, but still concern with procedure and internal control. Therefore, proposed-elements in this study will refer to it. SMALL BUSINESS: Under the law of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (2008), definition of SMEs in India is explained by the table below. Based on the definition, the research object is categorized as a small business. DEFINITION OF SMES IN INDIA Enterprises engaged in providing or rendering of services (i) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment does not exceed Rs. 10 lakh; (ii) A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs.10 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 2 crore; and (iii) A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs. 2 crore but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore. Enterprises engaged in the manufacture or production, processing or preservation of goods (i) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where investment in plant and machinery does not exceed Rs. 25 lakh; (ii) A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs. 25 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore; and (iii) A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs.5 crore but does not exceed Rs.10 crore. SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT: System development in this study will follow the three main steps a.System analysis: Activities in this stage are initial study, feasibility study, requirement definition, and specification system arrangement. b.System design:   After finishing system analysis, the next activities are system design, system building and system testing. c.System implementation:   Based on system testing, a revised system will be established. Finally, system is implemented and operated. At this stage, company will conduct maintenance activity. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Since this study wants to develop a proposed-accounting system, â€Å"Research and development† approach which is applied in this study is a research program that is followed by a development program. It is a combination of descriptive study that describes the actual phenomenon in an object and exploratory research that develops a proposed -accounting system. A proposed-accounting system is focused on purchasing and selling system since those are the main activities in the business. The location of this study, Traditional small business in Indian Villages, was chosen on purpose, because this business in the Villages has significantly improved in sales and human empowering, also government is paying attention by giving assistantship for both management and technology. Primary data of this study was the results of guided interviews and observation. The steps of this study are designed as follow: a.Initial study Preliminary research was conducted to comprehend previous studies and literature, guided questionnaire drafting, and Traditional business understanding. b.System requirement defining At this stage, the data was obtained by interview with business owners and observation directly to the business. By understanding the research object condition and background, also the strength and weakness, the accounting system requirement could be defined. c.Development of proposed-accounting system At this stage, development of proposed-accounting system was managed by interviews, observation, and group discussion among owners, researcher and government, related to main accounting system elements, which are document, form and report. In its development, knowledge management approach was proposed to use since it can facilitate business daily operation into business standard operation. The result of this stage was a proposed-accounting system. d.Testing and implementation Testing was accomplished by implementing the proposed system to handle a month transactions. Owners and their staff used it to run transactions of purchasing and selling for a month. By running the system, problems were found and then they were used to revise the system. At this stage, a revised-accounting system was established. e.Conclusions and recommendations In the final stage of this study, conclusions and suggestions from all research processes were stated. RESULT AND DISCUSSION: PROFILE OF TRADITIONAL BUSINESS IN INDIAN VILLAGES: India is one of the major exporter and supplier of handicrafts and gift products to the world market. The Indian handicrafts industry is highly labor intensive and decentralized, being spread all across the country in rural and urban areas. The sector is considered as the second largest employment-generating sector after agriculture with numerous artisans engaged in craft work on a part-time basis. The industry offers employment to over 6 million artisans, including a large number of women and people from the weaker sections of society. The present day handicraft tradition of India is a perfect example of assimilation between the traditional designs and modern techniques. The fast growing demand for Indian handicraft and gifts products have made this sector a full-fledged large scale organized industry that is growing day by day. History The rich history of India’s craft tradition has evolved over the centuries offering a legacy of Indian culture promising everything beauty, dignity, form and style. The variety is comprehensive and ranges from age-old stone carvings to modern handicrafts making use of glass flints and mirrors. The most popular crafts, include metalware, earthenware, pottery, sculpting, woodwork, hand-printed textiles and scarves, embroidered and crocheted goods, shawls, zari products, stone carving and imitation jewelry. There is a myriad of art and craft traditions in India that depend on social, economic and regional factors. The present status of the sector in India owes much to the rich crafts history and tradition of the past. Majority of the crafts from the past continues to flourish due to their utilitarian characteristics, availability to the common people and popularity in domestic and global markets. Today, some of the sectors within the craft industry have even become full fledged industries in their own, like carpet weaving, traditional textile (Banarsi silk sari, Chikankari etc), gem cutting and polishing, jewelry making, the world famous diamond cutting and polishing industry, brassware, jute products, etc. The growth of these industries is due to their ever-increasing demand and the popularity of Indian crafts in the domestic market and overseas. Gems and jewelry, carpet making, metalware, leather products, jute products etc. are some industries, which are growing rapidly.

Free Handmaids Tale Essays: The Red Motif :: Handmaids Tale Essays

The Red Motif in The Handmaid's Tale In the dystopian novel "The Handmaid's Tale" written by Margaret Atwood, the recurrent appearance of the color red draws an interesting yet perverse parallel between femininity and violence. The dominant color of the novel, red is associated with all things female. However, red is also the color of blood; death and violence therefore are closely associated with women in this male-dominated ultraconservative government. We are first introduced to the color red when the narrator is describing how she gets dressed: "The red gloves are lying on the bed. Everything except the wings around my face is red; the color blood, which defines us." Here, we are unsure if Atwood is referring to blood as menstrual and feminine, or as the result of disobedience and the violence which results. The women of "Handmaid" are cloaked in red as a reminder of their fertility. However, in the context of Gilead, red is not just menstrual blood or blood resulting from birth; the red is a threat of death. Offred would later say, "I never looked good in red, It's not my color. "Red tulips are also a recurrent image in "The Handmaid's Tale." Tulips, often seen as llonic symbols in many works, can be interpreted this way also. Tulips are women, and red tulips are women cloaked in red, red blood. On page 12 Offred narrates: "The tulips are red, a darker crimson towards the stem, as if they have been cut and are beginning to heal there." If a deeper interpretation of this thought is warranted, I would think the place where the tulip meets the stem in the neck of the woman, and as the government came in and stripped them of all power they "cut off their heads" in a way by depriving them of money, reading materials, and any type of education. Tulips, like the cloaks, are symbols of violence against females in the perverse world of Gilead. A blatant use of red to relate women with violence can be seen on page 32: "But on one bag there's blood, which has seeped through the white cloth, where the mouth must have been. It makes another mouth, a small red one. . . This smile of blood is what fixes the attention finally." The men who are hanging are meant to scare, as Atwood clearly states, yet meant to scare who?

Chains and Sustainable Development Essay

Those of us who preach the gospel of agriculture with evangelical zeal find the text compelling and convincing. We are regularly possessed by the spirit only to look around and see out colleagues, in other sectors, in country management, or even our senior management doubting, yawning or subtly edging towards the door. We face the implicit query, â€Å"If agriculture can do such great things, why have they not yet happened? †1 The past decade has been one of agro-pessimism. The promises that agricultural development seem to hold did not materialise. This pessimism seemed to coincide with pessimism about Sub-Saharan Africa. Especially for Sub-Saharan Africa the hope was that economic development would be brought about by agricultural development. After the success of the green revolution in Asia, the hope was that a similar agricultural miracle would transform African economies. But this hope never materialised, agricultural productivity did not increase much in SSA (figure 1), and worse, the negative effects of the green revolution in Asia became more apparent, such as pesticide overuse and subsequent pollution. Also in Asia the yield increases tapered off. The sceptics put forward several arguments why agriculture is no longer an engine of growth2. For instance, the liberalisation of the 1990s and greater openness to trade has lead to a reduction in the economic potential of the rural sector: cheap imported Chinese plastic buckets out compete the locally produced pottery. On the other hand, it does mean cheaper (imported) supplies. With rapid global technical change and increasingly integrated markets, prices fall faster than yields rise. So, rural incomes fall despite increased productivity if they are net producers3. The integration of rural with urban areas means that healthy young people move out of agriculture, head to town, leaving behind the old, the sick and the dependent. It is often also the men who move to urban areas, leaving women in charge of the farm. This has resulted in the increased sophistication of agricultural markets (and value chains) which excludes traditional smallholders, who are poorly equipped to meet the demanding product specifications and timeliness of delivery required by expanding supermarkets. The natural resource base on which agriculture depends is poor and deteriorating. Productivity growth is therefore increasingly more difficult to achieve. Finally, multiplier effects occur when a change in spending causes a disproportionate change in aggregate demand. Thus an increase in spending produces an increase in national income and consumption greater than the initial amount spent. But as GDP rises and the share of agriculture typically decreases, the question is how important these multiplier effects are, especially when significant levels of poverty remain in rural areas, which is the case in middleincome countries. The disappointment with agriculture led many donor organisations to turn away from agriculture, looking instead to areas that would increase the well-being of poor people, such as health and education. Those organisations that still focused on agriculture, such as the CGIAR, were put under pressure to focus more on reducing poverty, besides increasing agricultural productivity. However, since the beginning of the new century, there seems to be a renewed interest in agriculture. A review of major policy documents5, including the well-publicised Sachs report and the Kofi Annan report, show that agriculture is back on the agenda again. The most influential report, however, has been the World Development Report 2008 of the World Bank6. This report argues that growth in the agricultural sector 1 contributes proportionally more to poverty reduction than growth in any other economic sector and that therefore alone, the focus should be on the agricultural sector when achieving to reach MDG 1. A reassessment of the role of agriculture in development seems to be required. This policy paper addresses several timely though complex questions: †¢ First, how can or does agriculture contribute to economic development, and in particular how does it relate to poverty? †¢ Second, the agricultural sector has changed considerably in the past decades: what are the main drivers of this change? †¢ Third, what is the relationship between economic or agricultural growth and pro-poor development? †¢ Fourth, how does agriculture relate to other sectors in the economy? †¢ Fifth, who is included and who is excluded in agricultural development, specifically focusing on small farms? †¢ And finally, if agricultural development is indeed important to economic development, then why, despite all the efforts and investments, has this not led to more successes? 2. Agriculture and economic growth This section presents a number of factual observations describing how the agricultural sector changed in terms of productivity, contribution to economic growth, and indicating the relevance of the agricultural sector for poverty alleviation in different regions. Background: some facts In the discussion of the role of agriculture in economic development, a leading question is how agriculture contributes to economic growth, and especially to pro-poor growth. There seems to be a paradox in the role of agriculture in economic development. The share of agriculture contributing to GDP is declining over the years (see figure 1). At the same time, the productivity of for instance cereal yields has been increasing (see figure 2). It seems that as agriculture becomes more successful, its importance declines in the overall economy. Of course, other sectors in the economy can be even more successful, such as the Asian Tigers.