Within the context of the globalization of agriculture, the main challenge facing NARS is to
contribute to the development of a competitive agricultural sector. A sector that is highly
productive and efficient, that supplies a variety of quality and safe products that not only meet
domestic food security demands but also targets and penetrates other markets. Unfortunately,
the development of such a competitive, broad based agriculture will have to take place under
conditions characterized in many countries today by a dwindling natural resource endowment
(land, water, and biodiversity) largely due to inappropriate technologies and exploitation of
marginal lands. Other constraints to be tackled include: intractable post harvest losses, a
fractured production, processing marketing chain, and weak institutional capacities. The
responses of NARS to these challenges constitute and reflect their changing ARD needs.
Many NARS especially the stronger and larger ones are already moving in this direction by
strategically repositioning themselves to address the following needs.