Agricultural development in LDCs

Abstract

Agriculture is the most important economic activity in LDCs. In the early 1990s this sector provided about a third of the gross domestic product (GDP) of all LDCs, and employed more than two-thirds of the labour force. However, agricultural production has not kept pace with population growth in LDCs: in 1990-1994 agriculture had an annual average growth rate of 2 per cent, which was far less than the annual average population growth rate of almost 3 per cent. Food imports and food aid have thus been significant in meeting the shortfall between domestic agricultural production and food requirements in many LDCs. In 1990-1993, LDCs’ food imports averaged 3.6 per cent of GDP, increasing to almost 5 per cent over the same period for African LDCs, which form the bulk of the LDC group (UNCTAD, 1996).