General trends of technological changes in agriculture

In this article we show that technological development in agriculture exhib its general trends when assessed on a large scale. These trends are generat ed by changes in the larger socioeconomic context in which the farming syst em operates. We characterize agricultural performance by land and farm labo r productivity and the pattern of use of technological inputs. By means of a cross-sectional analysis of agricultural performance of 20 countries (at the national level), we show that increases in demographic pressure and soc ioeconomic pressure (increases in average income and labor productivity) in society are the main driving forces of technological development in agricu lture. Further, it is shown that the ecological impact of farming (environm ental loading) is linked to the particular combination of land productivity and labor productivity at which the agricultural sector operates (through the particular mix and the level of inputs used in agricultural production) . Briefly we discuss the role of international trade in agricultural polici es and performance. Special attention is given to the situation of Chinese agriculture.