Completed The DAC/POVNET Agriculture Task Group is currently working on a programme of policy development which seeks to address the changing context for agriculture in developing countries and to establish what policy implications these changes have for donor policies for poverty reduction. The Group will identify how donor policies should be adapted to promote pro-poor growth agriculture development in the new context by in-depth assessments of four main themes: changing demand and supply; global food chains; linkages between rural and urban areas; and chronic poverty. The programme seeks to establish what the impact of changes in these areas will be on agriculture in developing countries and on how they affect the rural poor in particular. The preparation and presentation of papers for the DAC POVNET Agriculture Task Group meeting in Helsinki, 16-18 June 2004. Decentralisation has great potential for contributing to more efficient and accountable development but it should involve real local decision-making power and budgetary control, which currently is rarely the case. Also real participation in local governance, especially in small urban centres and rural areas, requires that the objectives be clarified, that there is clear political commitment to it (as well as to the necessary changes in power relations) and that participation is linked to local planning. 'Better' governance is key to a broad range of developmental goals, including greater equity, greater justice, the protection of human rights and of key natural resources, and the achievement of greater democracy; but these require financial resources, capacity, legitimacy and, especially, time to develop a process that responds to the needs and priorities of different groups in different locations. To address papers on:*Migration and Rural-Urban and its Relevance to Policy for Rural Poverty Reduction.*The Implications of Rural-Urban Change for the Rural Poor and Rural Poverty Reduction Policy.*The Role of Small Urban Centres / Market Towns and the Value of Regional Approaches to Rural Poverty Reduction Policy.*Global Food Chains.*Buyer-driven chains - demand-driven chains.*Bulk commodity chains - supply-driven chains. Two issues papers were prepared and presented as detailed in the Terms of Reference for the project.