This volume is the final product of efforts to revisit familiar themes and controversies that have played a crucial role in shaping the way we view rural development. We are in deep gratitude to all the colleagues and organisations that have assisted us in the different stages of the project.

The idea for this volume drew inspiration from a SEARCA initiative in 1979, which, in cooperation with then Agricultural Development Council (ADC) of New York (now Winrock International), resulted in the publication of a book entitled Risk, Uncertainty and Agricultural Development, featuring such respected authors as Hans Binswanger, Jean-March Boussard, Robert Evenson, David Newberry, James Roumasset, Inderjit Singh, and Joseph Stiglitz, to name a few. Now, three decades and many global changes after, SEARCA has found it timely and relevant to revisit their views of agricultural development vis-à-vis the current situation in the region. The main objective is to draw up policy lessons from the major ideas and paradigms that have influenced academic and policy thinking in agricultural and rural development in the past 30 years.

SEARCA began formulating the plan for a conference as early as the first quarter of 2004, with the end goal of producing this book. It was decided that the conference would mark the beginning of the celebration of SEARCA's 40th Anniversary in November 2006. We sought the assistance of Emmanuel Esguerra in drafting a concept paper for the conference. We are thankful to him for the initial discussions and thoughts he shared with us toward this volume.

By bringing together an international group of acknowledged research scholars in agricultural and rural development in dialogue with policymakers from the Asian region, the conference, held in November 2005, provided a venue for articulating policy options on emerging development issues in the region. The discussions focused on several thematic and issue papers on agriculture and rural development, food security, population and environment, institutions, and biotechnology, among others. The papers presented were revised accordingly, taking into account the suggestions from the editors and discussants. The resulting volume attempts to identify the rural development challenges in the next 10 years and draws up possible directions for future academic and policy research.