and labor and (4) assessing and adopting alternative mecha­nisms, including "marketization" (e.g., carbon trading), to respond to conflicting interests. Such broad-based interven­tions will reduce extensive rural unemployment and sociopo­litical dislocations that may result from increased competi­tiveness, technological obsolescence and trade rivalries.

11. If hunger and poverty are to be reduced through ac­celerated agricultural growth, rural investment needs to be increased and priorities changed. Such changes should address (1) the mix of agricultural activities (e.g., in favor of rainfed crops and those grown by the poor), (2) agricultural research, extension and science and technology infrastructure and support infrastructure (e.g., farm to mar­ket roads), (3) enhancement of the value chain including postharvest technologies, agroindustries and markets. In addition to public funding and donor support, investment in the foregoing areas can be enhanced by innovative means such as competitive (contract) research grant schemes, com­modity cesses or levies.

12. Global consensus is necessary to achieve food security and natural resource conservation given the challenges posed by climate change and increasing biofuel use. Climate variability and change are threats to the agricultural sector in most of the ESAP region, while agriculture in high to mid-latitude parts of the region may benefit from climate change. The increasing use of biofuel crops such as oil palm, Jatropha, sugarcane and traditional food crops such as batata and cassava will increase land and water pressures, pose threats to natural ecosystems such as forests and potentially have negative impacts on food se­curity and prices. A major challenge is to ensure that the development of biofuels meets sustainability goals.

13. To achieve environmental sustainability and eco­nomic development, the region needs to capitalize on the emerging global knowledge economy through enhanced capacity of national innovation systems.
This involves establishing and strengthening links between networks in the knowledge economy. The state can play a critical role as sponsor or champion of this process by iden­tifying actors and organizations, encouraging collaboration and developing enabling institutions and policies to build an effective system.

14. Policies that address the linkages between agricul­tural and non-farm rural employment need to be de­veloped to reduce the poverty associated with limited rural employment opportunities. These might include a focus on local value addition opportunities such as agro-processing and non-timber forest products as well as wage employment programs to enhance rural infrastructure.

15. If rights over competing use of water are to be eq­uitably resolved, coherence is needed among admin­istrative functions and policies. Resolution mechanisms might include the establishment and strengthening of inter-ministerial  coordination,  multistakeholder  consultations/ management and multi-sectoral dialogue.

5.1       Context
The pursuit of development and growth in the ESAP region has generally been undertaken without sufficient consider­ation to sustainability and in some cases with poorly sup­ported assumptions about the sharing of benefits that result from economic growth. Appropriate decision-making pro­cesses need to consider equity and sustainability issues while also assessing the gains to be garnered from productivity and growth. Factors that can influence the achievement of broad social and political goals ought not to be restricted to science and technology or AKST. Rather, achieving such goals will depend on resolving social issues that are shaped by factors that can alter relations of power and control and affect entitlements and access to resources. Thus, facilitating innovation is not only a question of developing and trans­ferring concrete, science-based innovations, but also about facilitating innovative processes.
     Technological advances in realizing development goals for much of ESAP unfold through social dialogue and in­teraction that have implications for the dynamics of policy making. Social goals include reducing poverty which we un­derstand to mean a human condition characterized by low income, lack of voice and sustained deprivation of capabili­ties, choices and power that are necessary for the enjoyment of fundamental human rights. Poverty corresponds to the inability to access the full range of rights, standards of so­cial equality and non-discrimination, as well as to be pro­tected by the state and other development actors, including civil society organizations, community management bodies and corporations (Narayan et al., 2000; Hulme and Mckay, 2005).
     This chapter begins with a discussion of the institutional and organizational context in which humans strive to pro­duce and survive in ESAP. Parts of the region are charac­terized by social exclusion and inequality, particularly of women who constitute the majority of agricultural workers. Exclusion also characterizes access to the fruits of such eco­nomic growth including public services, markets and gov­ernance structures. Coupled with the challenges of climate change, water scarcity and petroleum dependence, countries in the region need to undertake effective measures for inclu­sive and equitable growth and put in place context-specific regimes for intellectual property rights and ethical and fair trade. They also need to capitalize on the emerging global knowledge economy and enhance the capacity of AKST ac­tors and institutions to meet the broad goals of improved agricultural growth and capacity, sustainability and liveli­hood options.
     In the section on technologies, we argue for an inte­grated approach to  agriculture,  using best management practices that blend traditional knowledge and organic prac­tices with conventional and emerging technologies to help improve rural livelihoods and human health. This integrated approach will help to ensure consistency with the goals of greater productivity on the one hand and sustainability and equity, on the other. We recognize the potential of biotech­nology, nanotechnology and precision agriculture to im­prove human welfare and preserve natural resources when these technologies are deployed appropriately, with site-specific scientific and social monitoring and within a strin-