This book was planned to undertake an assessment of some recent developments in the area of agricultural economics. Although all aspects of this subject matter were welcome, only a selected few could be included in it. The book, therefore, describes only some of the areas in which agricultural economists are engaged. Nonetheless, it still begs the question "What is agricultural economics or what do agricultural economists do?" As we know, agriculture is an important industry in most countries,

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... ecause of its ability to provide the most basic necessity for human existence-food. On account of sheer growing masses of people, especially in developing countries, demand for food would increase. Associated with this would be a change in composition of diet resulting from higher income levels in most countries. As a result, even at present, in many developing countries, agricultural employment dominates, in spite of the fact that many farm workers are migrating to the non-farm locations in search of a better life. However, as a country develops economically, the relative importance of agriculture declines [1]. The primary reason for that is the Engel's Law (suggested in the nineteenth century), which is based on the fact that as consumers' purchasing power (incomes) increases, the proportion of income spent on food declines. This has been witnessed in many developed nations over the last few decades. However, one should keep in mind that although direct employment in agriculture in these countries is low, agriculture is still an important industry. This is because many of them had attained their development goals through moving labor and capital from agriculture, making it a source of economic growth. Furthermore, its importance is also indicative of current food and nutrition issues facing many of the countries.