result of pressure exerted on the WTO and other international organizations by poorer agricultural countries. This liberalization produces a strong flow of imported foods and the consequent expansion of supermarkets in some LAC countries.
     Throughout this period, the nontariff barriers of biosecurity and environmental protection are implemented and strengthened. These include certification of sustainable production processes in the country of origin of agricultural products and of low environmental impact, as a result of their use.
     Although the diversification of agriculture, which occurs initially in the rich countries, leads to greater environmental sustainability, it also discourages them from food production, which becomes even more concentrated in the poorer countries. The poorer countries in turn, which were already dedicated to agriculture, but as commodity producers, now shift to producing differentiated products with a greater value added, and also begin to diversify their agriculture. This latter movement is seen especially in the countries with greater biodiversity, as in the case of the countries that share the Amazon biome in the region.
     The free circulation of information and persons in the world enhances the diversity of consumer demand for differentiation of foods by taste, appearance, nutritional value, nutraceutical properties, healthfulness, etc. In many countries consumers require certification pertaining to the food processing method (without agrotoxins, child labor, GMOs, animal suffering, etc.). The food traditions of other cultures is now familiar to many consumers. This means that there is an increasing demand for the inputs needed to prepare this type of ethnic meal in specialized restaurants. Traceability requirements also grow. In LAC, the increased education of the people and availability of information on food also serve to augment consumers’ requirements.
     Despite the implementation of more controlled production systems, agricultural epidemics increase in frequency and severity, and new pests emerge, mainly due to the effects of climate change. At the outset of the period, there are few LAC countries with the capacity to prevent and adapt to epidemics and pests. This capacity increases, however, throughout the period, as a result of abundant resources, the efficiency of international biosecurity barriers, and better governance in the countries.
     The status of climate change is a source of concern throughout the period. Societies are aware of the possible repercussions of climate change on production systems. A decade of droughts and floods reinforces the concern over the effects of human action on the climate and environment, enhancing the value of environmental services in those countries. A visible consequence of this growing appreciation is that agricultural production processes begin to be monitored by consumers in the richer countries, who organize to ensure that these processes comply with low environmental impact standards and procedures, and to demand compensation— for preservation of forests, for instance—for agricultural operations. This leads to strict global regulations for the preparation and import of agriculture-based products.
     Many LAC countries make great strides in their institutionality throughout this period. Despite changes in government with different parties in power, in many of

these countries there are more stable and coherent policies, especially in the field of development, which is now seen as a multidimensional economic, social, and political phenomenon.
     Many Latin American countries implement compensatory policies for the poor at the outset of the period. In a few countries, these policies are not accompanied by employment policies, and so the improvement in the social and economic condition of these groups is ephemeral. For the majority of social groups, more consistent, successful, and lasting policies for employment, education, and health are implemented. Many countries have laws protecting investment in science, creating an incentive for that activity.
     With regard to the environment, many countries move in the direction of an institutionality that allows for the managed exploitation of natural resources. This institutionality applies rules on ecosystems and segments of ecosystems that may or may not be exploited, and regulates the type of exploration possible, conditions for exploitation, and so forth. Participation in the global market leads to rapid improvement in regulations and standards and the rigorous enforcement of them, to comply with food quality standards.
     In some LAC countries, little progress has been made in the field of education. But even in those cases, there is a slight improvement, a continuation of the trend observed in the previous decade. In a large part of the countries, there is fortunately a notable gains in education, and even stakeholders in the most vulnerable agricultural production systems show a considerable improvement in their level of education by the end of this period.
     At the start of the period, there is still a distrust of the true intentions and uses of science, However, certain successes towards the end of the period lead to renewed enthusiasm over the benefits of scientific activity. There is progress in the world and in LAC in establishing conditions for scientific activity, especially considering the major ethical dilemmas besetting this sector in the new day and age.
     R&D applied to agriculture in the global sphere develops along two lines: one is a deeper understanding of the effects of anthropogenic action on ecosystems, with a view to reducing such action; and, the other is putting a specific value on environmental services, as a way of creating policies to promote the diversified use of the land (agricultural production and environmental services). Major efforts are made to advance knowledge of biology, nanotechnology, and the information sciences, and the integration or interrelationship among them.
     The rich countries, especially European Community members and the United States, pursue their course of intensive scientific and technological development oriented to technologies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology and information technologies. The development of new products is a critical factor in international trade competition. On many occasions, and even to guarantee genetic variability, research organizations use biodiversity resources in the hands of less developed countries, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean.
     Laws on biodiversity in most countries are relatively inefficient, even in those countries that have ratified relevant international conventions like the CBD. Thus, traditional knowledge is little valued, and remains isolated from formal