In January 2006, the Agricultural and Development Economics Division of FAO gathered experts from around the world to a workshop to discuss major issues of relevance for rural development and rural poverty alleviation in today’s rapidly changing and globalizing world. Agricultural markets are changing at unprecedented speed through vertical integration of supply chains and demands for ever more stringent food safety standards. Another significant trend affecting the rural world is the growth in migration and remittances, which can imply an increased availability of private funds to promote rural development but, at the same time, carries the risk of constraining farm output as working hands leave the fields behind. Also, the rural non-farm economy is becoming increasingly important as a source of employment and income in the rural areas, pointing towards possible new development paths for poor rural economies.