ABSTRACT
As most agricultural production and marketing activities occur at a local level, the interplay between levels down the vertical hierarchy is a crucial aspect of rural development. This chapter examines the vertical structures that enable policies formulated at higher levels to be implemented at local levels. However, a major issue is the most appropriate level in the vertical hierarchy to make and implement industry and sectoral policies. Enterprises, too, have a vertical hierarchy, being registered as Central-level provincial-level, city-level and down to village/collective-levels. The horizontal bureaucracies have vertical hierarchies which have been described as a "distinct chain of command organised on a vertical basis and reaching from the central authorities through to individual ministries at the local level". In outlining this hierarchy, attention is focused on how administrative levels deal with each other and how the hierarchy impacts on industry policies.
