ABSTRACT
The government is inclined to think of rural development as helping poor farmers in subsistence areas, while the private sector thinks of rural development as creating and supporting motivated farmers to cultivate products that meet market criteria. A conceptual difference remains between the government and the private sector of what rural development is and means. The government is inclined to think of rural development as helping poor farmers in subsistence areas, while the private sector thinks of rural development as creating and supporting motivated farmers to cultivate products that meet market criteria. Donor countries can provide a variety of practical services to the private sector that would help reduce risks inherent in agribusiness ventures in developing countries and would help companies function more broadly and efficiently in their outreach to rural people. The people interviewed in the Philippines emphasized that donor country funds should be channeled, at least in part, through the private sector in the agribusiness area.
