If rural development, agriculture, livelihood are part of the national agenda then policy makers need to understand how agriculture and rural development can create jobs and livelihoods for small farmers and the landless, while producing food and raw materials for the urban economy. Most rural societies are relatively integrated in the sense that various aspects are interlinked. Rural people do not easily recognise the distinctions which planners make between, for example, the responsibilities of different agencies, or the difference between economic and social planning because to their way of thinking all these things directly affect each other. Central to the formation of rural development strategies is the role of community action which can form a key element of rural development strategies. Mentor Rural focusses on the research and study of agriculture, rural development, the factors that help their growth, technology, supply of inputs, access to market, policies and programmes underpinned by the notion of improving people’s lives.