text: higher diploma or degree courses. Although welfare work requires 147 E/ECA/CM.9/5 a commitment that nakes it very much skills and knowledg(: can enable welfare better appraisals o~ the problems but plans and projects for assisting those at a vocation, appropriate staff not only to make also to draw up better risk. G. Conclusions 54. Social developmEnt trends over the past few years give lit­ tle hope for optimism. Efforts continue to be made, plans and ~rejects are drawn up and executed. Here and there, there are successes and progreEs to be noted or applauded, but overall the gap bet"-'een rich and roor has been widening. 55. Progress in sccial development has been predicated on economic growth. Altl:ough it has been widely recognized that the two are inseparable -that some emphasis on social development could be a powerful lever for economic development -the plans that are made from year to year follow the old conventional wis­ dom. 56. Practitioners of social development policies and programmes that can raise the part ic ipat ion of the people. Experience even among poor people, efforts can be progress in this direction. 148 will need to consider level of awareness and in China shows that, mobilized to achieve E/ECA/Cr-1.9/5 IX. SPECIAL STUDY: THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE A. Introduction 1. Agriculture provides an occupation for the raajority of the African population and contributes almost one fifth of total out­ put. Women play an enormous role in the economy, unparalleled on any other continent. Hhatever country one takes, it is in agriculture and related activities that their participation is the greatest and the most consistent. Ho\lrever, it is difficult to quantify their contribution. African countries generally do not have very accurate agricultural statistics and when they do, separate data are not always given for women. 
analysis: The text discusses social development trends, the role of welfare work, and the contribution of women in agriculture. It highlights the widening gap between the rich and the poor and the importance of considering the level of awareness and mobilization of people in achieving progress. These topics seem to be more related to social and economic development rather than natural resources, industry, or transport. The text also touches on education, as it mentions the importance of raising the participation of people, particularly the poor.