Agricultural modernisation inevitably leads to farm consolidation and the release of labour, which creates a clear employment problem for current small farm operators and farm workers. These points to the need for broader rural development initiatives that can provide a more diversified regional economy in rural areas, to absorb these released workers. This has been the experience of OECD countries over the last 100 years, as they increased agricultural output, reduced the number of farm workers and increased the financial well-being of farm households to close to, or even above, the level of their urban population.