Moreover, public investment in these areas is a precondition for private investment in agriculture and stimulates the latter (Zepeda, 2001). The “soft” (institutional) infrastructure and public policies also contribute to fostering or hindering the growth of the sector’s productivity. In some cases reforms in pricing policy or the marketing system may have changed the incentive structure and helped boost productivity growth. In African LDCs and Haiti, and in Asian LDCs, it corresponds to just 15 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively, of the level of ODCs (chart 2.11).