This Briefing Paper outlines the issues to be discussed at the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (WCARRD) to be held under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The paper considers the likely implications of the conference's success or failure. It concludes that if the organisers succeed in getting the draft programme approved, a favourable climate will have been created for much more detailed deliberations about changes in strategy at national level.