ABSTRACT
Human populations throughout the world depend almost completely on agriculture to supply their food. Agriculture also supplies a range of other important non-food items, such as fibres, to human societies. The well-being of human populations in the tropics depends, in the first instance, on the existence of successful forms of agriculture in these environments. In most tropical countries, human populations are fed primarily by local agriculture. This provides a degree of autonomy to these societies, but also makes the provision of an adequate human diet primarily a local responsibility. Successful food agriculture also permits the development of cash cropping, and produces a surplus that permits the development of non-agricultural activities.
