ABSTRACT
Tropical climatic factors severely hamper development through their impact on human beings themselves, on agriculture and, to a lesser extent, on mineral development. Economic activity is directly and adversely affected through the widespread extent and impact of tropical diseases on people. Tropical agriculture suffers in the quality of its soils, its rainfall, and from its multiplicity of pests and diseases; and mineral discoveries are handicapped by tropical conditions. Some idea of the magnitude of the health problem facing the Tropics can be indicated by the River Blindness, elephantiasis, and trachoma eradication programs. There are potential advantages in tropical agriculture that could be harnessed by research. Plants in tropical rain forests produce three to five times more organic matter each year than plants produce in temperate zones. One of the most effective ways a poor country can rapidly increase its export earnings, government revenues, and investment is through the discovery and exploitation of a rich mineral resource.
