AbstractThis paper will focus attention first on agriculture's most basic task of providing adequate food supplies for mankind. The role of efficiency in agriculture, as the key to the industrial transformation of economies and the enjoyment by mankind of ever-rising consumption in more diversified patterns, will also be examined. The importance of agriculture as the source of livelihood for the families directly dependent on it will then be discussed. Too, agriculture, along with forestry is a guardian of the earth's fertility for future generations. The performance of world agriculture will be briefly assessed, and then the prospects and requirements for improving that performance in both developed and developing countries will be considered.