Reviews the role of agriculture in modern economies, with emphasis on the importance of the enormous improvements made in agricultural productivity over a relatively short historical time period. Rapid population growth in the West was accompanied by rapid improvements in agricultural output, both of which were enabling factors in the process of industrialization and consequent rise in per capita incomes. This history suggests that concerns that world population growth will outrun the ability to provide sufficient food are without foundation. Given appropriate governmental policies, land is not a limiting resource.
