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Agriculture, for most people, means food production but, until very recent times, agriculture has also been the principal source of fibre. For millennia our ancestors depended on hemp, abaca, sisal, flax, kenaf, jute, cotton, rattan, wool and hair for clothing, floor coverings, furniture, rope, thread, tents, sails, fishing lines and nets. After some decades of intense competition from synthetics the demand for natural fibres is recovering (Focus on… and In Print) and new uses are being developed which offer new markets and may, indeed, possibly offer new earthquake resistant building material of a type that could be useful in the rebuilding programme following the tragedy in Turkey.

New producers are entering the market place for tropical fibres as well as a number of other products previously the exclusive preserve of tropical countries. Cotton, rice and sugar have long been grown beyond the Tropics but now Australia is trialling cocoa, Texas is growing the premium Basmati rice, Israel is producing high yields of organic bananas and Australia and the US are investigating the production of kenaf fibre. Traditional producers of these and many other crops will have to be prepared to compete on cost and quality in an increasingly competitive world market. How well producers respond to new opportunities (Country Profile) and competition will depend in part in part on land tenure (Developments) and on the effectiveness of extension services.

Concern and argument over GM crops continues unabated and the repercussions are being felt by the agrochemical divisions of some of the life science multinationals that have invested heavily in GM seed production and now risk significant delays before they see a return on investment. Using new science and selling it successfully to the public is one of the challenges facing agriculture and it is among several challenges reviewed by Professor M.S Swaminathan as India passes the milestone of one billion population (Perspective).

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