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The Development of Agriculture in Tropical Africa. The problems posed by the development of agriculture in tropical Africa have been studied, under the auspices of the World Bank, by a team of five specialists (economists, a sociologist, an agricultural expert). The study concerned various programs completed in different countries and chosen in a manner to represent the great diversity of the operations that were undertaken. The role of the human, physical, technical and economic factors that influence production has been examined. The causes of success or failure have been analysed. The experience obtained thus allows the formulation of recommendations as respects the planning, execution and organization of projects for enhancing agricultural output.

A Village in Northern Thailand : Ban Muang Wa. Located in the valley basin of Chiengmai, this village of 353 inhabitants is typical of this region and devotes itself to rice growing. In the village, population growth is high and inhabitants emigrate. The arable land area extends over recent alluvial deposits, but the wooded highlands are not exploited much. Irrigation is necessary the year round. For this, the water from a river linked with a modern distribution system is used, but the amount of water thus obtained is not sufficient to enable the growing of a second rice crop. The rice, grown on 60 % of the land in the area, is consumed almost entirely by the local population ; secondary crops (peanuts, tobacco, etc.) are grown on the remaining 40 % of the land available and are sold. Small farms cultivated by their owners are the most numerous : nevertheless, the existence of «microfundias» and wealthy landowners highlights the social inequalities. There is an acute lack of arable land, and agrarian developments augment to the detriment of the small farm. Unemployment is frequent during the dry season. The sale of tobacco, peanuts, etc. does not produce adequate revenue, but it enables people to buy modern consumer goods. When considering those families who own some of these goods, one can estimate that 40 % are rather well off whereas 30 % are very poor. This village benefits from an economic and social growth which produces some favorable results, but the pace of population growth tends to introduce an imbalance between the arable land available and the surplus of people.

The center of the Rio Grande Plateau : A rural region undergoing change. An old, animal-raising region, the center of the Rio Grande plateau is at present passing through a period of significant change. The traditional Gaucho ranchers, skillful as they were in utilizing the varied pasture lands of the «campo», were unable to avoid overexploiting and ruining all but the lushest parts. Farmers, who at first grew exclusively wheat, are now consolidating a partial victory over the prairie lands after having planted some summer crops. The large mechanized farms, founded in the main by the descendants of multi-crop colonizers, have a good output, but there are still problems. The first signs of a significant change are nevertheless appearing, for thanks both to the experience gained and some accidental factors, the animal raisers are beginning to farm the «campo» while the farmers themselves are doing a combination of farming and animal raising.

The mortality in Cambodia. The lack of demographic data with regard to Cambodia, only enables rough estimates to be made : mortality is decreasing but the crude rate is still above 16 0/00 in 1969. The morbidity and mortality factors, which are the subject of this article, remain important. In the public health field much progress still has to be made particularly in the rural areas. Lack of hygiene and certain nutritional deficiences explain the high general and infant death rates. But the essential problem is definitely that of malaria of which the main vector here is Anopheles Balabacencis, little known and barely studied until now ; malaria eradication measures are made more difficult by different aspects of the pathogenic complex, notably in the forest regions. The decline in mortality, which can only continue, will accentuate even further the population increase, already nearing 3 % a year and may be, at least in the long run, a new population distribution will follow, with the extension of settled and developped areas and an accelerated urban growth.