The main theme of this Congress, held in the cité universitaire in Dijon, was the impact of agricultural changes on society in developed and developing countries. The modernisation of agriculture (industrialisation, commercialisation, decrease of manpower, increase of production per capita) is accompanied by a set of changes which affects not only the rural population itself; but also human society as a whole. Technological and economic changes have an influence on cultural and social structure. The Congress aimed to study this influence with emphasis on the effects on society as a whole, and to compare the experiences of developed and developing countries.