Agriculture has been the main source of livelihood for the overwhelming majority of the world's population for thousands of years, from the first production of crops some 8,000 years ago to the start of world wide industrialization in the nineteenth century. The acceleration in the rate of growth of the world population after World War ii was matched by an even sharper acceleration in the rate of growth of agricultural production, from about 1 percent per annum to over 2 percent. The increase of trade relative to output is strong evidence of a growing specialization of agricultural production. Since the beginning of the movement, credit cooperatives have established regional and national organizations for mutual support. In more recent times, these private organizations have been given formal guarantees by governments. Finally, the chapter focuses on extensive growth, modern property rights, intensive growth, consumer protection, competition policy, and the support given to scientific research.