Agricultural and forestry development in the Amazonian Basinhave significant potential for contributing to economic growth andimproved human welfare in this vast region of South America.Although national policies concerning colonization and thebringing of new lands intoproduction vary greatly, the predominanttrend in the Basin is toward accelerated development of frontierregions. Realization of the Amazonian agricultural potential willnot, however, be an easy task, for experience has demonstratednumerous technical, social, and economic constraints. It is now wellrecognized that there is an urgent need to expand and strengthenresearch programs which will generate the much greater knowledgebase necessary to ensure that agricultural development in theAmazonia is both technically and economically sustainable.Proceedings of the International Conference sponsored by:The Rockefeller FoundationThe German Agency for Technical Cooperation, Ltd., GTZThe Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, CIATNorth Carolina State University, NCSUThe International Center for Research in Agroforestry,1CRAF.