No sector of the American economy, no group of Americans, has made greater contributions to our strength, our national prosperity, the health and amenity of our lives, than the American farmer. In the last fifteen years, productivity has increased by 6.6 percent a year—more than twice as fast as productivity in the economy as a whole. They have provided the nation with the best diet in the world for a smaller part of our income than ever before, 18 percent today as against 25 percent in 1947— while people must spend 30 to 40 percent of their incomes on food in England, France and Italy, a full 50 percent in the Soviet Union, perhaps 80 percent in Africa, and 90 percent or more in many parts of Asia.