This paper, one of a series of Unesco technical reports, discusses agricultural production in Latin America and the Caribbean and examines the role played by education in the region. Written in Spanish, the paper consists of four parts. Part I deals with the different types of agricultural production and examines the historic origins and characteristics of the ranches (haciendas), large landed estates (latifundios), the small landed estates (minifundios), and the native communities (las comunidades indigenas). The modernization process and how it has affected agriculture is treated in Part II. One result of modernization was the development of unions by the farmers. The agricultural reform is also discussed in Part II. Part III examines the lives of the farmers on the different types of farms. Educational activities in the rural areas are the topic of Part IV. The paper points out that the situation is critical. In the rural areas there are generally no more than two grades taught and for the most part there is no school building. However, many special programs are in the process of being implemented in an attempt to alleviate these educational shortcomings. Some of these programs are briefly described. (Author/RM)