Food drives the world; apart from clean water, access to adequate food is the primary concern for most people on earth. This makes agriculture one of the largest and most significant industries in the world; agricultural productivity is important not only for a country's balance of trade but the security and health of its population as well.

With that in mind, which countries produce the most agricultural products, which countries export the most, and what are countries around the world doing to increase their production levels?

SEE: Grow Your Finances In The Grain Markets

Top Producers

There are numerous ways of assessing agricultural output, including sheer tonnage and the dollar volume of the commodities produced. It's important to look at both, as it is often the case that commodities critical to the food supply of less-developed countries don't show up as high dollar-value crops.

Of the major cereal and vegetable crops, the United States, China, India, and Russia frequently appear as top producers. It probably won't surprise readers that China is the leading worldwide producer of rice, but it's also the leading producer of wheat and the number two producer of corn, as well as the largest producer of many vegetables including onions and cabbage. In terms of total production, the United States is third in wheat and first in corn and soybeans.﻿﻿

There are other important crops, however. Millet is a major crop in much of Africa and Asia, and India and Nigeria are the leading producers. Likewise, barley, rye and beans/pulses are not that important within the United States but are crucial crops in countries like Russia, Germany, and India.

Top Exporters

It should not be too surprising that countries like China and India feature prominently on the lists of top agricultural producers; these countries have large populations and internal food security (that is, producing enough to feed a nation's population from internal resources) is a major priority. A great deal of this production is used internally, though, and the list of the top exporting countries looks much different.