I. Introduction. Pages 1-13. In: Willem C. Beets. 1982. Multiple Cropping and Tropical Farming Systems. UK, Gower Publishing.

Keywords: tropical farming systems in general, global distribution of the three main tropical farming systems, mixed cropping, relay cropping, sequential cropping, multiple cropping index, increasing the productivity of tropical cropping systems, reasons for the adoption of multiple cropping systems, constraints on the development of multiple cropping practices, geographical areas where multiple cropping can be found, cropping systems and soil, cropping systems and population