Agriculture was the main industry on the island until well into the 20th century. The Spanish brought coffee from Haiti, and sugarcane from Santo Domingo in the 17th century. Tobacco was indigenous to the island and cultivated by the Taino Indians. The low wage plantation economy under Spain was gradually replaced by light manufacturing when Puerto Rico became part of the US, so that by the mid 1950s, agriculture accounted for about 50% of the island's economy.

Given the continued growth of the manufacturing sector and the emergence of a robust tourist industry, agriculture now accounts for only about 1 % of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Puerto Rico. However, if you include the value of the complete food industry, not only production agriculture, but food processing, marketing, and distribution, the contribution to total GDP is about 10 %.

The cashew nut is the kidney shaped kernel of the fruit of the cashew tree.

The most dramatic change in the island's agriculture has to be the demise of the sugar industry. Sugarcane was the number one crop, planted on the most fertile, alluvial soils of the coastal lowlands that encircle most of the island. At one time there were 34 factories converting cane to raw sugar, in the1980s there were only five, and today only one commercial factory is in operation. Trucks overloaded with sugarcane, rumbling slowly along the highways to the centrales azucares, leaving a trail of sugarcane in their wake, are all but gone from the island. There are many reasons for the decline of the sugar industry -low world prices, high production costs in Puerto Rico, competition from less developed countries- are to name a few. The question now facing Puerto Rico is what to do with the land once used for the cultivation of sugarcane?

Coffee, on the other hand, is one of Puerto Rican agriculture's success stories. Under Spanish rule, the island's coffee crop, which reached its production peak in 1896, was shipped exclusively to Europe. The coffee beans of the island were of such high quality that the Vatican served only Puerto Rican coffee. Shortly after, however, the European market was lost when Puerto Rico was ceded to the US. Several devastating hurricanes, particularly San Felipe in 1928, destroyed many coffee plantations, and the industry began a long slow decline. Production soon dropped below levels required to satisfy even domestic demands.

In the early 1990s, however, the sale of gourmet coffees in the US, Europe, Israel and Japan began to increase significantly. The re-growth of the Puerto Rican industry, now valued at more than $50 million annually, has been tied to the ever increasing popularity of specialty coffees. Given the ideal climate of the western and central uplands, this region is now once again, famous for producing some of the highest quality coffee beans in the world.

Another important development in Puerto Rican agriculture has been the introduction of high technology vegetable production in the south coast. This is a region of flat, highly fertile mollisols east of Ponce. Irrigation is required for crop production, but high quality ground water is abundant. Vegetable and fruit production predominate on a mixture of corporate and small farms. This region has become important for supplying tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and onions for the winter export market, as well as for domestic consumption. Also in this region are several large mango plantations providing these and other tropical tree fruits to Europe and the US. Mangoes are the highest valued of the island's tropical fruits with annual sales of nearly $20 million.Pineapples are grown in the oxisols of the north central coast near Manati. The varieties 'Red Spanish' and 'Smooth Cayenne' are used for both juice and fresh market respectively.

Citrus is grown predominantly in the uplands and used mostly for juices. There are many small plantings of minor fruit crops such as acerola, sour sop, avocado, sapodilla, guava, and passion fruit. Considerable opportunities exist for the development of specialty tropical fruits for both the juice and fresh export markets. Starchy vegetable crops are an important part of the Puerto Rican diet. Yams, sweet potatoes, taniers, starchy bananas, plantains, and yucca are all important and are grown throughout the island. Bananas are often intercropped with coffee. Plantains are grown in the mountains as well as along the south coast. Legumes, particularly pigeon peas, are cultivated throughout the south coast and into the Lajas valley. New cultivars that can be mechanically harvested are increasing production value and giving this crop export potential.

In a mango grove learning its pollination process.

The ornamental plants industry continues to grow in importance. Orchids and bromeliads are grown in the eastern mountains near Aibonito. Foliage and landscape plants can be found in nurseries throughout the north central and northeastern coasts, as well as other parts of the island.

The livestock industries are an important component to Puerto Rican agriculture and account for more than half of the gross agricultural income of the island. Milk production, centered in the north central coast near Arecibo and Hatillo, is the most significant. There are over 125,000 dairy cows on the island on 70,000 acres of pasture. Poultry is an important industry in the Coamo area, a dry warm region northeast of Ponce, highly suitable for raising broilers. More than 132 million pounds of chicken are processed, and more than 21 million dozens of eggs are produced on the island annually. Beef cattle, veal and pigs are also significant parts of the live stock industry in Puerto Rico, and pork products are an important part of the Puerto Rican diet.