The book is a compilation of essays on the history, politics and economics of major agricultural commodities of the Philippines. It includes an abridged version of the Center’s research on the banana industry, Alfred McCoy’s “In Extreme Unction: The Philippine Sugar Industry”, Rigoberto Tiglao’s “The Political Economy of the Philippine Coconut Industry”, and Patricia Torres Mejia’s “Philippine Virginia Tobacco: Thirty Years of Increasing Dependency”.