The population of Man in his World will increase by some 34,600,000 during Expo 67's run of six months. This is almost 15,000,000 more than Canada's present total population.

The pavilion, Man the Provider, relates Expo's overall theme to the role of agriculture, to what Man has done and is doing towards providing the food which a rapidly expanding world population needs to establish adequate living standards for all mankind.

The measure of Man's achievement will be reflected in plenty - or in widespread starvation and misery.

This important Theme Pavilion is on Ile Notre-Dame with transport connection by Minirail. It emphasizes the tremendous challenge to Man to bring about balance between increasing population and food requirements by increasing agricultural production.

In the beginning, Man the Provider spent most of his time hunting and gathering food. Then, gradually through the centuries, he learned how to domesticate plants and animals. Thus civilization itself was born, for Man was placed in the position where he could produce not only for his own requirements, but provide sufficient surplus to exchange for other articles and services produced by his neighbors.

Thence came trade, and specialization, and industry. Thus agriculture itself became an industry, since products of the soil had to be harvested, transported, processed, packaged, and merchandised.

The story of Man the Provider is brought up-to-date for Expo 67 as scientists, engineers, and economists join the farmer in a project of immense potential. The scope of the challenge can be seen from the fact that today at least 300,000,000 people - and possibly as many as 500,000,000 - do not get sufficient food or receive an unbalanced diet. The ultimate challenge is to abolish hunger and malnutrition.

Soil fertility, the basic life cycle, insect control, selective breeding, mechanization and automation, are some of the aspects of the story - with a look towards the agriculture of the future when one man in a control tower could feasibly exercise direct control over a variety of machines functioning over a considerable area.

On entering the eight-acre site of the pavilion, the visitor sees nine buildings circling an area of land called Sun-Acre.

The walls of the buildings are huge mounds of earth covered  with grass, 30 feet high at the rear of the buildings and sloping inwards towards the centre of the Sun-Acre.

Exhibits on the Sun-Acre symbolize Man's striving for increasing productivity on the farm by measuring yields on a standard area.

Live animals are used to show a complete dairy in operation and progress in animal breeding. The poultry section features a completely automatic egg-laying plant and a production line of broiler chickens.

Click here to see a map of the Man the Provider floor plan.