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Based on various presentations at the “Agriculture and Food in a Globalized World” symposium held at Cerisy-la-Salle in September 2011, the authors highlight the new tensions arising in the technical, social and economic aspects of farming activities. They offer some reflections on the innovations deriving from these tensions and emphasize that innovations in agricultural technologies proposed to satisfy global food security generate controversies between the supporters of increased technological control over production processes and the advocates of agro-ecological approaches. They also point out the new arrangements between farmers and their environment made possible by technological changes and which lead to a diversity of farming activity patterns to be viewed as complementary instead of competing regarding solely technical and economic performance criteria. Finally, they address both Research organizations and Agricultural Higher Education establishments inciting them to reconsider their priority agendas in order to meet the challenges to be faced in coming years.