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The concept of production base is common in development literature . it has been extensively used to explain the obstacles to and the opportunities for economic development in LD,S .  various definitions of this concept have been used in economic literature . this paper tackles three alternative definitions of the concept and contrasts the methodologies used reveals their implications for development strategies . this first approach defines the production base in terms of available economic resources that , through various production processes , determine  the shape of the economy’s production possibilities frontier . the development process is viewed here as a dynamic shift in frontier . the second approach emphasizes the economic structure in terms of changes in sectoral , regional  and distributional variables . this approach views the development process as a systemic and continuous change in these variables according to some stylized facts . the third approach defines the production base in terms of economic , social political and technological characteristics . these characteristics describe the reference points  which the development process ascribes to alter in favor of some predetermined national objectives . This paper suggest that non of these definitions is infallible and that an appropriate definition of production base should be one that incorporates social realisms in comprehensive yet measurable manner so that progress towards the achievement of development goals can be assessed and evaluated over time .