Authored by an experienced agriculturalist with substantial field experience in developing countries, this book adds to the literature on food security by proposing practical measures for improving plant-based food security in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Covering issues affecting food security, this book discusses ways of measuring farmers' resources, strategies for action, and an analysis of the challenges and problems faced, concluding with a discussion of ways in which stakeholders could work better together. This title is suitable for policy makers, international development agencies, NGO.

The countries of West Asia and North Africa (WANA) have long had the challenge of providing sustainable livelihoods for their populations in the fragile ecosystems of semi-arid and arid areas. Climate change is already a reality in WANA and it places additional constraints on the already fragile ecosystems of dry areas and limited natural resources in WANA. A comprehensive and integrated approach to planning and implementing the climate change adaptation strategies across the wide range of agro-ecosystems in different countries in WANA could help both the planners and the local communities to deal effectively with the projected impacts and also contribute to overall sustainability of agricultural production systems. This book addresses the important issue of climate change and food security in West Asia and North Africa and presents the appropriate strategies which could help in the development of new policies to better adapt agriculture production systems and enhance food security in WANA.

This book, as a part of a series of CERES publications, provides a multi-regional and cross-sectoral analysis of food and water security, especially in the era of climate risks, biodiversity loss, pressure on scarce resources, especially land and water, increasing global population, and changing dietary preferences. It includes both conceptual research and empirically-based studies, which provides context-specific analyses and recommendations based on a variety of case studies from Africa, Middle East, and Asia regarding the fostering of long-term resilience of food and water security. The core approach of the volume consists of: assessing the structural drivers affecting the vulnerability of food and water security, under the persistence of current trends; identifying the best solutions and practices to enhance the climate resilience for food and water security; and fostering climate adaptation and biodiversity protection for food and water security.

Agricultural mechanization in Africa south of the Sahara — especially for small farms and businesses — requires a new paradigm to meet the needs of the continent’s evolving farming systems. Can Asia, with its recent success in adopting mechanization, offer a model for Africa? An Evolving Paradigm of Agricultural Mechanization Development analyzes the experiences of eight Asian and five African countries. The authors explore crucial government roles in boosting and supporting mechanization, from import policies to promotion policies to public good policies. Potential approaches presented to facilitating mechanization in Africa include prioritizing market-led hiring services, eliminating distortions, and developing appropriate technologies for the African context. The role of agricultural mechanization within overall agricultural and rural transformation strategies in Africa is also discussed. The book’s recommendations and insights should be useful to national policymakers and the development community, who can adapt this knowledge to local contexts and use it as a foundation for further research.

In recent years, the world has seen unprecedented attention and political commitment to addressing malnutrition. Milestones such as the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, the Lancet Maternal and Child Nutrition Series, and the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) have marked the rapid rise of nutrition on the global policy and research agenda. These developments reverse years of relative neglect for nutrition. Undernutrition is a global challenge with huge social and economic costs. It kills millions of young children annually, stunts growth, erodes child development, reduces the amount of schooling children attain, and increases the likelihood of their being poor as adults, if they survive. Stunting persists through a lifetime and beyond—underweight mothers are more likely to give birth to underweight children, perpetuating undernutrition across generations. Undernutrition reduces global gross domestic product by US$1.4–$2.1 trillion a year—the size of the total economy of Africa south of the Sahara.

The issue of biofuels has already been much debated, but the focus to date has largely been on Latin America and deforestation - this highly original work breaks fresh ground in looking at the African perspective. Most African governments see biofuels as having the potential to increase agricultural productivity and export incomes and thus strengthen their national economies, improving energy balances and rural employment. At the same time climate change may be addressed through reduction of green house gas emissions. There are, however, a number of uncertainties mounting that challenge this scenario. Using cutting-edge empirical case studies, this knowledge gap is addressed in a variety of chapters examining the effects of large-scale biofuel production on African agriculture. In particular, 'land grabbing' and food security issues are scrutinised, both of which have become vital topics in regard to the environmental and developmental governance of African countries. A revealing book for anyone wishing to understand the startling impact of biofuels and land grabbing on Africa.

New evidence this year corroborates the rise in world hunger observed in this report last year, sending a warning that more action is needed if we aspire to end world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. Updated estimates show the number of people who suffer from hunger has been growing over the past three years, returning to prevailing levels from almost a decade ago. Although progress continues to be made in reducing child stunting, over 22 percent of children under five years of age are still affected. Other forms of malnutrition are also growing: adult obesity continues to increase in countries irrespective of their income levels, and many countries are coping with multiple forms of malnutrition at the same time – overweight and obesity, as well as anaemia in women, and child stunting and wasting.

This edited volume “Food Security in Africa” is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of food safety and availability, water issues, farming and nutrition. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by an expert active in the public health and food security research area. All chapters are complete in itself but united under a common research study topic. This publication aims at providing a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on Africa’s food security challenges, quality of water, small-scale farming as well as economic and social challenges that this continent is facing. Hopefully, this volume will open new possible research paths for further novel developments.

The ways in which the rapid urbanization of the Global South is transforming food systems and food supply chains, and the food security of urban populations is an often neglected topic. This international group of authors addresses this profound transformation from a variety of different perspectives and disciplinary lenses, providing an important corrective to the dominant view that food insecurity is a rural problem requiring increases in agricultural production.

Soft Chemistry and Food Fermentation, Volume Three, the latest release in the Handbook of Food Bioengineering series is a practical resource that provides significant knowledge and new perspectives in food processing and preservation, promoting renewable resources by applying soft ecological techniques (i.e. soft chemistry). Fermentation represents a simple and very efficient way to preserve food in developing countries where other methods, depending on specialized instruments, are not available. Through processes of soft chemistry and fermentation, food ingredients can be produced with improved properties (such as pharmabiotics) able to promote health. - Includes the most recent scientific progress with proven biological, physical and chemical applications of the food engineering process to understand fermentation - Presents novel opportunities and ideas for developing and improving technologies in the food industry that are useful to researchers in food bioengineering - Provides eco-friendly approaches towards components, materials and technologies developed for improvements in food quality and stability - Includes valuable information useful to a wide audience interested in food chemistry and the bioremediation of new foods