In 2009 a collaboration between the MillionsFed Organisation and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) resulted in the publication of this book edited by David J Spielman and Rajul Pandya-Lorch.
This book looks at the successes across Africa, Asia and Latin America of policies, programs and investments in pro-poor agricultural development that has helped to feed millions. The book looks at 20 success stories, that include the efforts to breed wheat that is resistant to rusts. The major experiment in China moving away from collective farming to individual family farms. The rediscovery of soil, crop, trees and livestock management in the arid region of West Africa.
Each chapter deals with the countries and specific project carried out in those countries.
Chapter one covers the 50 years of progress, how in the 1950s there was roughly a billion people worldwide going hungry everyday. Even though the world's population has increased, the figure of those that are going hungry has not changed. Countries that were once considered as dire cases, like China and India, have experienced agricultural booms; China had some 303 million hungry people between 1979-81 and in 2003 -05 this figure was reduced to 122 million.
Chapter two deals with the effort to contain wheat rust: wheat rusts have been found on wheat specimens dating back 3300 years. Through international research, sharing of information and genetic material, strains of wheat have been developed that are rust resistant and high yielding.
In later chapters subjects look at are the green revolution in Asia, improved maize crops in Africa, community forests in Nepal, zero tillage soybean cultivation in Argentina, rice production in Bangladesh and hybrid rice in China. Improving crops for arid lands, mungbean improvements in Asia.
This book is an extremely interesting read, that shows how if we work together that we can overcome problems and improve peoples lives. Feeding the world in the future will become harder as the population increases and the available land for agriculture decreases. The cases shown in this book shows that long-term projects and investment can work with international cooperation. I believe this book would be a useful resource for future decision makers, as well as post graduate level students looking at the reasons why some project work and some fail - in my opinion a good book worth the read.
This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers
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