Food Security

This book compiles a series of chapters written by internationally recognized experts known for their in-depth but critical views on questions of resilience and food security. The book assesses rigorously and critically the contribution of the concept of resilience in advancing our understanding and ability to design and implement development interventions in relation to food security and humanitarian crises. For this, the book departs from the narrow beaten tracks of agriculture and trade, which have influenced the mainstream debate on food security for nearly 60 years, and adopts instead a wider, more holistic perspective, framed around food systems. The foundation for this new approach is the recognition that in the current post-globalization era, the food and nutritional security of the world’s population no longer depends just on the performance of agriculture and policies on trade, but rather on the capacity of the entire (food) system to produce, process, transport and distribute safe, affordable and nutritious food for all, in ways that remain environmentally sustainable. In that context, adopting a food system perspective provides a more appropriate frame as it incites to broaden the conventional thinking and to acknowledge the systemic nature of the different processes and actors involved. This book is written for a large audience, from academics to policymakers, students to practitioners.

Food security is a pressing concern in the Caribbean. Caribbean countries produce and export crops including sugar, bananas, and coffee, but this archipelago of states relies heavily on imported food when it comes to nourishing the Caribbean population. As much as 80% of the food consumed is imported. This is because the region does not have a robust domestic food crop or livestock sector. Much of the imported food is processed: high in sugar, fat, and salt. As a result, the region now has one of the highest rates of obesity in the Americas. And there are, as a consequence, heightened incidences of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. This negatively impacts the resources and budgets of health facilities in the Caribbean, which in turn hurts the developmental prospects of these Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The book discusses the best international practices in digital agriculture. The book aims to form systemic scientific and methodological support and develop comprehensive applied solutions to unlock the potential of sustainable development of digital agriculture for food security.

This book analyzes potential yields of six major food crops - rice, wheat, maize, potato, soybean and rapeseed worldwide using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to study both China’s and global food security under climate change.

This book analyzes potential yields of six major food crops - rice, wheat, maize, potato, soybean and rapeseed worldwide using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to study both China’s and global food security under climate change.

This book investigates food security and the implications of hyper-urbanisation and rapid growth of urban populations in Africa. By means of a series of case studies involving African cities of various sizes, it argues that, while the concept of food security holds value, it needs to be reconfigured to fit the everyday realities and distinctive trajectory of urbanisation in the region.