Following the 2007-2008 food crisis, improvements of world food governance was at the centre of international discussions, leaning towards a new Global Partnership for Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition. In this process, the issue of the management of various streams of knowledge appeared...

China is a big country in terms of biotech achievements. It is also a rare country demonstrating crop-differentiated policies in the dissemination of the GMOs. While the release of GMOs is authorized notably for cotton in 1998, it is still prohibited for food crops. In spite of the positive...

National early warning systems of Sahelian countries are mainly based on biophysics models to predict agricultural production shortages and prevent food crisis. The objective of this paper is to show that cereal market prices also bring useful information on future food availability that could...

Zambia was economically prosperous at independence (1964), due to the thriving copper industry. Zambia has the potential to expand agricultural production. However, it is estimated that only 14% of total agricultural land is currently being utilized. Agriculture generates about 22% of Gross...

Although the small kingdom is perceived to be middle income, previous livelihoods and poverty reports, reveal that at least 60 to 70% of the Swazi population live below the poverty line. It is now recognised that the current food security crisis is not simply the effects of a drought. Overall...

Several countries in Southern Africa are presently facing acute food security issues. Nearly 13 million people in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe are involved in a food crisis which requires about 3 millions tons of cereals to ensure food security for everyone. Food...

This paper contributes to the existing literature on climatic variability and food security. It analyses the impact of climatic variability on food security for 71 developing countries, from 1960 to 2008. Using two complementary indicators of food security (food supply and proportion of...

The food crisis in Southern Africa that stems from the crop failures of the 2001-2002 crop season has, not surprisingly, prompted much reflection on the causes of the problem and policy responses. Several official donors and NGOs have set in motion reviews, including, for example the EU and CARE...

Over the last few decades, Southern African governments have identified the eradication or alleviation of poverty as a key objective of developmental programmes. In spite of these repeated articulations and ongoing efforts poverty levels have not fallen. In fact, poverty has gradually worsened...