Assuring food security for the next 25 years requires meeting a number of political, social, economic, and technical challenges. One of these is the successful use of new biotechnologies in agriculture. Research in recombinant genetics and biotechnology aims to develop plant varieties that...

Agroecological conditions largely determine the production potential of an agrarian area and its ability to support a number of people. It seems to make sense, therefore, to base economic and policy research on ecoregional zones, rather than on geographical or political boundaries alone. This...

This is a thoughtful statement representing a genuine Latin American perspective of the goals and strategies relating to food, agriculture, and the environment as we head toward the year 2020. This document represents a synthesis of documents prepared by three working groups participating in a...

"The people operating small farms in developing countries have to cope with the risks of these small businesses and have long faced heavy challenges. Today, these challenges are particularly severe, and the aspirations of young people on small farms have changed. Globalization and the...

"Efforts and initiatives to combat hunger and malnutrition in Africa are gaining momentum at all levels—local, national, continental, and international. To design and implement effective strategies for action, it is vital that we have a clear understanding of the problems and options. In this...

"About 167 million children under five years of age —almost one-third of the developing world's children —are malnourished. If they survive childhood, many of these children will suffer from poorer cognitive development and lower productivity. As adults, their ability to assure good...

Global population in the year 2020 will be a third higher than in 1995, but demand for food and fiber will rise by an even higher proportion, as incomes grow, diets diversify, and urbanization accelerates. However this demand is met, population and farming pressure on land resources will...

In their comprehensive paper, Montague Yudelman, Annu Ratta, and David Nygaard examine the key issues with regard to pest management and food production over the coming decades. They draw attention to the lack of adequate information on the magnitude and impact of pest losses; with out such...

By the year 2020 land degradation may pose a serious threat to food production and rural livelihoods, particularly in poor and densely populated areas of the developing world. Appropriate policies are required to encourage land-improving investments and better land management if developing...