This paper reviews several of the principal driving factors in export-orientated agriculture in developing countries. There is sometimes debate over developing countries that may be food deficient having segments of their agricultural sector focusing on export instead of producing food entirely...

Research and development efforts to strengthen farmers’ linkage with markets often focus on the systematic assessment of market chains, formulation of pro-poor policy recommendations, and the introduction of macrolevel enabling mechanisms. Meanwhile there is growing recognition of the critical...

Humans have been trading seafood and seafood products since time immemorial. This trade has commonly crossed national boundaries, but the scale of trade has increased markedly in the past twenty years. By and large the distilled view of nations is that trade is good and there has been...

There is a new and increasing emphasis on poverty alleviation and livelihoods improvement in forestry, representing both a challenge and an opportunity. This paper briefly reviews the evolution of the ‘livelihoods’ issue, analyses the concept of ‘poverty alleviation’ and discusses means...

The world’s population is estimated to peak at around nine billion in 2050, with almost half of the increase from 2009 (three billion) occurring in Asia. This will require a doubling of food production on a declining land area and natural resource base and in the context of increasing climate...

This Keynote Address gives a high-level overview of the issues of social and economic development facing the region. Markets have played a significant role in advancing economic and social development in developing Asia, in terms of structural transformation as economies move from agrarian and...

Women in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have a vital role to play in managing the long-term sustainable supply of food to the formal and informal markets. With over 85% of the food grown by women, and with relatively little public investment in the food crop sector over time, national non-government...

In Thailand, as in other markets, the supermarket ‘revolution’ is seen as a ‘two-edged sword’. On the one hand, it can lower food prices for consumers and create opportunities for farmers and processors to gain access to quality-differentiated food markets and raise incomes. On the other...