What kind of agriculture do we need to feed the world? World leaders have committed themselves to halving hunger by the year 2015 as a first step towards food for all. But is this an achievable target?
John Madeley's new book shows we already have the experience on which to base a new approach to agricultural production and feeding the world's whole population. Millions need better access to the land from which the market forced them, and a more equitable income distribution so that the poor can afford the available food. This is part of the solution. But the other part is an innovative, multi-faceted move away from a monoculture production system dependent on ever more tractors and fossil fuels, dangerous chemicals, and hybrid seeds monopolized by a handful of giant corporations.
Instead, he shows it is feasible to look to the spread of a low-external input approach, a reintegration of traditional farming techniques, new farming practices like organic agriculture and permaculture, and a range of 'green' technologies which can all play a role in bringing world agriculture back to a path which offers a viable livelihood to farmers, food for the hungry, and all without harming the environment.
1. Feeding the Hungry
2. Modern Agriculture: Does it Really Work?
3. Third World Agriculture: Who Grows What?
4. The Hungry
5. The New Agriculture
6. Getting the Technologies Right
7. The Water Spring
8. When Land is Life
9. Women Food Producers: Releasing their Potential
10. The Credit Line
11. Rural Development: The Wider Context
12. The Role of Trade
13. Environmental Impacts
14. Livestock Connections
15. Aid
16. Conclusion: Agriculture Matters
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