We live in a world of global food. The daily meals of people in both the developed and developing worlds are being transformed by the increasing ease with which food is being traded across continents. Affluent consumers' supermarket trolleys increasingly are being filled with an array of food products from developing countries while, at the same time, food exports from the developed world are supplanting and transforming dietary systems in developing countries. Some experts suggest that the enhanced tradability of food ushers in an era of increasing choice and affluence. Others point to problems of dependency, inequality and social dislocation accompanying these developments.
Cross-continental Food Systems represents a collective effort to document and understand these issues. Containing the contributions of twenty-six leading international social scientists from eleven countries, the book presents recent case study research on how and why the food system is being globalized, and what this meansfor people and communities in different parts of the world. The book covers debates on new structures and food products, as well as detailed accounts of fresh horticulture, tropical crops and livestock.
This book fills a major gap in contemporary scholarship on food and globalization. Its emphasis on case study accounts of the connections between trade and restructuring provides texture and context to these complex and important debates. Written and researched at a time in which national governments are seeking to negotiate new rules of global agricultural trade, this book is timely and relevant. It will interest researchers in geography, development studies, agricultural economics andpolitical science, as well as professionals in the fields of trade and food policy.

Contract farming has received renewed attention recently as developing economies try to grapple with how to transform the agricultural sector and its associated value chains. This book examines different contract arrangements for selected crops, applying both qualitative and quantitative approaches in order to examine how contract farming affects smallholders and value chain dynamics in Tanzania. Major themes covered in the book include: contract farming policy; contract farming and value chain dynamics; contract farming adoption decisions; contract farming and income diversification. The authors also discuss alternative aspects of contract farming such as trust, conspiracy, empowerment and corporate social responsibility. The book presents original research from case studies conducted in Tanzania on sugarcane, tobacco, sunflower and cotton. These crops have a history of trials and errors with contract farming involving smallholders. Furthermore, they are targeted in national strategies as some of the main crops for establishment and upgrading of agro-industrial activities in Tanzania.

It has increasingly been recognised that rural and urban areas are inextricably interlinked. This book adopts a fresh approach to the issue of rural-urban dynamics through a study of the changing nature of livelihoods, mobility and markets in ten study sites across four countries of Africa and Asia. Building on detailed fieldwork conducted in Ghana, Tanzania, Vietnam and Thailand, the authors explore how settlements and livelihoods are being transformed as long-term inhabitants and recent migrants embrace new economic activities many of which are linked to global markets. The book is structured around the concept of 'frontier' which is conceptualized as being a dynamic space where the forces of economic, demographic and social change are brought to bear. The study sites include agricultural frontiers (coffee, cocoa, pineapples and fresh fruit), handicraft and manufacturing frontiers, and mining frontiers (gold and diamonds). In all of the cases, global value chain dynamics have played a pivotal role in shaping local livelihoods. Some settlements are developing into new urban centres whilst others are suffering from a boom and bust experience due to the unreliability of export markets. The similarities and differences between the frontier settlements are drawn out by comparing frontiers of similar types and by highlighting the theoretical and policy implications of the findings from all the frontier types. The originality of the book lies in its combination of conceptual clarity, methodological coherence and empirical richness. By combining detailed empirical findings with theoretical insight from debates on livelihoods, global value chains, mobility patterns, settlement dynamics and rural-urban relations, the book sheds new light on these issues within an overall framework of development trajectories in Africa and Asia. Given scholars' and international agencies' current interest in the spatial dimensions of economic development, this contribution is particularly timely with its fresh geographical approach to development issues; this book is a pertinent and authoritative read for anyone researching or learning in the field of development.

It has increasingly been recognised that rural and urban areas are inextricably interlinked. This book adopts a fresh approach to the issue of rural-urban dynamics through a study of the changing nature of livelihoods, mobility and markets in ten study sites across four countries of Africa and Asia. Building on detailed fieldwork conducted in Ghana, Tanzania, Vietnam and Thailand, the authors explore how settlements and livelihoods are being transformed as long-term inhabitants and recent migrants embrace new economic activities many of which are linked to global markets.

The book is structured around the concept of frontier which is conceptualized as being a dynamic space where the forces of economic, demographic and social change are brought to bear. The study sites include agricultural frontiers (coffee, cocoa, pineapples and fresh fruit), handicraft and manufacturing frontiers, and mining frontiers (gold and diamonds). In all of the cases, global value chain dynamics have played a pivotal role in shaping local livelihoods. Some settlements are developing into new urban centres whilst others are suffering from a boom and bust experience due to the unreliability of export markets. The similarities and differences between the frontier settlements are drawn out by comparing frontiers of similar types and by highlighting the theoretical and policy implications of the findings from all the frontier types.

The originality of the book lies in its combination of conceptual clarity, methodological coherence and empirical richness. By combining detailed empirical findings with theoretical insight from debates on livelihoods, global value chains, mobility patterns, settlement dynamics and rural-urban relations, the book sheds new light on these issues within an overall framework of development trajectories in Africa and Asia. Given scholars and international agencies current interest in the spatial dimensions of economic development, this contribution is particularly timely with its fresh geographical approach to development issues; this book is a pertinent and authoritative read for anyone researching or learning in the field of development.

Contract farming has received renewed attention recently as developing economies try to grapple with how to transform the agricultural sector and its associated value chains. This book examines different contract arrangements for selected crops, applying both qualitative and quantitative approaches in order to examine how contract farming affects smallholders and value chain dynamics in Tanzania. Major themes covered in the book include: contract farming policy; contract farming and value chain dynamics; contract farming adoption decisions; contract farming and income diversification. The authors also discuss alternative aspects of contract farming such as trust, conspiracy, empowerment and corporate social responsibility. The book presents original research from case studies conducted in Tanzania on sugarcane, tobacco, sunflower and cotton. These crops have a history of trials and errors with contract farming involving smallholders. Furthermore, they are targeted in national strategies as some of the main crops for establishment and upgrading of agro-industrial activities in Tanzania.

Provides a comprehensive and in-depth examination of the ongoing process of development and societal transformation in a dynamic region of the Third World. Written by a team of specialists from the fields of development studies, sociology and political economy, the book looks at some of the fundamental problems facing South East Asia by addressing the following issues: the social constellations; class, culture and political legitimation; and industrialisation and labour regulation.

African countries have been incorporated into present processes of economic globalization in a more nuanced way than is usually claimed. Obviously, structural changes and economic growth have not been on the scale seen in other developing country regions, Southeast Asia in particular. However, the increasing global interaction between functionally integrated foci of production and services has also affected Africa in ways that are changing the material foundations of economic and social life on the continent. These processes are not uniform throughout Africa, but affect local, national and regional actors and institutions in diverse and complex ways. In short, globalization in Africa is an uneven process, integrating or re-integrating some localities and communities in global flows of goods, finance and information, while marginalizing or excluding others. The aim of this book is to grasp the diversity of these globalization processes in a systematic way by adopting a common analytical framework, the Global Value Chain approach. Commodity-specific data in two or more countries are taken as a point of departure and the variations and similarities in linkages between local, national, regional and global chain segments are examined. The book is based on original quantitative and qualitative data, collected during fieldwork by the authors.

Filling a gap in contemporary food and globalization scholarship, this timely book presents recent case-study research on the globalization of food systems, and the impacts for communities around the world. It covers debates on new structures and food products, as well as detailed accounts of fresh horticulture, tropical crops and livestock. Drawing together contributions of twenty-six leading international social scientists from eleven countries, this book will interest researchers in geography, development studies, agricultural economics and political science, as well as professionals in the fields of trade and food policy.

Analyzing South-South trade in a theoretical and political framework, this book looks at the development of this trade in manufactured goods since the 1960s. Problems and potentials of South-South trade in a development context are highlighted through a number of case studies including the export of manufactured goods from Togo, Nicaragua and Malaysia, Zimbabwe's export of manufacturers to Zambia, and India's export of capital goods to Tanzania. This leads to an assessment of the possible future role of South-South trade in furthering Third-World development.

The book gives a thorough analysis of South-South trade in a theoretical and political framework. The development of South-South trade in manufactured goods since the 1960s is treated in detail. Problems and potentials of South-South trade in a development context are highlighted through a number of case-studies: the South-South export of manufactured goods from Togo, Nicaragua and Malaysia, Zimbabwe's export of manufactures to Zambia, and India's export of capital goods to Tanzania. This leads to an assessment of the possible future role of South-South trade in furthering Third-World development.