Professor Jha and Professor Gaiha address important issues of food security in their wide-ranging selection of the most influential published contributions in this area of study. Their comprehensive, original introduction discusses each article and places it within the context of twelve distinct themes, from which emerges a cogent view of the developing scholarly literature in this area and of the challenges that still remain. These volumes will provide ready access to major landmark contributions in food security and thus be of interest to all academics, policymakers, international organizations and students working in this area.

This volume is a welcome and timely contribution to a topic of enduring importance. The global consequences of recent food price crises underscore the need to examine food security issues from diverse perspectives. This volume meets that need, featuring accessible yet cutting-edge analyses of food security by leading experts in fields as diverse as trade, nutrition, public health, production, political economy, and behavioral economics. It will be of interest to a wide range of scholars and practitioners.' - Steven Block, Tufts University, US'This excellent volume offers a compact but wide-ranging survey of recent research on important changes in global food markets. Its 20 chapters accurately capture important areas of scholarly agreement as well as on-going debates among economists studying agriculture and nutrition, with several provocative original contributions from other fields. The book draws particularly on the authors' long experience in Asia, offering widely-applicable insights for scholars and policy analysts seeking to understand the past, present and future of food around the world.' - William A. Masters, Tufts University, US The global population is forecasted to reach 9.4 billion by 2050, with much of this increase concentrated in developing regions and cities. Ensuring adequate food and nourishment to this large population is a pressing economic, moral and even security challenge and requires research (and action) from a multi-disciplinary perspective. This book provides the first such integrated approach to tackling this problem by addressing the multiplicity of challenges posed by rising global population, diet diversification and urbanization in developing countries and climate change. It examines key topics such as: - the impact of prosperity on food demand - the role of international trade in addressing food insecurity - the challenge posed by greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land degradation - the implication on labor markets of severe under-nutrition - viability of small scale farms - strategies to augment food availability. The Handbook on Food would be a welcome supplementary text for courses on development economics, particularly those concentrating on agricultural development, climate change and food availability, as well as nutrition. Contributors include: Anshuman Adheleya, Alok Adheleya, M. Das, D. Dawe, O. Ecker, C.L. Gilbert, D. Goswami, J.E. Gready, D. Headey, K.S. Imai, S. Jha, N. Kaicker, S. Kaur, V.S. Kulkarni, A. Mahal, K. Mathur, K. Otsuka, S. Pfuderer, A. Sarris, C. Sathyamala, J. Schmidhuber, P.V. Srinivasan, L. Sutton, G. Thapa, P. Timmer, J.-F. Trinh Tan, F.N. Tubiello, P. Warr, J. You

This volume is a welcome and timely contribution to a topic of enduring importance. The global consequences of recent food price crises underscore the need to examine food security issues from diverse perspectives. This volume meets that need, featuring accessible yet cutting-edge analyses of food security by leading experts in fields as diverse as trade, nutrition, public health, production, political economy, and behavioral economics. It will be of interest to a wide range of scholars and practitioners.' - Steven Block, Tufts University, US'This excellent volume offers a compact but wide-ranging survey of recent research on important changes in global food markets. Its 20 chapters accurately capture important areas of scholarly agreement as well as on-going debates among economists studying agriculture and nutrition, with several provocative original contributions from other fields. The book draws particularly on the authors' long experience in Asia, offering widely-applicable insights for scholars and policy analysts seeking to understand the past, present and future of food around the world.' - William A. Masters, Tufts University, US The global population is forecasted to reach 9.4 billion by 2050, with much of this increase concentrated in developing regions and cities. Ensuring adequate food and nourishment to this large population is a pressing economic, moral and even security challenge and requires research (and action) from a multi-disciplinary perspective. This book provides the first such integrated approach to tackling this problem by addressing the multiplicity of challenges posed by rising global population, diet diversification and urbanization in developing countries and climate change. It examines key topics such as: - the impact of prosperity on food demand - the role of international trade in addressing food insecurity - the challenge posed by greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land degradation - the implication on labor markets of severe under-nutrition - viability of small scale farms - strategies to augment food availability. The Handbook on Food would be a welcome supplementary text for courses on development economics, particularly those concentrating on agricultural development, climate change and food availability, as well as nutrition. Contributors include: Anshuman Adheleya, Alok Adheleya, M. Das, D. Dawe, O. Ecker, C.L. Gilbert, D. Goswami, J.E. Gready, D. Headey, K.S. Imai, S. Jha, N. Kaicker, S. Kaur, V.S. Kulkarni, A. Mahal, K. Mathur, K. Otsuka, S. Pfuderer, A. Sarris, C. Sathyamala, J. Schmidhuber, P.V. Srinivasan, L. Sutton, G. Thapa, P. Timmer, J.-F. Trinh Tan, F.N. Tubiello, P. Warr, J. You

Fight rural poverty through the creation of significant policy mechanisms, microenterprises, and employment programs The majority of the world's poor live in Asia, and most of these live in rural areas. These areas are also infamous for the food insecurity and malnutrition associated with poverty. Making even a modest dent in rural Asian poverty has the potential to realize large gains in global human development. Reducing Rural Poverty in Asia provides evidence-based guidelines for policymakers in developing countries, for researchers focusing on development problems, and for the international development assistance community in the continuing search for ways to effectively reduce poverty in the developing world. Detailed examinations are clearly presented on the efforts for poverty alleviation through microenterprise development and rural public employment programs that focus on public works and household/small-scale industries. Asia-based case studies of various microenterprises and rural public employment projects reveal important policy mechanisms and the effectiveness of each poverty reduction measure. Tables, figures, and relevant glossaries make unfamiliar terms and difficult information easy to understand. Part I of Reducing Rural Poverty in Asia: presents a framework for the analysis of rural microenterprises with a focus on microfinance highlights the main findings of country-specific case studies suggests guidelines for an appropriate strategy for the provision of microfinance to reach the poor, alleviate poverty, and create financial stability analyzes the issues relating to public wage employment schemes and the principal findings of the case studies draws policy conclusions for the formulation of effective public employment schemes Part II of Reducing Rural Poverty in Asia presents case studies conducted in India, Bangladesh, and the Philippinesalong with revealing conclusions. These studies include: the SIDBI Foundation for Micro Credit in Indiaincluding the continuing problem of the exclusion of the poorest the Maharashtra Rural Credit Project in India and concerns about the sustainability of the financial infrastructure the Small Enterprises Development Project in Bangladesh and the high rate of return on capital from financed enterprises the successes of the Grameen Uddog, Agrani Bank Micro-Enterprise Development Unit (MEDU), and Kishoreganj Community-Based Projects in Bangladesh the income-stabilizing role of the Employment Guarantee Scheme in Maharashtra, India guidelines for the Public Works Employment policy and implementation in the Philippines Reducing Rural Poverty in Asia is a concise overview of the crucial research undertaken at the request of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and makes this a vital resource for researchers, educators, students, policymakers, and development experts working towards the goal of poverty reduction.