This open access book discusses the current role of smallholders in connection with food security and poverty reduction in developing countries. It addresses the opportunities they enjoy, and the constraints they face, by analysing the availability, access to and utilization of production factors. Due to the relevance of smallholder farms, enhancing their production capacities and economic and social resilience could produce positive impacts on food security and nutrition at a number of levels. In addition to the role of small farmers as food suppliers, the book considers their role as consumers and their level of nutrition security. It investigates the link between agriculture and nutrition in order to better understand how agriculture affects human health and dietary patterns. Given the importance of smallholdings, strategies to increase their productivity are essential to improving food and nutrition security, as well as food diversity.

This edited volume “Food Security in Africa” is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of food safety and availability, water issues, farming and nutrition. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by an expert active in the public health and food security research area. All chapters are complete in itself but united under a common research study topic. This publication aims at providing a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on Africa’s food security challenges, quality of water, small-scale farming as well as economic and social challenges that this continent is facing. Hopefully, this volume will open new possible research paths for further novel developments.

A modern classic of the new agrarianism "Chris Smaje...shows that the choice is clear. Either we have a small farm future, or we face collapse and extinction."—Vandana Shiva "Every young person should read this book."—Richard Heinberg In a groundbreaking debut, farmer and social scientist Chris Smaje argues that organizing society around small-scale farming offers the soundest, sanest and most reasonable response to climate change and other crises of civilisation—and will yield humanity’s best chance at survival. Drawing on a vast range of sources from across a multitude of disciplines, A Small Farm Future analyses the complex forces that make societal change inevitable; explains how low-carbon, locally self-reliant agrarian communities can empower us to successfully confront these changes head on; and explores the pathways for delivering this vision politically. Challenging both conventional wisdom and utopian blueprints, A Small Farm Future offers rigorous original analysis of wicked problems and hidden opportunities in a way that illuminates the path toward functional local economies, effective self-provisioning, agricultural diversity and a shared earth. Perfect for readers of both Wendell Berry and Thomas Piketty, A Small Farm Future is a refreshing, new outlook on a way forward for society—and a vital resource for activists, students, policy makers, and anyone looking to enact change.

The development of sustainable agricultural systems is an imperative aspect of any country, but particularly in the context of developing countries. Lack of progress in these initiatives can have negative effects on the nation as a whole. Agricultural Development and Food Security in Developing Nations is a pivotal reference source for the latest scholarly material on promoting advancements in agricultural systems and food security in developing economies. Highlighting impacts on citizens, as well as on political and social environments of a country, this book is ideally designed for students, professionals, policy makers, researchers, and practitioners interested in recent developments in the areas of agriculture.

This book provides a contemporary overview of the social-ecological and economic vulnerabilities that produce food and nutrition insecurity in various small island contexts, including both high islands and atolls, from the Pacific to the Caribbean. It examines the historical and contemporary circumstances that have accompanied the shift from subsistence production to the consumption of imported, processed foods and drinks, and the impact of this transition on nutrition and the rise of non-communicable diseases. It also assesses the challenges involved in reversing this trend, and how more effective social and economic policies, agricultural and fisheries strategies, and governance arrangements could promote more resilient and sustainable small island food systems. It offers both theoretical and practical perspectives, and brings together a broad range of policy areas, e.g. agriculture, food, commerce, health, planning and socio-economic policy. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for a range of disciplines in a number of regional contexts, and for the growing number of scholars and practitioners working on and in small island states. It will be of particular value as the first book to examine the diversity and commonalities of island states around the globe as they confront issues of food security.

This book emanated from the research outputs of different authors whose diverse academic traditions and wide geographic spread play a major role in enriching its contents. The volume is mainly a compilation on smallholder farmers and their practices. The book also highlights the challenges, which that small farmers frequently encounter, and the opportunities or prospects, which abound in their farming operations. Compartmentalised into three major sections, this 11-chapter volume provides an account of thought-provoking scenarios and narratives, which are rich and well- suited for policy development and praxis. The book, therefore, compels policymakers to see opportunities in every challenge associated with smallholder agriculture rather than see challenges in every opportunity therein. While some of the chapters present the results of field experimentations that highlight the impacts of certain geographic features and fertilizer use on root tuber cultivars' production, some explore the effect of climate change on smallholder farming practices and how small farmers counteract the vagaries of weather conditions, which might impede their livelihoods. Nonetheless, most of the chapters largely rely on sociological methodologies to identify pertinent issues affecting the smallholder agriculture. While some of the issues underscore the advocacy for organic farming and its associated benefits or opportunities, others emphasize the uniqueness of certain agro-ecological farming systems and the opportunities, which they might offer resource-poor, smallholder farmers. A number of the chapters specifically provide some historical perspectives on the political economy of smallholder agriculture and identify the motivating and demotivating factors influencing young farmers' affection for farming while some accentuate the pertinent role of research in determining small farmers' response to the adoption of improved biotechnology in achieving food security. In the context of this book, there is a convergence in the findings and viewpoints of the authors in many places regarding topical issues on environmental sustainability, mitigation of climate change, ethics of the agri-food systems and agricultural policy.