Food Security : Threat Factors, Policies & Challenges

The 20th century saw the most rapid and most dramatic agricultural transformation in human history. Science-based agriculture brought about many changes on the farm that transformed agriculture from subsistence to a more productive and profitable modern industrial based agriculture. Cassava is one of the main sources of world carbohydrate with Africa recognised as the highest producing continent and Nigeria as the highest producing country. Chapter One conducted an investigation in Nigeria to find out the variable inputs that affects the output of cassava farming households. Chapter Two assesses rural womens level of use of information and communication technologies for food security information in the oil rich Niger Delta. Chapter Three explores the changing socio-economic environment of food production in Cameroon and its implications on food security. Chapter Four discusses the contribution of diaspora remittances to household food security in Zimbabwe. Chapter Five focuses on rice food security in the Pearl River Delta of China, and demonstrates that the joint application of silicon and phosphorus fertilisers is an appropriate option to minimise arsenic accumulation in rice grain.