The Doubly Green Revolution: Food for All in the 21st Century - Softcover

Conway, Gordon R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 014026616X ISBN 13: 9780140266160

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd, 1997

Synopsis

In 1997, over 700 million people are hungry. By 2025, the population of the developing countries alone will be approximately seven billion. This book makes a compelling case for a second green revolution, which builds upon the successful technological transformation and yield gains of the first, but which focuses on a programme of broad-based agricultural development that not only delivers food security but creates employment and income. Professor Conway aruges that sustainable argicultural ecosystems can be developed by partnerships between scientists in the developed and developing countries, and that farmers must participate more actively in the process of development. He illustrates new thinking with field-based examples, and explains the application of molecular and cellular biology in the plant breeding process. The final chapter gives an account of the World Food Summit, held in Rome in Novemer 1996.

About this title

Review

"The author provides a clear and concise guide to a key part of what is possibly the most critical question facing humanity."--New Scientist

"A valuable source book that outlines a comprehensive view of world food production as seen through the needs of the world's hungry. . . A book that begins with a disconcerting prediction leaves us instead with a realistic vision of a future where no one goes hungry."--Boston Book Review

"This book is remarkable for its comprehensive treatment of the critical food issues that confront the globe, as well as its very accessible presentation of where we've been--and where we may be headed--in the early years of the new millennium. Dr. Conway's eminently sensible approach to clarifying and addressing the real hunger issues is destined to frame the debate for many years to come."--Per Pinstrup-Andersen, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC

From the Publisher

Book description:
Today more than three quarters of a billion people go hungry in a world where food is plentiful. A distinguished scientist here sets out an agenda for addressing this situation. Initially published in 1997 in the United Kingdom, the book is now available in the first edition produced for the Western hemisphere. In it, the author has updated information to reflect current economic indicators. This volume includes a foreword written for the previous edition by Ismail Serageldin of the World Bank. The original Green Revolution produced new technologies for farmers, creating food abundance. A second transformation of agriculture is now required--specifically, Gordon Conway argues, a "doubly green" revolution that stresses conservation as well as productivity. He calls for researchers and farmers to forge genuine partnerships in an effort to design better plants and animals. He also urges them to develop (or rediscover) alternatives to inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, improve soil and water management, and enhance earning opportunities for the poor, especially women.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 014026616X
• ISBN 13: 9780140266160
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352