Food Security and Secure Access to Land by the Rural Poor

摘要

The world has ample food. Global food production has grown faster than population since the 1950s. It could have grown much more rapidly than it did without raising food prices significantly if the poor had enjoyed sufficient resources to produce, or incomes to purchase, the food they needed. Per capita food supplies could be increased economically and sustainably in the foreseeable future. (Barraclough, 1991) In spite of these favourable conditions, much of humanity remains underfed. In some countries and sub-national regions this proportion is far higher than in others. Most of the chronically undernourished still reside in rural areas, including in Latin America and the Caribbean which is already highly urbanized. The gap between reality and what is clearly possible is the principal issue to address at the World Food Summit.