In the wake of the 2008 global food crisis, African capitals have been buzzing with renewed talk of the need for food self-sufficiency, and rice is often at the top of government agendas. Although everyone agrees on the need to increase production, the solutions coming out of the corridors of power boil down to the old formula of getting more fertilizers and “high-yielding” seeds to farmers.

Participatory mapping, commonly used in participatory development, plays an important role in helping marginalised groups by making visible the association between land and local communities, highlighting important social, historical and cultural knowledge as well as presenting geographical feature information.

Foreign acquisitions of farm land in developing countries have become the focus of concern. Many observers consider them a new form of colonialism that threatens food security of the poor. However, investments could be good news if the objectives of land purchasers are reconciled with the investment needs of developing countries. The paper finds that land for agriculture in developing countries has become a target of international investments because of the following:

Deforestation arising from conversion of forest areas into agriculture is a serious problem in Malawi. This paper discusses competition for agricultural land and investigates why the poor are closely associated with forests. Furthermore, the paper examines the effects of changes in crop land use on changes in forest cover. The author notes that the government of Malawi, like many others in sub-Saharan Africa, is currently faced with the problem of poverty. Moreover, being agricultural based most poverty reduction policies are streamlined along the agricultural sector.

Climate models are predicting a hotter, drier and less predictable climate in the Middle East, a region already considered the world's most water-scarce and where, in many places, demand for water already outstrips supply. This report addresses the links between climate change, peace and conflict.

Over 2008 large-scale acquisitions of farmland in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia have increased. This report discusses key trends and drivers in land acquisitions, the contractual arrangements underpinning them and the way these are negotiated. It also analyses the early impacts on land access for rural people in recipient countries with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

One of the effects of the food price crisis on the world food system is the increasing acquisition of farmland in developing countries by other countries seeking to ensure their food supplies.This brief analyses the pros and cons of land acquisitions in developing countries by capital rich economies. It argues that acquisitions have the potential to inject much needed investment into agriculture and rural areas in poor developing countries resulting into creation of farm and off-farm jobs and development of rural infrastructure.

Biofuel demand is increasing because of a combination of growing energy needs; rising oil costs; the pursuit of clean, renewable sources of energy; and the desire to boost farm incomes in developed countries. In turn, the need for crops-such as maize and sugarcane-to be used as feedstocks for biofuels has increased dramatically. That demand has had a significant and increasing impact on global food systems. The effects of growing biofuel demand are interwoven with tightening grain markets, which reflect demographic shifts and improved diets.

"Contract farming is conventionally thought of as a form of industrial organization that helps to overcome high monitoring, supervision, and environmental mitigation costs incurred from ensuring a reliable and uniform-quality supply (from the standpoint of integrators) and high capital and small-scale input and service purchase costs (from the standpoint of individual farmers). But contract farming is also a private sector vertical coordination response to the changing demand for certifying the use of quality inputs to produce quality outputs and of safe production procedures.

The overall objective of this Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) is to analyze the food security and vulnerability conditions of population groups and communities, and to provide baseline information to WFP decision makers.

SUMMARY: In the last 30 years, the context of development in Cambodian has gone through dramatic changes. A succession of transitions characterised by a complete restructuring of institutional and socio-economic frameworks have resulted in a singular situation. Cambodian society remains largely agrarian with land being a major safety net for a large majority of the population who depend on natural resources in their livelihood. Nevertheless, in the context of an industrializing economy, land-based resources are under the pressure of competing driving forces.

The report includes three essays about Responding to the World Food Crisis: Getting on the Right Track by Joachim von Braun, High Global Food Prices: The Challenges and Opportunities by Josette Sheeran, and Policy Implications of High Food Prices for Africa by Namanga Ngongi.