Agricultural science and technology development played a pivotal role in meeting the challenge of producing enough food to feed the additional billions in the last 50 years. In the Asia-Pacific Region, the green revolution, ushered in during the mid-1960s, secured major increases in grain yield, more-than-doubled cereal production, and halved the proportion of hungry and poor people.
Yet, nearly two-third of the world's poor and undernourished have their homes in the Asia-Pacific Region, and the reduction in their number is far short of the 1996 World Food Summit target. The green revolution generally by-passed the vast unfavourable rainfed and other non-congenial production regimes which are inhabited mostly by poor, and had often added to land and water degradation and biodiversity erosion.
There are significant inter country differences in yield increases and per capita calorie availability, depending on technological capacities, policies and investments in agricultural R & D. Towards the years 2015 and 2030, about half of the increase in world's population will materialize in Asia, further stressing the land, water and biodiversity resources. Most farmers are small-holders and poor. These challenges call for more focussed and intense research to generate problem-solving technologies, strategies and policies. While greater resources need to be channelled to research strategies that directly benefit the poor and the less-favoured lands, the efforts in favoured lands must not slacken to ensure steady overall national agricultural output.
This study has examined agro-biophysical, socio-economic and environmental settings in the Asia-Pacific Region and suggests R & D strategies to fight hunger and poverty. Needs, aspirations, priorities and constraints inevitably vary widely by region, sub-region and country-hence the importance of a science policy and research strategy for every country. It must be recognized that technology is only one instrument in fighting hunger and poverty and that no technology can be a magic bullet to solve veritable problems. The science-led growth must therefore be seen within the broader context of agriculture-led national growth and development efforts involving different stakeholders.
FAO's role in fostering national, regional and global capacities in agricultural research and technology development has been analyzed. Highly constructive and valuable comments received from various FAO colleagues in finalizing this publication are greatly appreciated. It is hoped that scientific and technological innovations will be matched nationally and internationally by policy and partnership innovations and political commitment to achieve the goals set by the World Food Summit.
R.B. Singh
