Multifunctional Agriculture

Preface

This book charts the evolution of a practical and effective means of transforming the lives of farming households in the tropics and subtropics from deprivation due to hunger, malnutrition, and poverty, toward plenty, with food and nutritional security as well as social and economic empowerment. Currently one-third of farm land is severely degraded with staple crops actually yielding only 10–15% of their biological potential and many millions of rural households suffering from food shortages, dietary deficiencies, ill health, and extreme poverty. The emerging story in this book illustrates how this can relatively easily be transformed by rehabilitating soils and agroecosystems, leading to greatly improved actual food crop yields. Crucially, ...