On January 19, 2010, the Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research (APAARI), the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) hosted the New Delhi launch of the book Millions Fed: Proven Successes in Agricultural Development. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation called upon IFPRI to assess the evidence on what works in agriculture—what sorts of policies, programs, and investments in agricultural development have actually reduced hunger and poverty. The resulting book, Millions Fed, pulls together in one volume— for the first time—20 proven agricultural successes from all over the world, 12 of which are from the Asia Pacific region. During the event, chief guest Vijay Vyas, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, spoke about the challenges of raising agricultural growth in India and the ways in which agriculture can be put to work to solve hunger and malnutrition. Raj Paroda, Executive Secretary of APAARI and Chairman of TAAS, and member of the advisory committee that guided the project, echoed the need for sound agricultural development investments. The book’s editors, David J. Spielman and Rajul Pandya-Lorch, detailed several of the case studies through an accompanying video and discussed lessons learned, while IFPRI’s Director in Asia Ashok Gulati framed the project in the context of IFPRI’s continuing work on agriculture and food security. Millions Fed highlights various successes from the Asia-Pacific region, from the development of modern pearl millet and sorghum seed varieties in India and the rapid proliferation of simple tubewells in Bangladesh, to the rise of farmed tilapia in the Philippines and land-tenure reform in China and Vietnam. These striking examples demonstrate that the region has a wealth of experience upon which it and other areas of the world can draw as they strive to ensure the food security of future generations. The research presented in Millions Fed makes clear that success will entail not only increasing the yields and production of staple food crops but also developing better policies, conserving natural resources, and improving nutrition. The Millions Fed products, including book chapters, technical papers, and video are available on IFPRI’s website (www.ifpri/publication/millions-fed)
Millions Fed: Hightlights of Proven Successes in Agricultural Development (Hindi)
