Food security and scarcity: why ending hunger is so hard
This book by C. Peter Timmer (available on University of Pennsylvania Press), provides an examination of what makes a productive, sustainable, and stable food system and of how to address the complex task of ending hunger. Important lessons learned are analysed, based on past work of the author as well as recent published research. Timmer calls for markets, policies, and investments that focus on pro-poor growth, agricultural development, and stable food economies. Reiterating the importance of a historical perspective, he highlights short-, medium-, and long-term actions, including managing volatile food prices, managing the demand for food, and managing a sustainable increase in food supplies. An important message from the book is that any strategy to improve food security has to depend on an in-depth understanding of how food markets operate. During a livestream event at IFPRI in February 2015, Timmer gave a presentation of the highlights in his book, watch here.