1 This paper was presented at the International Seminar: "Food Policies within the Context of Central America: the Case of Staple Grains", organized by the Government of Costa Rica, FAO and IICA Even though it was already published one year ago, we have decided to publish it again in order to assure a wider diffusion.
World food security and the struggle against hunger are some of the most important priorities that have been repeatedly emphasized by the international community. More recently, the Heads of State and Government gathered at the World Food Summit organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, reaffirming their commitment and determination to achieve food security for all and in the context of an on-going effort to eradicate hunger in all countries, with an immediate view to reducing the number of undernourished people to half their present level no later than 2015.
However, experience has shown that there is not an easy way to escape from chronic hunger and the constant threat of famine. Therefore, additional efforts are needed to understand the factors that cause widespread hunger and vulnerability to famines, and to design appropriate measures conducive towards creating an enabling environment for private and group initiatives to devote their skills and resources towards the common goal of food for all.
With the objective of contributing to this effort, we are pleased to share with you an important analysis that Professor C. Timmer developed in his paper "Food Security Strategies: The Asian Experience". In fact, in this paper, Professor Timmer reviews the recent literature on food systems and economic development and underlines their limitations. Simultaneously, he analyses the Asian approach to food security and concludes that, the lesson from East and Southeast Asia for achieving and maintaining food security can be summed up in this way: a growth process stimulated by a dynamic rural economy leads to rapid poverty alleviation, which, in the context of public action to stabilize food prices, ensures food security.
We consider that Professor Timmer's paper will be useful to both policy makers and economists working on policy issues.
