Synopses & Reviews
The IAASTD was initiated by the World Bank and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, with support from the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and other sponsors. Its goal is to analyze the potential of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology (AKST) for reducing hunger and poverty, improving rural livelihoods, and working toward environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable development. The results of the project are contained in seven reports: a Global Report, five regional Sub-Global Assessments, and a Synthesis Report. The
Global Report gives the key findings of the Assessment, and the five
Sub-Global Assessments address the most urgent regional challenges. The volumes present options for action-all supported by easy-to-understand graphs, charts, and tables. All of the reports have been extensively peer-reviewed by governments and experts and all have been approved by a panel of participating governments. The
Sub-Global Assessments all utilize a similar and consistent framework: examining and reporting on the impacts of AKST on hunger, poverty, nutrition, human health, and environmental/social sustainability. The five
Sub-Global Assessments cover the following regions:
- Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA)
- East and South Asia and the Pacific (ESAP)
- Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
- North America and Europe (NAE)
- Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
The
Synthesis Report integrates key findings from the Global and Sub-Global Assessments, providing in-depth analyses of current conditions, challenges, and options for action. In addition, it addresses eight topics of critical importance: bioenergy; biotechnology; climate change; human health; natural resource management; trade and markets; traditional knowledge and community-based innovation; and women in agriculture.
Review
"Although considered by many to be a success story, the benefits of productivity increases in world agriculture are unevenly spread. Often the poorest of the poor have gained little or nothing; and 850 million people are still hungry or malnourished with an additional 4 million more joining their ranks annually. We are putting food that appears cheap on our tables; but it is food that is not always healthy and that costs us dearly in terms of water, soil and the biological diversity on which all our futures depend. "
Synopsis
The Synthesis Report integrates key findings from the Global and Sub-Global Assessments, providing in-depth analyses of current conditions, challenges, and options for action. In addition, it addresses eight topics of critical importance: bioenergy; biotechnology; climate change; human health; natural resource management; trade and markets; traditional knowledge and community-based innovation; and women in agriculture.
About the Author
The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) looks realistically at the problem of feeding the world. An unprecedented three-year collaborative effort, the IAASTD has involved more than 900 participants in 110 countries and cost more than $11 million. It utilizes the latest scientific assessment techniques to report on the advancements and setbacks of the past fifty years and to set the agricultural agenda for the next fifty years.