Increasing Pace of Urbanization and Implications for Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture

The increasing pace of urbanization in emerging market economies poses a challenge for agricultural production in these countries. On the one hand, agricultural productivity is not keeping pace with the speed of urbanization and growth in food demand and, on the other, the demand for food is highly skewed making for an inordinate amount of food going for non-human consumption and wastage. This paper reviews the trends in urbanization in as well as in in agricultural productivity and comes to the conclusion that some parts of the world may well be facing a neo Malthusian future. Policy measures designed to address this situation are considered. Implications for international trade and domestic agricultural policies are also considered.