Book Review 8
Review
Title: Crop Yields and Global Food Security: will yield increase continue to feed the world?
ISBN 13: 9781925133066
Published: 2014
Pages: 634
Cost: $77.27
Rating (1-5): 5
Submitted By: Chatterjee, Amitava
Date posted: August 13, 2014
Excellent Source of Understanding Global Crop Production Scenario and Food Security Issues
Attaining global food security with shrinking nutrient, land and water resources is a challenge for crop scientists and policy makers. This book by Drs. Tony Fischer, Derek Byerlee, and Greg Edmeades, addressed the question of global crop production and solution to narrow down the yield gap. Dr. Fischer did his PhD in plant physiology from University of California, Davis and worked as a crop agronomist and physiologist at several world renowned research centers like, CSIRO, CIMMYT, and Australian Centre for the International Agricultural Research. Dr. Byerlee did a PhD in agricultural economics at Oregon State University and started his career as faculty at Michigan State University and joined CIMMYT as one of its first economists and end up at the World Bank. He is a Fellow of the American Association of Agricultural Economics. Dr. Greg Edmeades completed his PhD in maize physiology from the University of Guelph, Canada and joined CIMMYT. In 1999, Greg joined Pioneer Hi-Bred. He is a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America.
Fisher et al. have presented the (1) causes of yield gaps, (2) major crop production regions across the world, (3) possible ways to reduce yield gap and increasing yield potential, (4) possible effects of climate change on cropping system and mitigation, (5) improving nutrient, water and energy use efficiencies, and (6) policies to increase productivity. Besides talking about different issues of global food security, authors explained fundamental concepts, terminology and mathematical modeling of crop production; this feature will definitely make this book popular. In the beginning, authors explained the global demand of crop, supply of area and market. This chapter particularly emphasizes the need of analyzing current crop production scenario and the estimation of the yield gap. Authors have not waited further to discuss the fundamental concepts of crop physiology and the second chapter of the book is dedicated towards explaining (1) definition of yield gap, (2) confounding factors in farm yield change, (3) weather and soil parameters and physiological determinants of yield. Next five chapters are dedicated towards describing the current production, challenges and opportunities of major production areas of wheat, rice, maize, soybean and other crops across the world. Possible consequences of climate change have profound influence on crop production and global food security. ‘Climate change, crop yield, adaptation and mitigation’ chapter has addressed (1) direct measurements and modeling approaches to weather and yield variations and (2) scope for adaptation to climate change especially warming. Agroecosystem sustainability depends on maximizing the resource use efficiency; authors have analyzed separately water, nutrient and energy use efficiency in chapter, ‘resource use efficiency, sustainability and environment’. Finally, developing policies plays a pivotal role in securing the future of farming. Investments in research and development, and on-farm are discussed with great details. Authors have maintained a simplicity in explaining the complex global food security issues throughout the book and covered explicitly each and every aspect of crop yield gap. Scientists across the world will be immensely benefitted from the detailed comparisons of problems and situations of crop yield gap. This book will be an excellent addition to university library and also for crop and soil scientists and policy makers who has an interest in crop production beyond their own region.