Oil crops, aquaculture, and the rising role of demand: A fresh perspective on food security

The global economy has experienced remarkable growth during the past twenty-five years. Rising incomes have helped to alleviate extreme poverty and calorie deficiencies worldwide, and have fueled demand for animal protein and processed foods. Income disparities have also widened, leaving the majority of the world's population in the lower income groups. This paper explores how economic growth, income distribution, and trade have influenced patterns of food demand and food security since 1990. It focuses on two of the most rapidly expanding segments of the world food economy, tropical oil crops and aquaculture. These commodity groups involve multinational companies and smallholder producers oriented mainly around global markets. To date, however, Sub-Saharan Africa has largely been by-passed by growth in both sectors.