Meeting Food Needs in the Developing World: The Location and Magnitude of the Task in the Next Decade

This report is the first research report if the International Food Policy Research Institute. As its title indicates, it is a partial analysis of the world food problem which attempts to indicate precisely the location and magnitude of possible food deficits in developing market economies. The report bears no single author because it is a joint effort. However, Nathen Koffsky carried most of the burden for the analysis and writing. Diane Skellie and Pradeep Kotamraju did most of the statistical analysis. Kennth Bachmann, Pelix Nweke, M. S. Roa, and James Gavan all contributed to the planning and development of the analysis. Special thanks are due to the other organizations that contributed in various ways. These include the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the United States Department of Agriculture, all of which made data available. Thanks are also due the Brookings Institution which made its computer facilities available. With this report, IFPRI is inaugurating a research program on International food policy issues and the alternatives that are available to deal with them, especially the issues of major importance to developing countries. The aim of the IFPRI research is to help clarify the problem and identify solutions to prevent the worsening of what is already a serious problem in most of the developing countries.