This is a comprehensive, timely and impressive book on the critical issue of world food security and the capacity for crop yield increases to satisfy increasing food demand as the global population rises from 7 to 9·3 billion by 2050. The book is written by three scientists from the antipodes with deep practical and scientific experience and expertise in domestic and international crop production, who were raised on wheat/sheep/dairy farms and completed agricultural science degrees in Australia and New Zealand, undertook PhDs in the USA, and have had long careers in university, government, international and industry R & D groups, including working together at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) during the 1980–90s on breeding, physiology, and economics of wheat and maize. It is published by ACIAR with support from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), which both have strong interests in and commitment to crop yield increase and food security.

The book is arranged logically in 14 sections, each with a very helpful list of key (bullet) points at the beginning. The text is extensive, supported by lots of quantification and illustration in figures, tables, maps and equations conveniently numbered to follow section sub-headings. Readers can delve further into issues of interest, with over 1000 publications listed in the 56-page reference section.

The introductory section sets the scene of the problem, covering crop demand, supply (major crops, area and yield) and yield progress and prospects. Following sections cover the major crops (wheat, rice, maize, soybean, other crops) in considerable detail, exploring the changes in area, potential yield, farm yield, and yield gaps over the past 20–30 years, and the contributions agronomy and breeding might make to increasing yields. Sections on closing yield gaps (through breeding, agronomy and institutional interventions), increasing potential yield, climate change, and improving resource use efficiency, sustainability and the environment (through sustainable intensification) review and propose technologies to sustainably increase productivity. Following sections address trends in total factor productivity and the role of policies and people in public and private investment, regulation and trade to achieve greater production through increased yields with limited price increases. An excellent final summary and conclusion section proposes sustainable cropping intensification as the best means to increase staple crop production by the required 60% (10% area and 45% yield increase) between 2010 and 2050, with farm yields needing to lift linearly by 1·1% per annum (or better by 1·3% to account for unanticipated shocks) through increases in potential yields and reductions in yield gaps, with cautions that this will require greatly increased investment in R & D on breeding, agronomy and resource sustainability. The authors are cautiously optimistic that increased investment will be forthcoming and world food security will continue to improve.

The authors' stated objectives were to provide a balanced and detailed dissection of the central issue of the prospects for future crop yield increase, and to discuss diverse fields of relevance such as physiology, breeding, biotechnology, agronomy, socioeconomics, institutions, infrastructure, policy, climate change, and sustainability at levels which are understandable to the informed but non-specialist reader. This they have done admirably in this book, which will be of great interest and long-term value for browsing, reading and reference for agricultural scientists, economists, policy makers, donors, farmers, concerned citizens and students.