Forty percent of the world's poorest people depend on agriculture in areas with ‘fragile resource bases and/or limited access’. With the growing recognition that agriculture can reduce poverty, support economic growth and protect the environment, this book is a valuable presentation of research studies conducted in Africa, Latin America and South and East Asia.

The chapters cover development strategies; resource management options; livelihood and food security strategies; the essential roles of markets and institutions and strategies and policy priorities. It is a reference text and rich quarry of original data, analyses and conclusions. For the busy reader there is a helpful introductory chapter, which serves as an executive summary. There are useful abstracts at the beginning of each chapter.

The authors offer no easy solutions or panaceas, nor should they! The ‘less-favoured areas’ are and will continue be a challenge not only for those who live in them, but also for those in the development community who seek to improve the livelihoods of those who do. The options and opportunities will differ in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The overall message is that solutions lie in a combination of policies and technologies which must be locally based. Better policies and more able institutions have essential roles to play and greater use could be made of agroforestry, soil nutrient management, crop protection, better water management, increased use of livestock and pasture management, and crop improvement through seed, breeding and biotechnology. They conclude that more long-term research is needed.