ABSTRACT
Since the end of the eighteenth century, when Thomas Malthus published his Essay on Population, anxiety has been expressed that continuing population growth will eventually place an unsustainable pressure on food supplies. This doomsday scenario has not been realised, although some warn that it could yet happen. However, even if global production of food remains more than sufficient to meet everyone’s needs, hunger, malnourishment and starvation still affect hundreds of millions of people throughout the world – especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
