In addition to global developments and food policy changes, 2014 also saw important developments with potentially wide repercussions in individual countries and regions. This chapter offers perspectives on major food policy developments in various regions including Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The purpose of this policy brief is to provide national and state-level policymakers, private sector investors, civil society and donors with an analysis of the rural economy of Mon State and pathways to improved prosperity for its population. The analysis is based on a representative survey (the Mon State Rural Household Survey 2015) of 1680 rural households, which comprise 73% of Mon State’s 2 million residents, and extensive interviews with farmers, traders, processors, local leaders and government officials.

Western Kenya is one of the most densely populated areas in Africa. Farming there is characterized by low inputs and low crop productivity. Poverty is rampant in the region. Yet the potential for agriculture is considered good.

Agriculture is fundamental to achieving nutrition goals: it produces the food, energy, and nutrients essential for human health and well-being. Gains in food production have played a key role in feeding growing and malnourished populations. Yet they have not translated into a hunger-free world nor prevented the development of further nutritional challenges. Micronutrient deficiencies (for example, of vitamin A, iron, iodine, and zinc) are now recognized as being even more limiting for human growth, development, health, and productivity than energy deficits.

"With half the world’s population living in cities and towns, many poor urban dwellers face problems gaining access to adequate supplies of nutritionally balanced food. For many urban populations, an important source of food is urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). Production and processing of crops—particularly horticultural crops—and livestock is frequently part of urban and peri-urban livelihood strategies, and the food produced forms a large part of informal sector economic activity.

"Agricultural production relies on environmental services to transform raw inputs into the nutritious and diverse food that humans rely on for survival. Although the practice of agriculture is essential for human health, careless and inappropriate agricultural practices can degrade and contaminate natural resources and in so doing, harm human health. Modified agricultural practices can help mitigate these problems.

"Agriculture is the main source of livelihood of the majority of people affected by HIV and AIDS globally, and it is being progressively undermined by the disease. In Sub-Saharan Africa AIDS is affecting the rural landscape in ways that demand a rethinking of development policy and practice, and parts of South Asia may soon face a similar situation.... There is clearly tremendous scope for agricultural policy to become more HIV-responsive, both to further AIDS-related objectives and to help achieve agricultural objectives. Yet there are no magic bullets.

Western Kenya is one of the most densely populated areas in Africa. Farming there is characterized by low inputs and low crop productivity. Poverty is rampant in the region. Yet the potential for agriculture is considered good. In the study described here, researchers looked specifially at soil fertility replenishment (SFR) systems...Focused on two specific systems -- the tree-based "improved fallow" system and the biomass transfer system -- the study compared rates of adoption in poor and nonpoor communities and evaluated the extent to which their adoption reduced poverty.

The government of Uganda, with help from its development partners, is designing and implementing policies and strategies to address poverty, land degradation, and declining agricultural productivity. Land degradation, especially soil erosion and depletion of soil nutrients, is widespread in Uganda and contributes to declining productivity, which in turn increases poverty.