If you really want to help the poor in these poorest areas, perhaps
its time to provide these folks with decent family planning, for
its exactly in these areas where they are forced to pop em out
like rabbits. It doesn't matter how much food they grow, even
more hungry babies will follow. It is precisely in these areas,
where we are adding 80 million a year to our global population.

Fact is that alot of these countries are now leasing out large
chunks of rural land to other countries such as China and various
Middle Eastern interests, to grow food not for the poor, but
for their own populations.

This article is basically a call to arms on aid that really says nothing. A piece of propoganda, albeit about a worthy subject. One of the main problems of international aid at the moment is to figure out how to make it work. As has long been recognised direct aid in food and money seems to make things worse, rather than better. The western countries should do something, of course, but what? The article says agriculture first but hasn't this been tried before? Effective aid programs are very hard to get right and this article does not help. Less propaganda. More thought.

Yabby, population growth is a major issue in Africa, but offering family planning alone is unlikely to be the answer. Throughout the world (China perhaps excepted) reductions in the fertility rate (births per woman) has come as a result of increased standard of living. Providing education and economic opportunities, particularly to women, reduces family size and delays birth of the first child. Achieving that will be a challenge in Africa in its current state of corrupt governance, lack of infrastructure and instability. Increasing prosperity by increasing the stability of agricultural production could go a long way to helping.

There is absolutely a crisis looming for much of Africa. The population is increasing and agricultural production is not. World food prices are going to continue to increase because currently production just about equals consumption. There only needs to be a crop disaster in a major exporting nation to squeeze food supply. Africa, being poor, will not be able to compete for product.

As the author correctly says current US food aid policy fills the gap, but doesn’t assist long term production increases. Current European agricultural policy actively works against transformation of African agriculture. What is needed is investment in the crops grown in Africa in dryland situations, investment in the management of pests issues peculiar to Africa, reform in agriculture, better access to markets, more stability, better governance and increased economic opportunity so that those who want to leave the land can, rather than dividing the land into ever smaller parcels.

Where should we start?

I am completely shocked but I actually agree with Curmudgeon! (??!) The article sounds like a fairly good description of limits to growth to me but the solutions it gives are just vague hand waving.

The problem is not just Africa. Look at India's population trends versus agricultural production trends - or China's. Look at Australia's population versus agriculture trends. Put declining oil and phosphate into the equation and then look a second time.

Soon the hand waving saying "we have to do something" will be replaced with hand waving accompanied by "isn't it terrible, just terrible" as the famines and associated chaos begin.

Not the worst article I've seen. Probably could have included more on upside of food production in Asia, especially India and China.

Large populations = lots of food. They've defied simplistic limits to growth understandings of the systems theorists by harnessing not only technology but man power. Actually, that's just economics in action.

Africa is a problem. They will need aid for many years. Family planning is good, but not in the hands of feral anti-populationists who would rather dive in to a river to save a cedar tree than a drowning baby.

Yabbys right. There are just too many mouths to feed. The longer the problem of birth control is put off the worse the situation will get.

Religions seem to be the main culptrit in stopping birth control.

They would rather millions die than compromise on their ideology on birth control.