Today, in a world that is capable of producing enough food to supply an adequate diet for all, hundreds of millions of people go hungry. Chronic undernutrition persists, mainly among rural people in poor developing countries, most of which depend heavily on agriculture for their livelihood. So long as that is the case, eliminating hunger will require concerted efforts to speed up agricultural and rural development, including agro-industry for value addition. | Review of the challenges and opportunities for rural infrastructure and agroindustries development in the Asia Pacific Region. Alastair Hicks 1 The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The designation and presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country territory city or area of its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for sale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Senior Agroindustry and Post Harvest Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Maliwan Mansion 39 Phra Atit Road Bangkok 10200 Thailand or by e-mail to RAP-Publications@. FAO 2007 For copies write to Senior Agro-industry and Post Harvest Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Maliwan Mansion 39 Phra Atit Road Bangkok 10200 THAILAND Tel 66 2 697 4000 Fax 66 2 697 4445 E-mail RAP-Publications@ 2 1. INTRODUCTION Today in a world that is capable of producing enough food to supply an adequate diet for all hundreds of millions of people go hungry. Chronic undernutrition persists mainly among rural people in poor developing countries most of which depend heavily on agriculture for their livelihood. So long as that is the case eliminating hunger will require concerted efforts to speed up agricultural and rural .
