This volume examines the effects of rural population growth on food production in developing countries. It begins with an assessment of forecasts of food adequacy at the start of the 21st century, with particular attention to their methodological underpinnings. It then considers in more detail some of the processes which are explicitly or implicitly included in the forecasts, and many others which are not. The issues raised are discussed both in general terms and in the context of specific developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia.