Investment in agriculture is widely recognized as crucial for economic growth, poverty reduction and improved food and nutrition security. Although several estimates have been made of how much investment is needed in agriculture to achieve production or food security goals, no source to date has attempted to estimate the total amount of public and private investment that is actually made in agriculture. This paper does so using the most up to date and comprehensive international datasets available.

To combat climate change and hunger, a number of governments, foundations and aid agencies have called for a ‘New Green Revolution’. Such calls obfuscate the dynamics of the Green Revolution. Using Arrighi's analysis of capital accumulation cycles, it is possible to trace a Long Green Revolution that spans the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

As part of the broader United Nations Development Programme and United Nations Environment Programme (UNDP/UNEP) Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI), Phase 1 Project, the overall objective of this study is to develop a framework to assess the impact of land degradation and the benefits of SLM.

Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world. Its 144,000 square kilometres are home to an estimated 150 million people. About 45 percent (2004) of them live below the national poverty line and around 36 percent are living on US$ 1 per day. Agriculture contributes largely to the national economy, with 60 percent of employment provided by the agricultural sector (including crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry) in 1995/6. Rural poverty is highest but urban poverty is growing.