This book is a collection of plenary sessions papers and selected invited panel papers presented in the 26th International Conference of Agricultural Economists held at Gold Coast, Australia, from 12th to 18th August 2006. Beginning with the presidential address by Prabhu Pingali and the Elmhirst lecture by Hans Binswanger dealing with global issues of agricultural growth, economic development, and empowerment of the rural poor, leading agricultural economists address such emerging and critical issues as the economics of natural disasters, international trade and marketing, food safety and health, and transformation of unfavorable poor areas, among other issues.

Keijiro Otsuka is a professorial fellow at the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID) in Tokyo and the Director of GRIPS/FASID Joint Graduate Program. He is president-elect of IAAE. He has been working extensively on the Green Revolution, land tenancy, property rights and natural resource management, and the poverty dynamics in both Asia and Africa.

Kaliappa Kalirajan is also a professorial fellow at FASID and a professor of development economics at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). His areas of major interest include macroeconomic and trade policies and reform, poverty reduction, and technology issues. He is also an adjunct professor at the Madras School of Economics, Chennai, India.