The food crisis in Southern Africa is compounded by socio-economic, health and environmental problems. There is a diminishing income-generating labour supply and a low food production rate in areas which may be beset by drought, famine, HIV/AIDS or conflict. That agriculture is a viable sector for economic growth is posited on the fact that this sector provides a livelihood for some 70% of the region's population. Nevertheless the continent has failed to produce enough food for consumption. The acceleration of the process of globalisation has exacerbated the difficult and imbalanced agricultural environment, in which poor countries must operate, which, so this volume maintains, can only be addressed through integrated approaches at a regional level. Furthermore, the failure of so many international food relief programmes indicates that an approach harnessed by the regional bodies such as Nepad and SADC may be the most effective strategy to ensure the prospect of food security.