While malnutrition stays with us in a big way, the quantity of arable land per capita is diminishing rapidly.Africa's population has increased from just under 300 million in 1970, to over 500 million in 1990. The numberof malnourished rose from 101 million to 168 million people. The speed of population growth is leading to a situation where anywhere between 1.6 billion to 5.5 billion could b-e living in 2050 in countries with less than 0.07hectares pei person of arable land, a benchmark of land scarcity. For centuries, most land brought undercultivation has come from forests and woodlands. Most of the earth's remaining forests, however, lie in thetropics whose lands are not suitable for, intensive and yet sustainable farming.