The Ninth Revolution: Transforming Food Systems for Good

We are at a critical point in human history and that of the planet. In this book, a world leader in agricultural research, Professor Sayed Azam-Ali, proposes a radical transformation of our agrifood system. He argues that agriculture must be understood as part of global biodiversity and that food systems have cultural, nutritional, and social values beyond market price alone. He describes the perilous risks of relying on just four staple crops for most of our food and the consequences of our current agrifood model on human and planetary health.

In plain language for the wider public, students, researchers, and policy makers, Azam-Ali envisions the agrifood system as a global public good in which its practitioners include a new and different generation of farmers, its production systems link novel and traditional technologies, and its activities encompass landscapes, urban spaces, and controlled environments. The book concludes with a call to action in which diversification of species, systems, knowledge, cultures, and products all contribute to The Ninth Revolution that will transform food systems for good. Readership: This book is aimed at a wider public that is increasingly concerned about issues of food and nutritional security, sustainable development and climate change for a world in crisis. It provides context and content for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in agroecology, crop science, natural resource management, food science and nutrition, climate change policy and genetic resources. The book will also be a resource for policy makers, international development agencies, innovators in agriculture and food systems and thought leaders.

After completing a PhD in Environmental Physics at the University of Nottingham, UK, Sayed Azam-Ali worked as a Groundnut Physiologist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in India, later returning to Nottingham where he became Professor of Tropical Agronomy and then Chair in Global Food Security. In 2008, he was appointed as Vice-Provost for Research and Internationalisation at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia and in 2011 became founding CEO of Crops for the Future Research Centre, the world's first centre for research solely on underutilized crops. In 2020 he became CEO of CFF (UK). Sayed Azam-Ali is a past Chair of the Association of International Research and Development Centers for Agriculture and in 2021 was awarded an OBE for services to 'underutilised crops and increasing food security' in the Queens New Year's Honours List.