Growing populations and rising middle classes have put the food economy under pressure, especially in Asia where the agricultural sector has been increasingly integrated with the global value chain. Policies widening economic inequality also manifest in the alienation and marginalisation of small farmers. Asia is now a major food importer and hence highly vulnerable to international financial crises and abrupt changes in staple prices, mostly caused by speculators. This article advocates the decentralised empowerment of food producers to break the hegemony of the new liberal regime and suggests that Asian and other developing nations pool resources to achieve food autonomy, while protecting the environment through shared local knowledge systems and technology.
