Kodoth Prabhakaran Nair is an eminent international agricultural scientist who has worked in Europe, Africa and Asia for more than three decades, during which time he has held a number of prominent academic positions, including the National Chair of the Science Foundation, The Royal Society, Belgium; Professor and Head of the Departments of Agriculture, Soil Sciences and Basic Sciences at The University Center, The Republic of Cameroon; and Senior Professor at the University of Fort Hare, Republic of South Africa – the alma mater of the late Nelson Mandela, and where he began the struggle against apartheid. Professor Nair is best known, globally, for developing “The Nutrient Buffer Power Concept”, a revolutionary soil management technique that is changing the face of modern farming in the developing world. The recipient of several national and international awards for developing this concept and currently nominated for the 2020 Volvo Environment Prize, he has authored ten books, including “ISSUES IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURE”, which was launched by India’s great President, the late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Raj Bhavan, Chennai, India. He has received six invitations to contribute invitational chapters to ADVANCES IN AGRONOMY, the magnum opus of agricultural science, a world record. He is also a Senior Fellow of the world renowned Alexander von Humboldt Research Foundation, The Federal Republic of Germany. Was recently elected Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India. Currently pursuing global agricultural research, he lives with his wife, Dr Pankajam Nair, a nematologist trained in Europe, in Calicut, Kerala State, India
This book paints a wide canvas of the immense global economic potential of ten most important cash generating crops spread over Asia, Africa and Latin America, namely, Arecanut, Cashew Nut, Coconut, Cinchona, Cocoa, Coffee, Tea, Oil Palm, Rubber and Wattle. It provides a cross-sectoral, multi-scale assessment of the status of these crops, from seed to dining table, an invaluable treatise on the subject. Structured to be an invaluable tool for the inquisitive researcher, an ardent student, and, an insightful policy maker.