This succinct booklet by FAO is one of a series aimed mainly at people who provide advisory, business and technical support services to resource-poor, small-scale farmers and local communities in low-and middle-income countries, including policy-makers and programme managers in government and non-governmental organizations. Vegetables provide an opportunity to move away from home gardens and subsistence farming towards cash crop farming, whilst still retaining an important nutritional role at the family level.

Augmented with black and white photographs of vegetable production and marketing in different countries it sensibly emphasizes the need, at least initially, for small-scale farmers to concentrate on the ‘easy-to-grow’ vegetables – onions, shallots, potatoes and sweet potatoes. Tomatoes and asparagus fall into the category of ‘speciality’ crops, whilst cucumbers, sweet peppers, lettuce and tomatoes are deemed to be best for greenhouse production. Greenhouses vary from simple to highly complex structures with plastic film a popular replacement for glass.

FAO stresses that the booklet should not be seen as a technical ‘how-to-do it’ publication but it does cover a wide range of relevant topics, emphasizing pitfalls as well as potential in different environments. A list of additional sources of information, technical support and a number of relevant web-site addresses enables readers to seek more information. There are also a number of boxes with case studies.

I found it an enjoyable read and a useful publication for those involved in or interested in vegetable production and marketing.