This monograph results from co-operation between the UNESCAP CGPRT Centre in Bogor, Indonesia and Cirad-Amis-Ecopol, in France. It presents the situation of three groups of food crops, namely coarse grains, pulses, and root and tuber crops (CGPRT crops), in 26 countries of Asia and the Pacific, from a macro economic and aggregated viewpoint. CGPRT crops constitute a major source of food besides rice in Asia and the Pacific. These crops represent a growing alternative to rice and are also increasingly being utilized in industrial processes for the elaboration of manufactured food, animal feed and other industrial non-food uses. However, compared to rice, CGPRT crops are little known, their importance is seldom recognized and their evolution rarely analyzed in a systematic way. The generic name of "CGPRT crops" does not always ring a bell in the scientific community, however, behind it hide some key crops: maize, potato, soybean and cassava.