Food security is one of the greatest challenges that humankind faces in the future. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that global population will exceed nine billion by 2050 raising global demand for food and feeds by 100 percent from current levels. This will be exacerbated by rising global middle-class population that will grow by two billion by 2030 leading to an evolution in dietary demands.
Food security is one of the greatest challenges that humankind faces in the future. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that global population will exceed nine billion by 2050 raising global demand for food and feeds by 100 percent from current levels. This will be exacerbated by rising global middle-class population that will grow by two billion by 2030 leading to an evolution in dietary demands.
While consumption is set to grow, farmers are facing enormous challenges to meet this demand. Rapid urbanization, land degradation and competition with energy crops such as corn and sugarcane has led to a rapid decline in farmland for food production. Climate change, however, constitutes the biggest challenge. Increased temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, more frequent extreme weather events, and reductions in water availability are already impacting the agriculture sector. In 2030, the annual consumption of water globally will increase by 40 percent amidst dwindling supply. The proportion of arable land that would be subject to degradation will reach 20 percent. The global average temperature will rise by 2.5 degrees from greenhouse effect.
In this environment, the only solution left to increase food production is through the adoption of new technologies to improve productivity and minimize crop losses from natural causes. In developing economies, farm mechanization, improving seed varieties and good farming practices are first level improvements. Governments must also improve its provision of agricultural inputs and agricultural service models and introduce policies that promote more diversified, technology-rich, green and efficient production and increase climate change resilience.
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