Although there were significant increases in the abilities of both developed and undeveloped nations to produce food over the last half-century, the most important challenge facing societies today remains how to feed their populations. By the middle of our current century the world population is expected to reach some 9 billion, making the question of how and what we feed ourselves paramount. In order to meet expected demand for food without significant increases in prices it has been estimated that the world needs to produce 70-100% more food. (Although these numbers are debatable when you consider what levels of caloric and nutritional intake we expect this population to exist on – surely not those of the average North American)
The multi-disciplinary team of 55 agricultural and food experts from many of the world's major agricultural organizations, scientific societies, and academic institutions was appointed to identify the most important questions for global agriculture and food.
The results were organized into four overarching sections, reflecting the stages of the agricultural production system: (i) natural resource inputs; (ii) agronomic practice; (iii) agricultural development; and (iv) markets and consumption. Some of the most pressing questions include:
* How much can agricultural education, extension, farmer mobilization and empowerment be achieved by the new opportunities afforded by mobile phone and web-based technologies?
* Who will be farming in 2050, and what will be their land relationships?
* What will be the risk of mass migration arising from adverse climate change, and how will this impact on agricultural systems?
The research was funded by the UK Government's Foresight Global Food and Farming Futures project with the idea that, if asked, answered and addressed, these questions could have a significant impact on global agricultural practices worldwide. The questions posed were seen as could offering a way to mitigate what some see as an impending calamity brought on by industrial agro-farming and unsustainable practices. In the last 50 years the intensification of agriculture has been central to the degradation of ecosystem services, has been a leading cause of the loss of global biodiversity due to conversion of natural habitats into farmland., and has increased the production of greenhouse gases. The paper serves as a directive, offering policy and funding organizations an agenda for change. The questions are wide-ranging, are designed with the idea that they are answerable through future research and capable of realistic research design.
One of the lead authors, Professor Jules Pretty, remarked that:
"The challenges facing world agriculture are unprecedented, and are likely to magnify with pressures on resources and increasing consumption. What is unique here is that experts from many countries, institutions and disciplines have agreed on the top 100 questions that need answering if agriculture is to succeed this century. These questions now form the potential for driving research systems, private sector investments, NGO priorities, and UN projects and programs."
To read the full paper for free, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment