Sustainable Societies

Agriculture

Earth's human population is growing rapidly. To keep up, a 2% increase in food production will be required every year. Unfortunately, hundreds of millions of people face food shortages now.

A dangerous combination of problems is at work: additional agricultural land is scarce; existing lands are degraded; overgrazing and climate change causes desertification; and crop diversity is lost. These factors increase waste, pests' resistance to pesticides, and rapidly raise foods' production and transportation costs. All of which leads to "food insecurity," in turn contributing to political insecurity and humans' poorer health.

Throughout the world, virtually all usable land is already in production (94% in India). High utilization rates lead to long-term soil degradation through nutrient depletion and erosion, undermining agricultural productivity.

Seventy-four percent of agricultural land in Central America, 65% in Africa and 38% in Asia is classified as degraded. This degradation is predicted to reduce crop yields by 25% to 50% in Argentina, Uruguay and Kenya by 2032. Other areas face similar probable declines.

Climate change effects – weather extremes, large-scale flooding, water table evaporation, non-native pests' migration – destabilize and create more agricultural challenges.

Meanwhile, 1.3 billion tons (33%) of food produced for humans is lost to spoilage or waste.

Seventy-five percent of the world's poor live in rural areas. These less advantaged groups face international economic changes, increasing market competition, and severe natural resource degradation. As trade barriers drop, smaller producers encounter increasing competition from industrialized producers, without their former support services and subsidies. The solution for the rural poor requires not only alleviating poverty and achieving food security, but also ensuring sustainable use and management of natural resources.