Shortsighted farming methods have put the future of our food supply at risk. Natural species have been lost and soil degraded. With the world’s population expected to surge over the coming two decades, our global ecosystems have never been so fragile. Aaron Priel reports.
World food production is at risk from farming methods “that have degraded soils, parched aquifers, polluted waters, and caused the loss of animal and plant species,” according to a new report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the World Resources Institute (WRI). The report noted that soil degradation has dramatically reduced crop productivity, with severe consequences likely for poor, heavily populated countries. “Agricultural lands face an enormous challenge to provide food for the expected population surge of 1.5 billion people over the next 20 years,” the report said.
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Using analysis of satellite-derived data, digital maps, and new ways of mapping global agriculture, this report, Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems (PAGE):Agroecosystems, is the first comprehensive audit of the world agriculture’s ability to provide sufficient food, goods and services vital for sustaining human life, according to IFPRI.
“Our current global population, currently about 6 billion people, is expected to increase by more than one quarter over the next two decades,” said Ian Johnson, chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and a World Bank Vice President. He added “we must find ways to increase food production to sustain growing population in developing countries. But this challenge must be accomplished without major increase in the amount of new land under cultivation, which would threaten forests and biodiversity, and without resorting to unsustainable farming practices,” the World Bank Executive commented.
Stanley Wood, a scientist at the IFPRI and co-author of the report, stressed that since agriculture land dominates the earth’s populated landscapes, “we need it to do more than produce more food. We also rely on agricultural land to provide other goods and services, including clean water and habitat for threatened species.”
Mr Wood added that agricultural lands could produce more food and help to prevent global warming by returning more carbon to the soils. He maintains that “unfortunately, many current agricultural practices actually contribute to global warming.” A recent report by nearly 1,000 of the world’s leading climate scientists demonstrates, the scientist noted, “that global warming is increasing faster than originally estimated. In recent decades, scientists have noted an increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts in Asia and Africa.”
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By GlobalDataThe Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems: Agroecosystems also reveals that:
- Soil degradation, including nutrient depletion, erosion, and salinisation, is widespread.
- Twenty to 30% of the world’s forests areas have been converted to agriculture, resulting in extensive species and habitat loss. “Agriculture is encroaching on many national parks and other protected areas.”
- Agriculture consumes 70% of the freshwater withdrawn annually by humans. Irrigation is draining more water than is being replenished by rainfall, causing water tables to fall. “Moreover, many water sources are being polluted by extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides.”
Mr Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute, stated: “We must not continue to take nutrients out of the soil faster than we replace them. We must not continue to deplete water resources faster than they can be replenished.” He added that by analogy, “you cannot continue to take more out of your bank account than you put in. Sooner or later, you’ll run out of money.”
Mr Jonathan Lash, president of the World Resources Institute, is quoted in the report as saying “we must not ignore the goods and services that ecosystems provide. To do so would be like ignoring the hand that feeds us.”
The Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems: Agroecosystems is one of five technical reports covering fresh water, coastal, forest and grassland ecosystems. “These reports are the first such comprehensive assessment of the world’s ecosystems,” the study said. The World Resources Institute, the UN, the World Bank and other international agencies will this year launch the Millennium Ecosystems Assessment, aiming to fill in the data gaps identified by these reports “through the participation of hundreds of the world’s leading scientists who will be mobilised for this US$20m, four-year effort.”
By Aaron Priel, just-food.com correspondent
