A new research finds that the world will need 70% more food, as measured by calories, in order to feed a global population of 9.6bn in 2050. It is possible to close the food gap through improvements in the way people produce and consume food.
The study presents solutions to meet the world’s growing food needs, while advancing economic development and environmental sustainability.
The findings were unveiled in the new interim report of the “World Resources Report: Creating a Sustainable Food Future,” produced by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank.
The report was released at the Third Global Conference on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security and Climate Change being held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The report finds that boosting crop and livestock productivity on existing agricultural land is critical to saving forests and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but that the world is unlikely to close the food gap through yield increases alone.
It says crop yields will need to increase by 32% more over the next four decades than they did in the previous four to avoid more land clearing.
Fortunately, additional solutions are available. The report offers several “menu items” for achieving a sustainable food future.
“The waste of over 1.3bn tonnes of food every year, worth around $1tn, is causing the world significant economic losses, while placing added pressure on the natural resources needed to feed the planet,” said Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary general and UNEP executive director.
The report includes recommendations to close the food gap by reducing excessive consumption, such as reducing food loss and waste, shifting diets and achieving replacement level fertility.
To improve food production, the report suggests that soil and water management system needs to be developed, pasture and grazing land utilised, increasing use of degraded lands, avoiding shifting of agricultural land from one place to another and leaving no farmer behind the efficiency level.
The final version of the “World Resources Report 2013-2014: Creating a Sustainable Food Future” will be released in mid-2014 and will further quantify the contribution of each “menu item” toward closing the food gap.
