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By WAF researcher P.Chinamaringa
Extensive degradation and increased scarcity of natural resources have placed global food production systems at risk, posing a growing challenge to the task of feeding a world population projected to reach 9 billion by 2050, according to a new FAO report The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture (SOLAW) | managing systems at risk published on 27 th of November 2011.

The report notes that the last 50 years witnessed an increase in food production, but in most instances, achievements come at the expense of degraded land and water systems. Between 1961 and 2009, the world’s cropland grew by 12 percent, but agricultural production rates have been slowing in many areas and are today only half of what they were during the peak of the Green revolution. Farmers must produce 70% more food by 2050 to meet the world’s food requirements. This amounts to 1bn tonnes more wheat, rice and other cereals, 200m more tonnes of beef and other livestock, the report says.
Climate change is also expected to change patterns of temperature, precipitation and river flows upon which the world’s food production systems depend. Agriculture now accounts for 13.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
SOLAW pioneered a global assessment of the state of the planet’s land resources. A frightening quarter of the worlds land is reported as highly degraded, 8 percent are moderate, 36 percent stable or slightly degraded and 10 percent ranked as “improving”, 18 percent bare and inland water bodies (around 2%).High incidences of land degradation are reported west coast of the Americas, Southern Europe and North Africa and throughout Asia resulting in loss of soil quality, biodiversity and water resources depletion.
Large inland water bodies are experiencing reduced inflows, salinization, eutrophication and wetlands loss. Declining aquifer levels and continued abstraction in some regions, particularly i the Middle East, Northern Africa and Central Asia have reached critical thresholds whilst in Western, Central and South Asia and Northern Africa withdrawals for irrigation have exceed renewable levels, the report cautions.
Degradation is a risk across all income groups but the poor are mostly affected with 40 percent of the world’s degraded lands found in areas with high poverty rates, mostly developing countries, 30% in moderate poverty areas while 20% are in low poverty areas.
In trying to resolve the impeding crisis exacerbated by economic challenges, the report recommended sustainable intensification, improving the efficiency of water use; innovative farming practices, increasing investment in agricultural development and modernization of national policies and institutions.

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