The world’s population is growing fast, heading towards 9 or 10 billion by 2050. This calls for a huge increase in food production of the order of 70%. But the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that only 9% of this increased production can come from bringing more land into production.
Water resources are also already stretched; agriculture already accounts for some 70% of the world’s freshwater use, and alone it will exceed the accessible, sustainable water supply by 2030 (McKinsey, 2009). And on top of all that, agriculture, like all other human activities, is being called on to do its share of curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, all while minimizing its impact on the ecosystem services that deliver vital goods and services and support human health and well-being.
How can we achieve this? And is it even possible?
These are two of the key questions that will be addressed at a discussion forum on Rolling up our sleeves on agricultural mitigation for landscape benefits at the Global Landscapes Forum on 17 November 2013.
Read the full story by Paul Neate on the CCAFS blog.
