Food And Agriculture- A current debate on US Food and agriculture sectors are raising concern on the growing population over the next 30 years. Looking into the future, with the global population of 7.2 billion today, the population is expected to be more than 9 billion in 2050.
Food necessity is expected to double. It calls for a growing concern, how the world is going to feed the population? There is too much to feed but too less to produce. There is also too little land for production.
Food and Agricultural sectors argue on the fact on how can the world feed billions of people by 2050 without damaging the environment? Climate change has been the effect on increasing the agricultural output. With lack of productive resources, hunger and malnutrition became global problems.
For this reason, the food and agriculture research in U.S. and other countries including Brazil, Canada, China, international organizations and the United Nations are working hand in hand on sustainable production or the best strategy to feed the hungry world.
There are only 12 percent feasible lands that can be used for production and yet the reality that agricultural production leads to climate change and climate change also leads to water scarcity in the coming years, the Food and Agriculture segments in U.S. sees agricultural innovation as an answer.
The U.S. Food and Agriculture research have done it before in the 1960s during which the 'Green Revolution' of Professor Norman Borlaug was initiated. His brilliant idea that won the Nobel Prize on feeding the hungry world has helped increase global production on food that save millions of people from hunger, food crisis and even death.
However, the challenge now in U.S. lies on the fact that there are only less food and agriculture research budget since 2008. For the past 30 years, the United States Department of Agriculture research budget has declined to 20 percent.
Last year, the National Institute of Health and National Science Foundation has allotted research fund of 37 billion but unfortunately, the USDA agencies only received $ 2.7 billion. In order to cover up the funds, private entities even used their own means but not for research and technology to answer the problem of feeding the hungry world.
The private sectors in developed nations focused on tobacco, beverage and food processing which did not answer the problem. However, if these countries will focus on contemporary practices and methods with the right amount of budget, the world can feed billions of people by 2050.
Food and agricultural agencies of the United States and the rest of the world can work together to find the answer on feeding the hungry world. Although the right equipment, technology and Science can help, the truth lies on this reality. 100 percent of Americans need to eat, but only 1.5 percent of them are able to produce food.
