Global food demand is falling behind production growth

Dr. Cary Fowler, Chairman of the Food Security Leadership Council and former U.S. State Department Special Envoy for Global Food Security, announced that the current rate of agricultural production growth is falling behind the level required to feed the world population, which is expected to reach 9.1 billion by 2050.

Dr. Cary Fowler stated that the world needs to increase production by 2 percent every year, but under current conditions, an increase of only three-quarters of a percent is achieved annually. Emphasizing that this rate will create a serious deficit when calculated as a compound up to the year 2050, Fowler noted that this deficit cannot be closed by cutting down forests or converting marginal lands into agricultural land.

Stating that increasing productivity is of critical importance, Fowler said that land-grant universities, which research and develop new technologies in areas such as soil health, productivity, and crop adaptation to climate change, assume the most important role. He also stated that China invests twice as much in research and development compared to the U.S.