The challenge facing the next generation

The issues of food, farming and
population are undeniably immense. The combination of population growth, land and water shortages, along with climate change and peak oil are the challenges that our generation of farmers are facing. So I was really honoured to be part of the 2011 Oxford Farming Conference debate that focussed on these issues.

I seconded the motion proposed by Jonathon Porritt: "This house believes unrestrained population growth and food security are incompatible." I believe that this is a really exciting time to be in agriculture; there is a chance to change the way we perceive food and its meaning - all while supporting the farmers and those along the food supply chain in the work that they do. The issue around population and food security is one that is both contentious and a very real subject that needs to be discussed. If we look at recent purchases and rental agreements in Africa and South America it is clear that countries like China are seeing food security as a very real and present concern.

With more people on the planet, there needs to be more food, more drinking water, housing, education, infrastructure, and these pressures then impact on the environment. The opposition in the debate felt that science, decreasing waste and support for farming would be the solution. Indeed it is very true to say that we have enough food in the world to feed the population currently. However, in many developing nations (those most at risk from food and water insecurity) poverty prevents them from buying food, farmers lack access to markets (and as such move to cash crops or subsistence farming) and throughout their supply chains 40% of food is lost due to perishing or contamination. In the developed world, 40% is lost, but mostly due to consumer waste. Which one is easier to address?

The issue of GM was high on the agenda at OFC, and both sides were keen to support science and all the good it can do, while understanding the precautionary principle. It is important to recognize the great done by the Green Revolution, however we still have 1 billion people hungry in the world. With another 3 billion, and mostly in those food insecure areas, will science prevail?

Water is very important also, many regions are facing water scarcity already, let alone in the future, given that by 2025 over 1,800 million will be in regions and countries with severe water shortages, it is a resource that we need to protect. Great advances are being made in the dairy industry through irrigation and on farm water harvesting, but with increasing numbers of consumers the aquifers will start to struggle sooner and this needs to be addressed. It takes 3,000 litres to produce 1kg of wheat, 15,000 for 1kg of beef, and on average it’s 5000l per person, per day for food production. Desalination is a potential solution – but that requires energy, either fossil fuels or some form of renewable. Thankfully the areas most at risk have the highest amounts of sun light, so photo voltaic cells might be the answer. Clean drinking water is essential for all basic health and sanitation needs, nanotechnology involving silver particles is already at final stages of research, and will be of huge benefit, it’s whether this will counter the rising population’s requirements.

Overall food security is an issue that will only get bigger, and it’s clear that population has a direct impact. How great an impact, we will see but it is a topic that needs to be discussed, so that reproductive rights for women, along with basic human rights to water, food, housing and education are protected for future generations.

Angharad Evans is the winner of the 2010 Young Advocates Competition and a recent MSc graduate in international agriculture from the Royal Agricultural College.

You can hear Jonathon talking about population and sustainability here.