Session 1: Current Situation and Issues – Why Do We Need Sustainable Agriculture?

Food security has become a worldwide concern in recent decades. 

The world’s populations is projected to grow continuously from today’s 7.7 billion to 9.7 billion by 2050 (UN DESA, 2019). This population increase indicates that agriculture will need to produce 60% more food globally. With the blooming of fashion and textile industry, the demand of materials such as cotton, linen and hemp for production of clothing has also been growing dramatically. In the last 50 years, agriculture has been intensified vigorously in order to feed and fulfill the world. 

However, the intensification of agriculture has created new problems. Ecosystems are stressed, biological diversity is being lost, and small farmers remain poor. The current approach to agricultural production is wholly unsustainable. Without major corrections, the world’s food systems will generate an unprecedented confluence of pressure such as poverty and hunger, land and water scarcity, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Nations and communities are hence looking for long-term sustainable solutions to increase food production without over-exploiting the ecosystems (L. Buttriss, J, 2011).

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) advised that “The need for sustainable resource management is increasingly urgent. Agriculture’s deep connections to the world economy, human societies and biodiversity make it one of the most important frontiers for conservation around the globe.” (World Wildlife Fund, 2019)

 

 

Continue to “Session 2: Principles for Sustainable Agriculture”