Description

By the middle of the 21st century, the world population will increase by 30% to more than 9 billion people. Food production will need to grow by 70% to meet increased demands. The numbers do not add-up to explain how we are going to realistically meet the rising demand for food. Forecast increases in crop productivity from biotechnology, genetics, agronomics and horticulture will not be sufficient to meet food demands, and resource limitations will constrain the global food system. For the first time in human history, food production will be limited on a global scale by the availability of land, water, and energy. Food issues could become as politically destabilizing after 2050 as energy issues are today. There is a direct link in the world’s reduced public funding of extension and applied research and the plateau of agricultural productivity, i.e. U.S. agricultural productivity has averaged less than 1.2% per year between 1990 and 2007. More efficient technologies and crops will need to be developed to address this challenge - and equally important, better ways of applying these technologies locally for farmers. Simply put: technologies are not reaching enough smallholder farmers. A greater emphasis is needed in high-value, horticultural crops which create jobs and economic opportunities for rural communities, enables more profitable, intensive farming of small tracts of land in urban areas; many of these smallholder entrepreneurs are women, i.e. women dominate the tomato industry in Ghana. Better information delivery (extension), reducing high crop losses and improving the value-chain from farm to fork are critical.

Food Security is tethered to the nexus of Nutrition, Food, Energy, Water, Health, Sanitation & Smart Policy. The challenge of Sustainable Intensification is doing more with LESS: less land, inputs of water, fertilizer and chemicals – that is environmentally and economically viable.

Mark Tester, Chair of the Enrichment in the Fall Program, will introduce this keynote lecture.

Refreshments will be served prior to the keynote lecture from 5:00 p.m., in the lobby of building 20; a cocktail reception will take place after the keynote.

Make sure you submit the survey after you have attended this event.

New! Babysitting services are offered during the keynote lecture for families and their children from 3 to 8 years old. To register your children click here or go back on the schedule page and visit the Babysitting services related event.