How to square the circle of feeding the world
The world needs more food. At the same time there is no alternative to ecologically sustainable food production, says U.B. Lindström, an Emeritus Professor of Animal Breeding at the University of Helsinki and Executive Secretary of the Finnish Committee for UNICEF.
Every second, there are two new mouths to feed in the world. In late October 2008, there were about 6.7 billion people in the world. About a fifth of them are undernourished. Something must clearly be done – but what?U. B. Lindström is a retired professor of animal breeding and an active participant to public discussion. He says the facts are such that there are no easy fixes. Fertile farmland and water for irrigation are already in short supply, world fisheries are overfished, and untreated wastewater and chemical pollution threaten food production, biodiversity and our health.
Looks bad, but the professor remains cautiously optimistic about prospects for the future.
“There are good opportunities to increase yields, even in Africa, and this is a vital factor behind prospects for improving nutrition levels in developing countries.”
Towards self-sufficiency
People have begun to take self-sufficiency and food security seriously, 10–15 years too late. According to Lindström, food production and rural development have been neglected in developing countries. The rich countries are partly to blame for this, since by selling their surpluses they have in effect hindered the development of local food production in developing countries.
Lindström is not happy about the inclusion of foodstuffs in the global free trade system. Food cannot be produced in the same way as manufactured goods like cars, since the impact of climatic conditions is so crucial.
According to Lindström, it is wrong that the free trade system and the production of ‘cheap food’ have steamrollered over important ethical, ecological and social issues.
“There's no turning the clock back to the days before free trade, but ecological and social factors have to be given more priority,” he stresses.
Crop yields in developing countries have gradually been increasing as population growth rates have slowed, but food aid from the industrialised countries will still be needed in future. This should not be allowed to become a permanent solution, however.
A key role for women
In many developing countries changes should commence with land reforms giving small-scale farmers ownership or at least tenant’s rights over the land they work. It is particularly important to improve the position of women.
Today women own less than five percent of all farmland. But research conducted in many developing countries has shown that if women are given equal opportunities to produce food – the same training, tools and seeds – they can produce 20–25 per cent more from the same plots of farmland than men.
“Women are more persistent and skilled food producers, and that’s an asset. Otherwise the situation in Africa would be even worse than it is today,” Lindström notes.
Crop yields in developing countries must be boosted, but at the same time inputs such as chemical fertilisers and energy can only be used sparingly. Fortunately, research findings indicate that small-scale farmers adopting ecological farming practices can increase yields in developing countries by as much as 80 per cent compared to more conventional forms of cultivation in the same areas.
“Particularly in areas with unfavourable conditions, ecological farming is the rational alternative, since poor small-scale farmers cannot afford major investments,” adds Lindström.
By Lauri Haapanen
