Demand for food is expected to increase, outpacing supply. As this situation worsens in the years ahead, the world will be burdened by the growing problem of food security. Expect more debate on this front in the years to come.
THE WORLD is being haunted again by the spectre of a global food shortage. Demand for food over the next decade is expected to increase by one per cent annually but global food productivity gains have declined from two per cent between 1970 and 2000 to one percent today and continuing to decline.
A 2011 study reported that the world had consumed more than it had produced for seven out of the past eight years. These concerns will lead to growing attention to the nexus between food, water and energy resources, especially as climate change is expected to have an increasing impact globally.
Need for integrated approach to food security policy
Nineteenth century economists struggled with the Malthusian dilemma: as populations rose, it was assumed that a forced return to subsistence agriculture would act as a check on population growth. The reality was that the opening of new agricultural land, technological innovation and higher yielding crops resulted in a capacity to feed an ever growing population.
However, as once autarkic economies such as China and India have opened to global trade and more wealthy societies are eating more protein, consuming more calories and enjoying more varied diets in recent years, there is growing concern with the fragility of the global food system. These concerns were highlighted by the spike in food prices and disruptions in food supply during the 2007-2008 global food crisis.
My colleagues at the RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies have emphasised that robustness in food security systems is critical and that governments need to work with the private sector and other key stakeholders. Instead of piecemeal strategies, an integrated and holistic approach to policy formulation and implementation is critical to deal with the four dimensions in food security: availability, physical access, economic access and utilisation.
Although agricultural issues appear distant from an urbanised Singapore, food security is politically sensitive precisely because we are dependent on international markets for our food supply. Sharp increases in the price of key food imports, export bans by major food suppliers and difficulties in obtaining adequate supplies could have significant domestic ramifications.
Source:- eurasiareview.com
No comments:
Post a Comment