This week, close to two thousand leaders from across the United States and the globe came together in Des Moines, Iowa to debate, discuss, learn and forge solutions to feed the world. The World Food Prize 2014 Borlaug Dialogue, honoring Dr. Norman Borlaug who pioneered the green revolution agriculture technologies in wheat that helped feed millions of poor farmers in India and Pakistan in the 1960’s, centered upon the greatest challenge in human history. By 2050, there will be 9.6 billion people on the planet, most of whom will now be participating in middle class economies and eating more protein based diets. The world’s greatest challenge lies before us: how will we feed the world’s growing middle class by 2050, in the face of climate change, and with limited natural resources?
There is an urgent need for farmers to find new ways to adapt to volatile weather and climate change patterns that we face. Population and income growth are increasing the demand for food, feed, fiber and fuel. The emerging consensus by economists, scientists, political leaders, and farmers participating in the World Food Prize is simple: we must act now to produce food sustainably in the face of climate change. As the devastating drought in California and the southwest of the United States enters its third year, the message is being driven home – improving productivity and new methods and practices in agriculture, coupled with technological innovation and clear public policies will be the solutions to feed the world using less water and land, and conserving the resource base.
There are three critical pieces to in this productivity goal – maize, rice, and wheat, the “Big Three” staple crops that the world depends on. If the current trends are not altered, by 2050 climate change could decrease global maize yields by up to 18 percent, rice yields could drop by 7 percent, and wheat yields could decline by up to 36 percent.
So how can farmers in the US, and indeed the rest of the world, be supported to become more resilient to the changing climate and ensure we all have enough food on our tables?
Norman Borlaug Centennial Q&A with Margaret Catley-Carlson
This post was originally published by the World Food Prize Foundation. The World Food Prize 2014 Borlaug Dialogue international symposium is being held from October 15 – 17 in Des Moines, Iowa to address the question: “Can we sustainably feed the 9 billion people on our planet by the year 2050?”
Norman Borlaug Centennial Q&A's with Experts
In order to shine a spotlight on the amazing agricultural work being done today, and in honor of the Borlaug Centennial year, The World Food Prize invited 2014 Borlaug Dialogue speakers and experts from around the globe to respond to questions regarding their work, their goals and their inspiration.
If Norman Borlaug posed the following questions to you- what would you tell him?
Q. What’s the one thing – the single most important – that we need to address to solve food insecurity?
A. There is no single thing – that’s why it is so difficult. Are there roads? Is there any access of ag inputs? Is water supply reliable? Any access to improved seeds? Any access to credit? Is it blocked by ownership arrangements for females? And on and on. Each one of these can be THE single most important, depending on the circumstances – and they interact.
Q. Do you think we can feed 9 billion people by the year 2050? If so, why? If not, why not?
A. We could but we probably won’t. Problems of the poor just aren’t that interesting to the relevant national governments.
Q. Where are the biggest gaps right now in the food system?
A. I really think Extension services – either new forms of electronic communication if they work and really talk to people and are accessible, or more classic forms. Next would be rural roads.
Q. What’s one piece of advice you would give to young people?
A. If you want to help, start by listening. Don’t start by bringing solutions to problems. Understand problems.
Q. How would you explain what you do, and why it’s important, to a 10-year-old?
A. Many people in the world don’t have access all the time to the water they need for their families and to grow food. All over the world, there are groups and people and governments trying to help them; I try to make these more effective and efficient.
Q. Within your area of expertise, what is one misunderstood or neglected topic you could shed some light on for readers?
A. Genetically modified foods, and the need to pay for water services or systems will suffer.
Q. What is the most interesting project going on right now – yours or someone else’s - that more people should know about?
A. Fertilizer Deep Placement – 2 million Asian farmers have increased yield and decreased fertilizer use AND therefore water pollution. It could work for the Toledo reservoir and reduce hypoxic zones in the Gulf of Mexico, too.
Q. What’s one thing the general population could do to make an impact on global food security?
A. Stop wasting food – today – in restaurants, from lunch boxes, from your own refrigerator. If 40% of the food grown is wasted or thrown out, that’s the equivalent of throwing out 40% of the water we use to grow food (and 70%+ of our water use goes to food).
Q. What is one of your favorite quotes or words to live by?
A. "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein
Q. Share with us one of your most unique life experiences and what it taught you.
A. Sitting on a hillside in India, looking at a valley that was restored simply by changing the social arrangements to give the rural people access and ownership and the ability to gain livelihoods – and therefore interest in protecting it. As I sat in the warm autumn sun, a spring which had reappeared after being non-existent for years glinted in the sun – and a peacock swooped down and washed his extended tail feathers in the sparkling water. Four years earlier, the little valley was desertified and the spring was dry. What it taught me? Ask what the problems are before rushing in with solutions. They may be very simple – but since power relationships are always involved, very difficult.
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