70% more food will be needed by 2050 to feed the world’s rapidly expanding population. Food along with water and air is essential for human life. High levels of food security are necessary for human existence but it is also imperative to global and country-specific economic growth, stability, and prosperity.
Low levels of food security place significant stress on government expenditures and populations. It forces governments to invest substantial resources in the short term through programs and subsidies. It also increases their reliance on food imports which is detrimental to long-term food self-sufficiency. The FAO has reported that high rates of malnutrition can lead to a GDP loss of as much as 4-5%.
The world population is set to increase to 9.6 billion people by 2050 from the current 7.9 billion people in 2021. This is a whopping 1.8 billion more mouths to feed representing 18.5% more population in the next 29 years. To meet this demand the world needs to produce 70% more crops to feed the increased population. This combined with a reduction in arable land and the effects of climate change mean drastic change is needed. Significant investment is required into the agricultural sector in terms of capacity and more efficient sustainable methods of production.