World needs 50% more food by 2050 to meet global demand —FAO
Africa must double down on crop diversification and sustainable production systems if it is to meet a looming 50 per cent increase in food demand by mid-century, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned.
The Deputy Director in Charge of Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP) at the FAO, Dr Chikelu Mba, said FAO’s estimation showed that the world needed to produce 50 per cent more food than in 2012 (estimated to be 9 billion tonnes) to nourish everyone adequately by 2050.
“Every year, FAO, IFAD, the World Food Programme and UNICEF come together to take stock of the state of food security and nutrition in the world. Isn’t it sobering that in Africa, food insecurity and malnutrition continue to go up?” he asked.
Dr Mba affirmed that to achieve universal food security and nutrition, there was a need to address Africa’s cropping systems to make them sustainable, resilient and, importantly, to work for everyone; stressing that at least 80 per cent of all food consumed globally was plant-based.
He added that the FAO’s approach rested on three pillars: seed systems, agronomics and plant health, enabled by “accelerators” such as innovations, biotechnologies and sustainable agricultural mechanisation.
Conference
Dr Mba was speaking at an opening session of a three-day regional consultation on Opportunity Crops in Africa, organised by the FAO, in collaboration with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the continental apex organisation responsible for coordinating and advocating agricultural research for development in Africa, in Accra.
The consultation brought together policymakers, researchers, development partners, private-sector actors, civil society, farmer organisations and regional institutions to advance the integration of neglected and underutilised crop species into Africa’s food systems.
These crops, increasingly referred to as opportunity crops, include millets, sorghum landraces, fonio, bambara groundnut, indigenous vegetables and other traditional crops that are deeply rooted in African food cultures but remain under-researched, under-invested and insufficiently represented in formal food, seed, research and market systems.
Challenges
Citing FAO’s third report on the state of the world’s plant genetic resources, Dr Mba said only 13 underutilised crop species were reported as prioritised for commercialisation in sub-Saharan Africa.
Key challenges, he said, included the lack of national strategies, poor documentation, underinvestment in human and institutional capacity, gaps in postgraduate training and persistent skill shortages.
“Our native foods matter because they contain high nutrient density, are climate-resilient and could be a source of economic empowerment,” he said.
What was needed, he added, were policies, research and development, value addition for jobs, market development and partnerships.
Ghana’s experience
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, John Setor Dumelo, said Ghana was leveraging indigenous and underutilised crops to transform agri-food systems, improve nutrition and build resilience to climate change.
Mr Dumelo said that for generations, African communities cultivated nutritious, resilient crops adapted to local conditions.
However, he said many of these “opportunity crops” had received limited attention in research, policy, investment and commercial agriculture despite their potential for sustainable development.
Mr Dumelo stressed that the crops offered pathways to healthier diets, greater climate resilience, enhanced biodiversity conservation, increased farmer incomes and more inclusive rural development.
“For Ghana, this agenda is particularly important. The transformation of our agri-food systems requires that we harness the full potential of our agricultural biodiversity whilst creating opportunities for farmers, processors, traders and agribusinesses,” he stated.
The deputy minister said Ghana was contributing to the continental agenda through the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, especially the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute.
Building on this, he said MoFA, in collaboration with FAO, had implemented the “Support to Women Fonio Value Chain Actors in Ghana” project.
Mr Dumelo said the project sought to elevate fonio “from a neglected and underutilised species to a more competitive and commercially viable value chain capable of standing alongside established staples such as rice and maize”.
