Looking Ahead in World Food and Agriculture


Looking Ahead in World Food and Agriculture

Perspectives to 2050



Edited by
Piero Conforti

Download Full Report  -10Mb


Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Rome 2011


ABSTRACT

Fuelled by the turbulence of world agricultural markets, the debate on relations among agriculture, food security, natural resources, population growth and economic development has been revamped over the last few years. how are growth prospects and the expected evolution of per capita income in the long term going to affect the agricultural and food economy? Are the natural resources available, such as land and water, sufficient to feed a growing population? What role can economic incentives and technical change play in shaping resource use and supply? What are the priority areas where investment and research should be directed? How may the use of agricultural products in biofuel production affect markets? And how can climate change affect production possibilities and markets? Around these questions, in 2009, FAO’s Economic and Social Development Department organized a Forum and a High-Level Expert Meeting on How to Feed The World in 2050. This volume follows up on that initiative, by gathering updated versions of technical materials prepared for the occasion, along with further work. the book seeks to sustain the debate on the future of the global agricultural and food economy. Its contents were designed to interest both a technical audience and a wider range of professionals working around the world in areas related to agriculture, in both public and private institutions



Table of Contents

Introduction

   [1Mb]
   

PART I: THE GLOBAL AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

  

1 - World food and agriculture to 2030/2050 revisited. Highlights and views four years later

   [1.6MB]

2 - World agriculture in a dynamically changing environment: IFPRI’s long-term outlook for food and agriculture

   [1.6Mb]

3 - How can climate change and the development of bioenergy alter the long-term outlook for food and agriculture?

   [1.6Mb]
   

PART II: GROWTH, POVERTY AND MACROECONOMIC PROSPECTS

  

4 - Poverty, growth and inequality over the next 50 years

   [996kb]

5 - Macroeconomic environment and commodity markets: a longer-term outlook

   [2.2Mb]
   

PART III: LAND, WATER AND CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS

  

6 - The resources outlook: by how much do land, water and crop yields need to increase by 2050?

   [1.6MB]

7 - Investment in developing countries’ food and agriculture: assessing agricultural capital stocks and their impact on productivity

   [1.5Mb]

8 - Capital requirements for agriculture in developing countries to 2050

   [1.2Mb]
   

PART IV: RAISING PRODUCTIVITY: RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

  

9 - Setting meaningful investment targets in agricultural research and development: challenges, opportunities and fiscal realities

   [1.5Mb]

10 - Can technology deliver on the yield challenge to 2050?

   [1.96Mb]
   

PART V: CONCLUSIONS

  

11 - Critical evaluation of selected projections

   [2.1Mb]

12 - Challenges and policies for the world agricultural and food economy in the 2050 perspective

   [1.2Kb]
   



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