2021-02-25
The green revolution of mid-last century alleviated a burgeoning food problem but with adverse ecological consequences. We still need to increase food quantity and quality but in an ecologically sound manner.
By Shashi Sharma, Agricultural Scientist, with a career in international agricultural research
In this 21st century we again need a green revolution to feed an additional four billion people. In the early part of the last century, we were struggling to feed even two billion people and the green revolution of the 1950s and 60s allowed us to feed an additional four billion people. It is unfortunate that we cannot afford the green revolution of the 20th century. This is because our agriculture has evolved into an enterprise that is not eco-friendly, and it already ranks among top 10 threats to the health of the planet.
In the 20th century, some of the key tools used to achieve the green revolution included monoculture, mechanisation, irrigation, chemical fertilisers, chemical pesticides, and globalisation. Largely as a consequence of the tools and technologies used (and misused) in the last century, agriculture poses significant threats to the health and well-being of the planet. Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases continue to rise to unacceptable levels. Vast tracts of potentially productive lands are being lost every year through soil erosion and land degradation. Sadly, some of the adverse effects are irreversible. We have pushed ourselves into an era in which human activity is the main driver of planetary changes that are harmful to our own existence as a species.
This state of affairs is neither sustainable nor acceptable. In the 21st century we must modernise our agriculture to feed and meet the agriculture-based needs of the present and the future generations without adversely impacting on the health and wellbeing of the planet. A 'Planet-friendly Green Revolution' is needed. To achieve this objective, we need a fundamental change in how we think we can do agriculture and produce food and other commodities, safeguard the produce from loss, provide it without damaging the natural environment, and without exposing the people to health and safety risks. A total reform of the global agriculture value chain from production to consumption is needed. This is in contrast to the 20th century green revolution that was focused mainly on increasing the food production. The proposed reform, at the outset, may benefit from implementation of a 3P Strategy worldwide and it is outlined here for the agri-food value chain:
Produce food sustainably (P1) – One of the non-negotiable components of this strategy is that agriculture production must not compromise the health and long-term productive capacity of land and the water ecosystems. Productive capacity is the ‘principal resource’, food production practices and technologies are ‘investment strategies’, and harvest or production is ‘dividend’ earned. We must live on the ‘dividend’ while the ‘principal resource’ remains intact. Farming practices and technologies must enhance the long-term productive capacity with negligible degradation impact on the environment and biodiversity. Some key initiatives that appear promising to produce food sustainably include but are not limited to regenerative farming, permaculture, conservtation agriculture, controlled environment agriculture, native plant-based farming and native biodiversity (including microbial) conservation and utilisation.
Protect food from loss in the value chain (P2) – It is not only vital that we produce food sustainably, but it is equally or perhaps more important to not lose what is grown and produced by securing the entire value chain from loss. Food sufficient to feed about two billion people is lost every year. Enhanced emphasis is needed to develop and adopt tools, technologies, and practices that minimise food loss in the value chain. Some key initiatives that appear promising include but are not limited to the development of postharvest treatments and infrastructures that increase the storage life of food, maintain food quality, reduce food contaminants, reduce food waste, maintain product integrity, and prevent loss including waste by consumers. Appropriate infrastructure development is absolutely critical and must be given highest priority by the governments worldwide, particularly in the developing nations.
Provide bio-secure, safe, and nutritious food (P3) – This along with produce and protect themes covers the entire value chain. Some key initiatives that are urgently needed include but are not limited to the review of international assistance programs in agriculture, food aid, disaster relief activities and military assistance, increasing globalisation of agricultural research and world-wide distribution of propagating material, community awareness of the food value chain biosecurity and food safety concerns, and full knowledge and understanding of what we eat and its implications on our health and well-being.
We are in an era of digitisation and ongoing automation of traditional practices, being described as a fourth industrial revolution, which appear to provide excellent opportunities and novel options to reform our agriculture. Wide use of smart technologies by the small and the large holder farmers, large-scale machine-to-machine communication, and the internet of things have the potential to be among the major contributors to reforming the value chain.
The 3P Strategy underpinned by enabling technologies and encouraging government policies will be a way forward for ushering in 'Planet-friendly Green Revolution' to sustainably feed the additional four billion people in the coming decades and in the next century. It may be prudent to inform the politicians, the so-called world leaders that there are no short-cuts, and it would take more than an election cycle, possibly well beyond their terms of office to achieve this revolution and see its impact.
Header photo: Plant production at Metrolina Greenhouses, Huntersville, North Carolina, USA, 2012. Credit: USDA photo by Robin Hampton, Creative Commons.
[Opinions expressed are those of the author and not official policy of Greens WA]