Current status of plant resources and utilization

Cereal food deficits in the Developing Market Economies could swell to an estimated 100 million tons by 1985, if crop production growth continues at a 2.0 per cent annual rate. For perspective, such a deficit can be compared to the total annual cereal production recently recorded for all of Latin America, North Africa, and the Middle East --an average of about 108 million tons produced during 1969-1971. And the 100 million ton shortage can be considered conservative in light of a drop in growth rate to 1.7 per cent annually during the 1970-1974 period. Thus, production growth rate must at least double, to 4.0 per cent per year, if we are to meet the cereal food demands of 1985 and eliminate the estimated deficit. Using the most conservative of figures, it is evident that the world will soon face a critical situation. Imaginative and effective strategies must be developed to generate a growth rate production of 4.0 per cent. Such growth might be possible under favorable conditions, but could it be maintained? What might we expect after 1985? There is little evidence that population growth is being slowed significantly; thus we have two alternatives: the need for a higher rate of production growth for several decades to come, or the specter of increasing poverty, malnutrition and social unrest. Now that the immensity of the population explosion is becoming more apparent, there is a growing concern that our natural resources and utilization methods may be inadequate to meet the task of increasing food production at an accelerated rate. Similarly, there is concern that our resource management techniques are inefficient and improper, with the danger that our crop germplasm has(or will)become vulnerable to wide-spread attacks by pests and diseases. With the unfavorable balance between population and food production growth, we cannot risk major crop failures anywhere in the world.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Sprague, E.W., Finlay, K.W.
Format:	Book biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	CIMMYT [1976?]
Subjects:	AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY, BREEDING METHODS, ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT, GERMPLASM,
Online Access:	https://hdl.handle.net/10883/19259
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