Farmers around the world are barely improving their productivity rates and creating the risk the world will not be able in coming years to provide sustainably food, livestock feed, fiber and biofuels for a growing world population, says the a report by Global Harvest Initiative. Its annual assessment says agricultural productivity is rising by 1.72 percent worldwide, trailing the 1.75 percent per year that it estimates is needed for the demands of 9.7 billion people in 2050. The productivity growth rate in low-income countries is only 1.5 percent, said GHI. Small differences in rates compound into large differences in production over a multi-year span.
U.S. agricultural productivity has a growth rate of “less than 1 percent,” compared with its historic average of 1.5 to 2 percent, said GHI, “generating concerns about the long-term potential for sustainable agricultural and economic growth.”
“Raising global agricultural productivity requires long-term investments in the research and development of science-based agricultural technologies, agricultural extension services and education for farmers around the world, efficient transportation and telecommunications infrastructures, and support for the next generation of farmers,” said GHI executive director Margaret Zeigler in a statement. GHI members include major seed, farm equipment, fertilizer, and veterinary drug companies.
The GHI “2015 GAP Report” is available here.