Food security towards 2050
Working on food that remains available, accessible and affordable.
Mother Nature Ministries wants to contribute to food security by focusing on fertile land, responsible food production and cooperation. Our ambition is to connect knowledge and practice in initiatives that can be researched and improved locally.
What does food security mean?
According to the FAO framework, this concerns sufficient food, access to it, safe and nutritious use and stability over time. [7] A larger harvest alone does not solve every obstacle. MNM also wants to look at costs, distribution and the possibilities of participants in projects.
What do researchers expect towards 2050?
Van Dijk and colleagues combined 57 global scenario studies. They found an expected growth in total food demand of 35-56% between 2010 and 2050; with climate change in the scenarios the bandwidth was 30-62%. [1] This is a comparison with 2010, not a predicted increase from today. The results depend on the future scenarios examined.
Why soil and climate count
A global analysis links soil health to differences in crop production and nitrogen utilization. [3] A separate study combining four research methods finds average negative effects of warming on major crops, with large regional differences and specific assumptions about adaptation. [8] This makes local assessment important.
Which contribution MNM wants to investigate
MNM wants to set up test locations for soil restoration, food cultivation and agroforestry: combining trees or shrubs with agriculture. Food forests can be part of that exploration. We want to track harvest, soil, water, biodiversity, labor and costs. In this way, we investigate which approach can support food production and accessibility under local circumstances.
A well-founded reason to start
These studies do not provide a fixed date for when food will run out worldwide. [1] [3] [4] [8] For MNM they are a reason to now develop knowledge, collaboration and pilot projects. The results of an MNM initiative must then be demonstrated at its own location; general research findings are no substitute for this.