Strategies for increasing global food production and the potential of agricultural land

Agricultural scientists hope that by using advances in genetic engineering and other forms of biotechnology, they will be able to create, over the next 30–40 years, new high-yielding plant cultivars that are more resistant to pests and diseases and less demanding in terms of fertilizers. By producing their own nitrogen fertilizer, they will grow well in slightly saline soils, be able to withstand droughts, and use solar energy more efficiently during photosynthesis. However, the cost of such crops will be prohibitively high.

Theoretically, the planet's arable land area could be doubled by clearing tropical forests and irrigating arid lands. But transforming these marginal lands into cropland would destroy valuable forest resources, lead to serious environmental problems, and is, as a rule, economically unviable.

Fig. 3.7 shows the classification of lands.

Tropical forests 8 %; 3. Arid lands

6 %. 4. Potentially suitable land. Forests and grazing lands 10 %. 6. Land, excluding glaciers, snow, deserts, and mountains 51 %

In humid tropical forests, there is heavy rainfall, and a harvest can be grown almost year-round. However, some tropical forest soils are unsuitable for intensive cultivation. About 90 % of the nutrients needed by plants are found in the forest floor and vegetation rather than in the soil. In temperate forests, for example, only 3 % of nutrients are located underground.

Almost 75 % of the Amazon basin, which contains about a third of the potential agricultural land, has low-fertility soils with a high level of acidity.

The warm climate and high humidity favor the existence of huge populations of insect pests and the emergence of diseases capable of destroying the harvest. Scientific research shows that crops grown in the tropics are attacked by insects and diseases 10 times more than harvests obtained in temperate climates.

Of all plant species (over 300,000), 75,000 species are potentially suitable for human consumption. Throughout history, humanity has "tried" 3,000 species and cultivated 150. Today, our food products are based on only 20 plant species. And this is not because the others are inedible. They are simply unfamiliar.

Increasing catches and fish farming

Currently, out of 16,000 known fish species, about 1.5 thousand are considered commercial, of which 10–15 species are harvested. In total, there are more than 150,000 species of living organisms in the ocean, and about 2,000 are used as food products. Most of the catch is produced in the Pacific and Atlantic regions.

Some scientists believe that the global commercial catch of fish and crustaceans could be increased to 100 million tons per year. A hopeful fact is that the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea was signed by 159 states. This treaty gives all coastal countries the legal right to control fishing by their own fishing fleet and foreign vessels within a 364-kilometer zone from the coast. If observed, this treaty could significantly reduce overfishing.

The global fish catch can also be increased by harvesting more squid, octopus, Antarctic krill, and other currently underutilized species.

Another way to expand fish production is to reduce waste. Currently, it accounts for one-fifth of the average annual catch. This is mainly potentially useful fish, but not the type currently being targeted. An increase in the catch can also be achieved through wider use of refrigeration units on vessels to prevent fish spoilage. Experts believe that the volume of produce grown annually on freshwater and marine aqua-farms will triple by the year 2000. Aquaculture accounts for about 8 % of the global commercial fish catch.

Solving the world hunger problem and reducing the pollution and environmental degradation caused by agriculture can be achieved by transitioning to sustainable agricultural production. This production combines modern methods of industrial and small-scale agriculture with the latest agricultural technologies. It is aimed at the efficient use of local climatic conditions, soils, resources, and cultural traditions.

The scientific and technological revolution has created vast opportunities for mastering the forces of nature: humanity has begun to develop all available renewable and non-renewable resources. The use of some is at its limit. Total consumption of natural resources has increased one hundredfold over 10,000 years.

The imperfection of modern technology does not allow for the complete processing of mineral raw materials. A large part of it returns to nature in the form of waste. Every year, more than 30 billion tons of domestic and industrial waste enter the biosphere, altering its composition, cycle, and the balance of the substances that compose it.

Classification of Earth's natural resources

Earth's natural resources are the means of human existence found in nature. Earth's natural resources are divided into inexhaustible a) solar radiation; b) marine energy 1. Renewable 2. Non-renewable tidal and wave energy; a) fauna; a) habitat space; c) wind energy; b) flora; b) river energy;

d) geothermal energy; c) soil fertility c) mineral resources. e) air; f) water.

Fig. 4.1. Classification of Earth's natural resources.

and exhaustible. The latter, in turn, are divided into renewable and non-renewable.

The presented scheme is quite conditional, as air and water cannot be unconditionally classified as inexhaustible (only due to the huge masses of water and air). Under the influence of the anthropogenic factor chemical composition and the physical state of the atmosphere and hydrosphere are changing, and their biological value is being lost. Moreover, fresh water makes up only 2% of the volume of the entire hydrosphere, i.e., 35 million km3, and it is distributed unevenly on Earth.

Let us analyze the current state of Earth's natural resources. Practically all inexhaustible resources, which are sources of non-traditional methods of energy production, will be discussed in Chapter 5. In this regard, this chapter will focus on renewable and non-renewable exhaustible resources.