Unfortunately, recent events in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic combined to remind us that no supply chain is invincible.\u00a0 Ukraine and Russia account for 29% of global wheat exports and 62% of sunflower oil[2]<\/a>.\u00a0 To put it another way, Ukraine\u2019s food exports provide the calories to feed 400 million people[3]<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n As it stands, Middle East and North African (MENA) countries import half of their food \u2013 and here in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states the figure reaches a staggering 90%[4]<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The expectation is that this situation will get worse before it gets better.\u00a0 Partly through climate change, but mainly because of the world\u2019s growing population.\u00a0<\/p>\n By most estimates, the world population is projected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050[5]<\/a>.\u00a0 This implies that food production must increase by 70% to meet the demands of such a huge population.\u00a0 Now this is nothing new: all the way back in 1798 Thomas Malthus argued that the world\u2019s population would eventually outgrow its resources because the human population increases geometrically, while food production increases arithmetically.\u00a0 His predictions were averted by a mixture of factors, including an increase in the amount of farmable land, such as the prairies of the American Midwest, industrialized farming techniques that boosted food production, and the development of artificial fertilizers.\u00a0 None of these will help now \u2013 every one of the tools that boosted food production has been found to be subject to the laws of unintended consequences.<\/p>\n Take fertilizer, for instance. Ammonium nitrate, NH3<\/sub>, is the basis for all artificial fertilizers.\u00a0 Without it, 30% to 50% of the world\u2019s harvest would be lost.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 It is made using the Haber-Bosch process for fixing nitrogen, developed in the early 20th<\/sup> Century by Fritz Haber, a German chemist, and Carl Bosch of BASF, a German chemicals firm.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the short term, the use of fertilizer can boost crop yields and improve agricultural productivity.\u00a0 But in the longer term, it comes with a heavy, often unseen, cost.\u00a0 The nitrogen not absorbed by the plants acidifies the soil and it changes its chemical form, potentially dissolving in runoff as a nitrate ion and travelling through streams and rivers to the sea, or returning to the atmosphere as nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more damaging than carbon dioxide[7]<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another unexpected consequence of artificial fertilizer is a sharp fall in biodiversity.\u00a0 Some plants are better at using nitrogen than others and will outcompete other species.\u00a0 This can be seen in the dead zones now to be found where rivers that drain large agricultural basins flow out into the sea.\u00a0 Nitrogen and phosphorus in the runoff from farmlands enable some species of algae to bloom so much they use up all the oxygen in the water and everything \u2013 including the algae itself \u2013 then dies.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Over the second half of the 20th<\/sup> Century, such dead zones became ten times more common, as nitrogen flows into the sea from farming grew by about 50%.<\/p>\n Another cost is the reduced quality of the food that is produced.\u00a0 Conventional fertilizer-based farming does not nourish the soil with the essential minerals it needs to grow highly nutritious plants that are resilient.\u00a0 Instead, it produces crops that are highly susceptible to drought, diseases, and pests.\u00a0 In contrast, sustainable agriculture places a lot of emphasis on soil nourishment, which ultimately results in healthier plants and animals.\u00a0 Using natural fertilizers and crop rotation, while reducing the number of animals on a farm, sustainable agriculture ensures that soils are free from toxic compounds that may harm humans, animals, and pollinators.\u00a0 With healthy soils, plants can withstand attacks from pests and diseases because they have the required minerals to give them resilience[8]<\/a>.<\/p>\n One distinguishing feature of industrial-scale farming is its heavy reliance on energy-intensive machinery, especially fossil fuels, making it one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions.\u00a0 Naturally, sustainable agriculture does the opposite and tries to minimize energy use at all levels of production.\u00a0 It not only embraces less energy intensive tools of agricultural production, but also adopts smart farming systems.\u00a0 By eliminating the use of fossil fuels and reducing energy use, sustainable farming helps in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, thereby playing a significant role in combating climate change.\u00a0\u00a0 According to a June 2021, report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), sustainable agriculture uses up to 56% less energy per unit of crop produced and emits 64% less greenhouse gas per hectare[9]<\/a>.<\/p>\n Monoculture, the system of farming that involves planting vast tracts of land with a single plant breed, is one of the defining characteristics of industrial agriculture.\u00a0 Over the past 100 years, more than 90% of crop varieties have disappeared and today, just nine plant species account for 66% of total crop production[10]<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Domesticated potatoes originate from Peru[11]<\/a>, where a typical smallholding might have as many as 73 varieties.\u00a0<\/p>\n But in Europe, for efficiency, only three or four varieties were farmed, so when potato blight appeared it devastated the entire potato crop, because all the potatoes were genetically similar, if not identical.\u00a0 The most badly affected country was Ireland, where millions died and many more emigrated: its population today is still less than it was in the 1840s[12]<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The cultivation of potatoes illustrates three of the key characteristics of conventional agriculture: genetically uniform crops; heavy fertilizer use; and pesticides.\u00a0 Pesticides were first used in the 19th<\/sup> Century to combat the swarms of Colorado potato beetle that swept the US.\u00a0 Allegedly, the whole industry began when an exasperated farmer threw a tin of paint at a swarm of these bugs, and they died.\u00a0 Now, because monocrops are highly vulnerable to pests and diseases, large industrial farms heavily depend on herbicides and pesticides to keep their plants healthy, without much consideration for other nearby flora or fauna that is also poisoned.<\/p>\n Unlike industrial agriculture, sustainable farming focuses on diverse farming systems which use a variety of crops.\u00a0 The diversity of plants in this farming system ensures they are more resilient to withstand any pests, diseases, and drought.\u00a0<\/p>\n The agricultural sector consumes about 69% of the planet’s fresh water[13]<\/a>, often to irrigate farmland under cultivation.\u00a0 Unlike conventional irrigation methods, sustainable agricultural systems use several techniques to conserve water, such as drip irrigation and mulching, contour farming and filter strips near rivers to limit contamination of the water mass, and favoring perennial crops with deep roots that do not require a lot of water. \u00a0<\/p>\n For countries that struggle to meet the demand for food, the obvious answer has traditionally been to expand the amount of land under cultivation, but yet again, there are unforeseen costs, the emergence of zoonotic diseases<\/a> such as COVID-19.\u00a0<\/p>\n Clearing space for agriculture reduces the natural buffers that protect humans from viruses and other pathogens circulating among wildlife.\u00a0 And pathogens spread even more easily among flocks and herds that are genetically similar \u2013 which they all are \u2013 particularly when they are farmed intensively, closer to one another than they would naturally choose.\u00a0 So that takes in battery-farmed chickens, cattle in feeding lots, dairy cattle and any piggery, just for starters.\u00a0 Yet, between 2000, and 2010, large-scale commercial agriculture accounted for 40% of tropical deforestation; and local subsistence agriculture was not far behind, accounting for another 33%[14]<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 Loss of forests and unsustainable farming practices also lead to extreme erosion, so much so that, during the past 150 years, half of all agricultural topsoil has been lost[15]<\/a>.<\/p>\n Generally, then, it is clear that conventional agriculture is environmentally damaging and not sustainable.\u00a0 More than that, is inherently insecure.\u00a0 Like any other industry, agriculture consolidates; larger units take over individual farms to benefit from the economies of scale and, because they are more efficient, they out-compete the smaller players and then absorb them.\u00a0 But relying on mega-farming corporations is risky \u2013 if one of them faces a problem, it could become an international issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sustainable farming is one way of spreading the risk, as it tends to be highly decentralized and based around far smaller units, so there is less chance of endangering the supply chain.<\/p>\n All the drawbacks and risks associated with conventional agriculture come close to defining sustainable agriculture as what it is not, rather than what it is.\u00a0 According to UNEP, a useful working definition of sustainable farming is \u201cfarming that meets the needs of existing and future generations, while also ensuring profitability, environmental health and social and economic equity.\u00a0 It favors techniques that emulate nature \u2013 to preserve soil fertility, prevent water pollution and protect biodiversity\u201d<\/em>[16]<\/a>.\u00a0 Yet the definition is fluid to some degree, often reflecting a cultural or commercial interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n This mixture of stakeholders with different priorities presents its own contradictions.\u00a0 One of its bodies is the European Roundtable for Beef Sustainability<\/a>, whereas another organization pressing for sustainable agriculture, the World Wildlife Fund<\/a>, regards beef farming as distinctly non-sustainable.\u00a0 It says: \u201cThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contends that the livestock sector alone is responsible for 18% of all greenhouse gas production\u201d[17]<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the SAI Platform is committed to \u201cgrowing a sustainable, healthy and resilient agricultural sector while creating strong and secure supply chains\u201d[18]<\/a>.\u00a0 We simply have to accept that sustainable agriculture is not a \u201cone size fits all\u201d concept but has to be tailored to different circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those circumstances are rarely as extreme as those found in the technologically advanced city-state that is Singapore, where less than 1% of its 720 square-kilometer land mass is set aside for farms and more than 90% of its food is imported[19]<\/a>.\u00a0 It aims to change that.\u00a0 In 2019, the government said the country should produce 30% of its food by 2030, backing that with funds \u2013 S$ 207m (US$ 149m) \u2013 to boost productivity and spur research and inviting sustainable urban farmers to apply to rent the roofs of nine government-owned car parks.\u00a0 As befits an economy such as Singapore\u2019s, the farming uses technology to help manage variables such as temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, light, water and nutrients to produce tastier, sustainably produced crops such as lettuce, sorrel and chard.<\/p>\n This approach seems likely to work in the Middle East, where the Kuwait-based NOX Management set up a commercial indoor vertical farm in partnership with Hamburg-based agritech specialist &ever, now Growy<\/a>, just outside Kuwait City, to produce salad vegetables.\u00a0 Spanning 3000m2<\/sup>, the farm uses IoT \u2013 the internet of things \u2013 sensors to digitally control seeding, germination, harvesting, temperature, humidity, emissions and air flow, using 90% less water and 60% less fertilizer than traditional farming.[20]<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Countries such as India are also very interested in the possibilities of marrying technology to farming to boost production, without damaging the environment and exhausting natural resources.\u00a0 The agritech venture capital firm Omnivore[21]<\/a>, for example, has financed start-ups that offer financial technology services, business-to-business marketplace platforms, and post-harvest technologies to increase efficiency and sustainability.\u00a0 Fasal[22]<\/a> is one of these, an agritech company that supplies the precision agricultural equipment required by micro-irrigation systems.\u00a0 It has installed soil moisture sensors across more than 16,000 ha of farmland in India to conserve water using artificial intelligence and IoT.\u00a0 Users report savings of up to 40% in water alone and greater success in treating crop diseases. [23]<\/a><\/p>\n While acceptance of the need for sustainable farming has grown, another more radical alternative has also attracted some heavyweight attention.\u00a0 In June 2021, UNEP and partners launched the Transformative Partnership Platform on agroecology or regenerative agriculture[24]<\/a>.\u00a0 This has two aims: ensuring food and nutritional security; and reversing the degradation that human actions have caused.\u00a0 UNEP believes that agroecology is instrumental for realizing 12 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and, because it requires fewer external inputs and shortens value chains, it will empower farmers and local communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n The concept has significant backing.\u00a0 In 2021, the food and beverage giant Nestl\u00e9 launched a regenerative agriculture plan to invest US$ 1.3 billion over five years to help 500,000 farmers and 50,000 suppliers around the world improve soil organic matter and fertility[25]<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Agriculture accounts for nearly two-thirds of Nestl\u00e9’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with dairy and livestock making up about half of that.\u00a0 In dairy, for example, Nestl\u00e9 is assessing cutting-edge science and technology to reduce emissions at farm level.\u00a0 The company will start working with 30 reference dairy farms in 12 countries to test scalable, climate-friendly and regenerative agricultural practices that help achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions.\u00a0 Nestl\u00e9 is also working with farmers to select and cultivate pulse varieties to be used as milk alternatives.<\/p>\n Closer to home, I\u2019m immensely proud that the Abdul Latif Jameel Water & Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS<\/a>), co-founded in 2014 by Community Jameel<\/a> and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/a>, is helping to support breakthrough food-tech research in the quest to feed the planet in a more sustainable way.<\/p>\n I\u2019m also delighted that the Jameel Investment Management Company (JIMCO<\/a>), through its Strategic Asset Fund<\/a>, is helping to support foodtech and sustainable farming programs across the globe, while the JIMCO Technology Fund<\/a> supports alternative technologies in adjacent markets, like its investment in biotech start-up VitroLabs Inc<\/a>., which produces cell cultured slaughter-free leather.<\/p>\n This is all very laudable, but is it enough?\u00a0 There are signs that plans to boost food production safely are happening too slowly, that there is a widening divide between the haves and the have-nots, all made worse by the climate change that non-sustainable farming practices contribute towards. \u00a0The number of people affected by hunger globally rose to as many as 828 million in 2021[26]<\/a>, an increase of about 46 million since 2020.<\/p>\n Yet, we cannot let the size of the mountain deflect us from our efforts to reach the summit.\u00a0 Humankind bears the brunt of responsibility for much of the climate crisis threatening our planet.\u00a0 It is up to humankind to find a solution, too, no matter how hard that may be.\u00a0 Small steps of progress are infinitely better than no steps at all.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Homo Deus<\/em>, Yuval Noah Harari, 2011.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/video\/2022\/04\/05\/the-impact-of-the-war-in-ukraine-on-food-security-world-bank-expert-answers<\/a><\/p>\n [3]<\/a> https:\/\/www.economist.com\/leaders\/2022\/05\/19\/the-coming-food-catastrophe<\/a><\/p>\n [4]<\/a> https:\/\/www.economist.com\/leaders\/2022\/05\/19\/the-coming-food-catastrophe<\/a><\/p>\n [5]<\/a> https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/global-issues\/population<\/a><\/p>\n [6]<\/a> https:\/\/www.economist.com\/christmas-specials\/2022\/12\/20\/deadly-dirty-indispensable-the-nitrogen-industry-has-changed-the-world<\/a><\/p>\n [7]<\/a> https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/ghgemissions\/overview-greenhouse-gases<\/a><\/p>\n [8]<\/a> https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/8-reasons-why-sustainable-agriculture-important-rebekah-shields\/<\/a><\/p>\n [9]<\/a> https:\/\/www.unep.org\/news-and-stories\/story\/beginners-guide-sustainable-farming<\/a><\/p>\n [10]<\/a> https:\/\/www.unep.org\/news-and-stories\/story\/rethinking-food-systems<\/a><\/p>\n [11]<\/a> The Food Programme 17:30-22.18.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sounds\/play\/b08n20k3<\/a><\/p>\n [12]<\/a> https:\/\/www.cso.ie\/en\/csolatestnews\/pressreleases\/2021pressreleases\/pressstatementpopulationandmigrationestimatesapril2021\/<\/a><\/p>\n [13]<\/a>https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sounds\/play\/b08n20k3<\/a><\/p>\n [14]<\/a> https:\/\/www.unep.org\/news-and-stories\/story\/rethinking-food-systems<\/a><\/p>\n [15]<\/a> https:\/\/www.worldwildlife.org\/industries\/sustainable-agriculture<\/a><\/p>\n [16]<\/a> https:\/\/www.unep.org\/news-and-stories\/story\/beginners-guide-sustainable-farming<\/a><\/p>\n [17]<\/a> https:\/\/www.worldwildlife.org\/industries\/sustainable-agriculture<\/a><\/p>\n [18]<\/a> https:\/\/saiplatform.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n [19]<\/a> https:\/\/www.economist.com\/asia\/2020\/07\/04\/singapore-looks-to-the-skies-for-fields<\/a><\/p>\n [20]<\/a> https:\/\/www.prnewswire.co.uk\/news-releases\/nox-management-realizes-a-significant-profit-after-the-acquisition-of-amp-ever-in-a-deal-worth-euro-130-million-870911616.html<\/a><\/p>\n [21]<\/a> https:\/\/www.omnivore.vc\/impact-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n [22]<\/a> https:\/\/fasal.co\/about.html<\/a><\/p>\n [23]<\/a> https:\/\/fasal.co\/case-studies.html<\/a><\/p>\n [24]<\/a> https:\/\/glfx.globallandscapesforum.org\/topics\/21467\/page\/TPP-home<\/a><\/p>\n [25]<\/a> https:\/\/www.nestle.com\/media\/pressreleases\/allpressreleases\/support-transition-regenerative-food-system<\/a><\/p>\n [26]<\/a> https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/06-07-2022-un-report–global-hunger-numbers-rose-to-as-many-as-828-million-in-2021<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2023\/04\/WFP-logo-150x150.png\"){kind=logo}
UN World Food Programme<\/a> Director David Beasley told the UN Security Council in September 2022 the war in Ukraine is worsening an \u2018unprecedented\u2019 global emergency, with up to 345 million people in 82 countries \u2018marching towards starvation.\u2019\u00a0 This is principally an issue for poorer countries, but no one can be complacent.\u00a0<\/p>\nAn old problem\u2026<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1803812788-huge-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nImpact on biodiversity<\/h2>\n
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The over-reliance on only one plant breed increases the vulnerability of plants to diseases, which may quickly spread from one plant to another and wipe out the entire crop.\u00a0 The European \u2018potato famine\u2019 of the 1840s \u2013 regarded as the world\u2019s first agricultural catastrophe \u2013 illustrates how disastrous this can be.\u00a0<\/p>\nConserving water supplies<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Pandemics-5-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA new solution<\/h2>\n
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Take, for example, the Brussels-based Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform<\/a>.\u00a0 It has 170 members that are a Who\u2019s Who of the international agriculture and food and drink sectors.\u00a0 Multi-national enterprises such as Carlsberg, Heineken, Cargill, and Dupont are there, as SAI Platform says: \u201cFrom household names to small farm cooperatives, our members include everyone from small companies starting out on the journey towards sustainability to some of the world\u2019s largest multinationals\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\nMaking progress<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n