Global food security challenges and international efforts to tackle them
Abstract
Global food security issue is directly linked to the prediction about expansion of world population to over 9 billion by 2050. Continuously expanding world population is putting immense pressure on resources available to produce food for human consumption. In next 30 years, estimated increase of 2 billion in human population clearly demands production and availability of more food. Many reports suggest there is a need to increase food production 40-50% to feed 9 billion people on our planet. Emerging global challenges due to food security issue are complex and diverse in nature. Scientific challenges are associated with food production, food sustainability, food waste, malnutrition and climate change. Social and economic challenges relate to food security include resource efficiency, supply chain management, urbanization, specific dietary demands, equity in wealth distribution and poverty alleviation. Product price versus safety, quality, variety and demand are the key challenges faced by global food industry in the context of food security. Internationally, food security is recognized as one of the priority food policy development area. Government agencies in different countries are developing policies and setting up priorities to strengthen food systems for sustainable food supply. NGOs and non-profit organizations are active to highlight the issues and establish collaborations to effectively address the challenges. Academic and research institutes are playing a vital role to produce expertise in the key areas and creating a strong knowledge base to tackle the issue in coordinated manner. This article provides an overview of global food security challenges and recent efforts to address them.
Keywords
Publication history
- Received
- Accepted
- Published online
How to cite
Hussain, M.A. (2018). Global food security challenges and international efforts to tackle them. Asia-Pacific Journal of Food Safety and Security, 4(4), 16-20.