LINKING LAND QUALITY, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, AND FOOD SECURITY

Land quality and land degradation affect agricultural productivity, but quantifying these relationships has been difficult. Data are limited, and impacts are sensitive to the choices that farmers make. Summarizing new research by economists, soil scientists, and geographers, this report explores the extent to which land quality and land degradation affect agricultural productivity, how farmers' responses to land degradation are influenced by economic, environmental, and institutional factors, and whether land degradation poses a threat to productivity growth and food security. Results suggest that land degradation does not threaten food security at the global scale, but does pose problems in areas where soils are fragile, property rights are insecure, and farmers have limited access to information and markets.Land quality, land degradation, soil erosion, agricultural productivity, food security, Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis,

LAND QUALITY, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, AND FOOD SECURITY AT LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND GLOBAL SCALES

Econometric and simulation analyses indicate that land degradation does not threaten agricultural productivity growth and food security at the global level, but problems exist in some areas. Improving market performance could reduce erosion-induced yield losses to 0.1 percent per year and the number of hungry people in less-developed countries by 5 percent over 10 years.land quality, agricultural productivity, food security, Food Security and Poverty, Productivity Analysis,

RESOURCE QUALITY, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, AND FOOD SECURITY

USDA's Economic Research Service estimates that about 33 percent of the developing world's people suffer from insufficient food intake. Growth in agricultural productivity is critical to improvements in food security. We will examine the impact of changes in acreage and fertilizer response on production in 67 study countries and review the implications for food security.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Productivity Analysis,

Resource Quality and Agricultural Productivity: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa and Implications for Ethiopia

Over the next several decades, trends in population, income, and urbanization are projected to raise world demand for cereals, roots, and tubers by about 40%, and for meat by about 60% (Pinstrup-Andersen, Pandya-Lorch, and Rosegrant, 1999). Population and demand for agricultural products are projected to grow nearly twice as fast in sub- Saharan Africa, at 2-3% per year, as they are in the world as a whole (FAO, 2000). Given land constraints in some areas and environmental concerns about agricultural land expansion in others, most of the increased production necessary to meet this demand will have to come from increased productivity on land already in agricultural production. Increasing agricultural productivity is especially critical in sub-Saharan Africa, where food security has been a persistent concern

RESOURCE QUALITY AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY: A MULTI-COUNTRY COMPARISON

This paper builds on earlier studies of agricultural productivity by incorporating spatially referenced soil and climate data combined with high-resolution land-cover data. Econometric analysis of these data, along with panel data on agricultural inputs and outputs from 110 countries for 1961-1997, quantifies the significant impact that differences in land quality have on agricultural productivity.Productivity Analysis,

Commentary on foresight and trade-off analysis for agriculture and food systems

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Exploring opportunities around climate-smart breeding for future food and nutrition security

There is a 95% chance that warming will exceed 2°C by the end of the century (Raftery et al. 2017). Global crop productivity is projected to fall by 5-10 % per degree of warming (Challinor et al. 2014), with even greater losses likely for some crops in some areas. The challenge of meeting future food demand is increasing, and climate change is already diminishing our ability to adapt through crop breeding (Challinor et al. 2016; Aggarwal et al. 2019). Recent research is suggesting that increases in climate variability are already affecting the number of food-insecure people, and that increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations may affect the nutrient content of some food staples, with serious implications for food and nutrition security (Smith and Myers 2018). New crop varieties will be needed that can deliver higher yields as well as possessing the ability to withstand heat and greater tolerances for the secondary effects of a warmer world, such as increased pressures from drought, water-logging, pests and diseases, and reduced nutritional quality due to higher levels of CO2. The systems for accelerated delivery of climate-resilient varieties into food producers’ hands need to be massively upgraded (Cramer 2018). Innovative holistic breeding strategies for multiple traits will be needed that embrace the full pipeline from trait discovery to varietal deployment and seed system development

Radiation Oncology Workforce Recruitment Survey of 2000-2010 Graduates: Is There Need for Better Physician Resource Planning?

Purpose of the Study: To survey employment and training characteristics of Canadian radiation oncology training program graduates and foreign medical graduates with Canadian radiation oncology post-graduate education or specialist certification. Methods: A 38-question, web-based survey was distributed to radiation oncologists who completed specialty training between 2000-2010. Results: Out of 256 radiation oncologists contacted, 148 completed the survey (58% response rate). Thirty-two respondents (22%) were foreign MD graduates. One-hundred and fifteen respondents (78%) undertook fellowship training after residency. Many Canadian MD graduates (77%) and foreign MD graduates (34%) had staff positions in Canada, while 11% of all respondents had staff positions outside Canada, and 21% did not have a commitment for staff employment. Of the 31 respondents without a staff position, 22 graduated from Canadian residency training in 2009 or 2010, and 21 had completed medical school training in Canada. Conclusions: The majority of respondents were successful in securing staff positions in Canada. A sizeable proportion extended training with fellowships. New graduates may have more difficulty in finding Canadian staff positions in radiation oncology in the near future. Implications for specialty training programs and for an improved national strategy for physician resource planning are discussed

The future of diets and hunger in South East Asia under climate change and alternative investment scenarios

Despite enjoying strong economic growth in the last few decades, Southeast Asia still faces challenges to food security, with high levels of stunting across countries in the region. Agricultural production is likely to see large impacts from climate change, including sea-level rise, droughts, and floods. The climate threat compounds pressures onto the food systems coming from the rapid demographic and income trends. Population across the region may grow by 25% between 2010 and 2050, and average income per capita may see a fourfold increase in the same period. In absence of climate impacts, growth in agricultural productivity is estimated to bring about an increase in production of over 50% between 2020 and 2050, with positive effects on the availability of kilocalories, and increased consumption of animal products. However, the projected climate impacts are expected to hit most of the crops in the region, especially cereals. Per capita income in 2050 may be negatively affected compared to a scenario without climate shocks. The resulting decrease in total calories availability translates into an increase in population at risk of hunger across the region and by country. We show that enhanced investments in public international agricultural R&D have the potential to improve yields despite the long-term negative effects of climate shocks, and when combined with increased research efficiency they may even offset climate impacts on food security across the region