SUSTAINABLE FOOD SECURITY: HOW TO FEED AN INCREASING POPULATION? A REVIEW

Achieving food security along with combating poverty, meeting climate goals, and reducing pressure on the environment has been a major challenge: rapidly growing population amid dwindling natural resources and an increasingly vulnerable ecological environment. This paper reviews some relevant paperwork to explore the present situation of the food system and the probable solutions for sustainable food security. Today, 690 million people are hungry and overall food demand is estimated to rise by 50% with the increase in population reaching about 10 billion by 2050. Meanwhile, the supply system loses 1.3 billion tons of food produced every year. Also, the world is facing the problem of hunger and obesity simultaneously. By 2050, adequate feeding of the growing population will necessitate an extra 593 million ha generating 7.4 quadrillion calories, which is more than 1.5 times as produced in 2010. Furthermore, 1/4th of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributed to the agriculture sector alone so, we have the dare to meet the increasing global food demand while minimizing adverse environmental impact. The paper’s main contribution lies in the analytical study of different food security approaches. The paper shall help the policymakers to focus on the best measures while formulating a strategy to combat hunger and climate change at the same time. It suggests giving major attention to the breeding programs, increasing cropping intensity, intercropping, rediscovering NUS, more plant-based diet, reduction of food loss and reforestation, peatland restoration, and efficient water utilization for sustainable food security.