Making Agriculture Part of the Climate Change Solution

The number of hungry mouths to feed keeps growing faster than predicted. A 2009 projection by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that by 2050 there would be 9 billion people on the planet may be off by a billion or so. Recently, some estimates have revised that figure closer to 10 billion. A 2018 report by the World Resources Institute (WRI), Creating a Sustainable Food Future, noted that by 2050, the world will need 56 percent more crop calories (7400 trillion) compared with those needed in 2010, and a land mass nearly twice the size of India to grow additional crops, even after accounting for increased yields. Already, agriculture and related land use contribute close to a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions. But teams of plant geneticists, biosystems engineers, animal scientists, and fish nutritionists, among others, are making headway in finding ways to increase food production while potentially keeping a lid on greenhouse gas emissions. From sophisticated technologies at work in the fields to seaweed diets for cattle and agroforestry practices used by small farmers in Kenya, scientists are developing tools to make agriculture part of the climate solution.