Canada can play a larger role in sustainable farming and food production

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The world's food system will be under tremendous pressure in coming decades. But if Canada is to play its part, more – not less – research and innovation will be needed

by JIM DALRYMPLE

Ontario and Canada should play a major role in food production to meet the ever- increasing needs of the world's population. The demand for food to feed a growing population, the availability or lack of availability of water and other resources in some parts of the world, climate change concerns and the increased utilization of crops to produce biofuels should enable Canadian producers to play a larger role.

The world's food system will be under tremendous pressure over the next three to four decades:

1.  World population is expected to increase by over two billion people by 2050, perhaps reaching nine billion or more.
2.  Many nations are seeing a growth in their middle class and their GDP, which will increase demand for higher quality diets in many countries, particularly meat.
3.  As nations' wealth increases, the competition for land, water and energy will escalate.
4.  Demands to reduce greenhouse gas levels and the impact of climate change will also increase.
5.  Political instability, higher food prices, plant and animal diseases and human health concerns will add pressure to meeting nutritional needs.

Canada has the land base, the water resources, the production technology and knowledgeable farmers to help meet world food demands.

In the Middle East, countries like Saudi Arabia, after 20 years and self-sufficiency in wheat, have indicated that their water supply is largely depleted and will be phasing out wheat production. In the past four to five years, their harvest of three million tons has dropped by more than two-thirds. Their last wheat crop will be harvested in 2012 and they will be totally dependent on imported grain to feed nearly 30 million people.

Water tables are falling and wells are going dry in some 20 countries, including China, India and the United States which, together, produce half the worlds' grain. South of the border, in California, the combination of aquifer depletion and the diversion of irrigation water to fast-growing cities has reduced irrigated area from nearly nine million acres in 1997 to an estimated 7.5 million acres in 2010. A similar situation is occurring in Texas.

Almost one billion people in the world currently lack access to adequate daily dietary carbohydrates, fat and protein. Many more lack adequate vitamin and mineral daily needs. Concerns exist about the sustainability of food production in many parts of the world.

A major report, "The Future of Food and Farming: Challenges and Choices for Global Sustainability," has been released in the United Kingdom by the Government Office for Science. This report outlines future demands for food production, the future volatility in the farm system, ending hunger, meeting the challenges of a low-emission world and other key drivers of change.

Coping with the challenges facing the agriculture and food industries will require an ongoing and likely an increased commitment from all levels of Canadian government to research and innovation. Doing more with fewer natural resources is important.

Agriculture has doubled or tripled corn yields, tripled milk production per cow, quadrupled the egg production per laying hen and used up to 40 per cent less feed and water to produce a kilogram of pork.

Present uncertainties about research funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and, in particular, from the National Science And Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to the food sector have raised alarms. While most other countries realize the importance of agriculture and the food industry and are moving to enhance financial support, NSERC is looking at removing food research from its priority list.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has decreased its number of scientists in many commodities over the past 20 years. There appears to be a similar decline at many universities. An Inventory of Agricultural Research (ICAR) used to provide data on numbers of scientists and scientific disciplines, but that database was discontinued over a decade ago.

In Canada, and throughout the world, reliance on ocean fisheries and declining fish stocks is also of concern. At the same time, many environmentalists and animal welfarists are questioning farmed fishing technologies. Yet demand for fish will increase substantially and expansion of farmed fish production must continue if world demands for fish protein are to be met. Canada's lakes, ocean access and rivers can help meet this demand.

Farm production, notably intensive agriculture, is questioned by some, yet this type of production will be needed to prevent more marginal land from being used for food production. Many modern farming systems are helping to reduce the problems of soil erosion, loss of soil fertility, salination and the loss of water which is not being replenished in many countries.

Large sized farms are being questioned, yet in many commodities the larger farms are marketing higher quality products with greater attention to biosecurity and meeting environmental and resource use standards. Many new technologies – as in the dairy industry's use of computers, pedometers, robotic milking systems and biofuel production – are only economic in large- scale units.

Research and innovation is a vital component of meeting the future needs of Canada and its trading partners. BF

J.R. (Jim) Dalrymple is a former Ontario government swine specialist and president of Livestock Technology Services Ltd. in Brighton.