Organic sector ‘wrong’ to downplay food security fears

Last week the Soil Association, the UK’s most powerful organic lobby, rubbished industry claims that food production would need to double within 40 years with the publication of its report ‘Telling Porkies: The big fat lie about food production’.

The report said industry had cynically used the ‘doubling’ figure to fuel business for intensive agriculture and GM crops and had ignored the UN’s projection that production would need to increase by 70 per cent by 2050.  

But Sean Rickard, of the Cranfield School of Management, said there were strong grounds to support a doubling of food production given new evidence on population increases, rising wealth and new pressures on land use such as biofuels.

Even using the UN’s 70 per cent figure, which was conceived in 2006, Mr Rickard said farming must make ‘quantum jumps’ in productivity to feed a world population that would continue to grow rapidly after 2050.

“With limited land available to bring into agricultural production, most of the increase will have to come from higher yields: in short, more productive farming systems. 

“Even to meet a 70 per cent increase by 2050 will require a new Green Revolution, involving the help of good science and an open mind regarding the farming systems that might efficiently and sustainably rise to the challenge,” said Mr Rickard. 

Dominic Dyer, chief executive of the Crop Protection Association, urged the organic lobby to accept the need for huge increases in food production and to work together with conventional farmers to meet the challenge.   

“We need an inclusive, collaborative approach bringing together the best of all systems because in truth is there is no single solution to address the challenge of sustainable and secure food production,” he said.

Although he added there was no way demand would be met ‘without investment in and access to the most advanced developments in agricultural science and technology, including biotechnology and crop protection’.

Meanwhile Colin Chartes, director general of the International Water Management Institute, said the Soil Association had simply ‘missed the point’ in its report. 

He said water demand would double within the next 50 years putting huge pressure on farmers, regardless of whether food production would need a simultaneous doubling.

“The key point is we can’t continue with a business as usual approach to agricultural and water productivity particularly in developing countries,” he said.

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