Feeding the world in the 21st century

Abstract

The effects of the ‘Green Revolution’ cannot keep pace with today’s pace of population growth. A combination of problems has led to a decline in agricultural production and although in theory sufficient food is produced worldwide, the operation of market economies means that the equal distribution of food is not a reality. The prognosis is not good with >800 million people living a life of permanent or intermittent hunger. The application of advances in plant breeding, particularly tissue culture and genetic engineering, will be essential if the yields of farmers and yield ceilings are to be increased. The use of excessive quantities of pesticide needs to be reduced and the nutrient value of basic foods increased. Farmers on less-favored lands need plant varieties that are better able to tolerate drought, salinity and lack of soil nutrients. The required input traits of plants are: resistance to parasites in various crops; delayed senescence, dwarfing, reduced shade avoidance and early flowering in rice; tolerance to aluminum, chilling and freezing in cereals; new plant types for weed control and for increased yield potential in rice. The required output traits of plants are: increased β-carotene in rice and oilseed rape; increased bioavailable iron in maize and rice; modified starch in rice, potato and maize; modified fatty-acid content in oilseed rape; increased bioavailable protein, essential amino acids, seed weight and sugar content in maize; lowered inert cellulose (lignin) content in forage crops. Nature (2000), 402 (Suppl.), C55–C58.