Looking to the future

The food requirements of this rapidly growing population will need to be met by a number of approaches. First and foremost, it is important that world governments recognise that there is a huge problem looming up in the future, face up to this fact, and

put in place plans to ensure that there will be sufficient food in the future to feed their population. The scale of the problem is being recognised internationally and a number of world-wide initiatives have been established which include some aspects of soils. However, such is the scale of the problem and the need for urgent attention that there needs to be an internationally binding body that will address and create action to ensure that world soils will be in a sufficient condition to feed future populations

To achieve this it will be necessary to bring more land into cultivation and to reclaim much of the land that has become degraded over the last century in particular. In the developed world, there have been quite spectacular increases in cropping intensities, which in the past 40 years has even produced surpluses of some crops. This needs to be extended to other parts but under careful management because in many parts of the world the soils are more vulnerable and less flexible. Thirdly, we need to raise yields. Again, it has been demonstrated in the developed world that this can be done. However, it has to be done carefully to ensure that such progress does not bring in its wake more land damage and environmental problems.

Perhaps the biggest challenge of all is for governments of the various countries to take a long-term view and implement action rather than adopt the short-termism approach that seems to affect most governments of the world. The big challenge in the future is for every country's government to have feeding its people high on it agenda. This involves governments being able to have the combined intelligence and will to ensure that plans are put in place for the long term sustainable food production. The problem of how to feed the world population, say in 20 or 40 years, needs to be on every government's agenda. At the rate at which land has been degraded over the past 100 years and continues to be, coupled with the fact that the growing population will need to be housed which will seal more and more land, leaving less for agriculture, means that the need to produce more food on less land is likely to accelerate. Much more awareness must be shown to this problem and attention given to how it can be solved. The soil is a fundamental to the solution of this huge problem. Therefore, much more recognition needs to be given to the soil, how soil degradation can be prevented and how the soil can be sustainably developed going into the future.

Who is going to be brave enough to take a long term view and really begin to ensure that this vital natural resource will be managed effectively to sustain the future population. The records so far are poor. Some of the more economically robust countries are striving to come to terms with past degradation of land and seeking to reduce and even halt the rapid rate of degradation. The poorer countries, however, such as those in Africa, are trapped in a no-win situation. Their populations are increasing more rapidly than anywhere else in the world but their soils are among the most degraded in the world and economically they are unable to bring about reclamation measures or other practices that will begin to secure their agricultural future. Coupled with this many are predicted to develop even more difficult environments if the predictions of climate change are born out.The importance of soil in relation to the economy and food supply of a country has been ignored by governments in many countries. Soils have been allowed to be damaged often beyond repair, and soil has been taken for granted instead of developing environmental and economically sound policies for maintaining it. Sooner rather than later, many countries of the world will be faced with being unable to produce enough food for their growing population unless urgent action is taken.