Land and Food Issues

Alleviating Hunger

• Land Quality• Land Policy

Land Quality

• Good and bad land issues• Methods of improving cultivation

Land Quality

• Good and bad land issues– High potential for increase land cultivation in

undeveloped areas.– 2/3 of arable land in africa is currently not being

cultivated

Land Quality

Land Quality

• Good and bad land issues

Land Quality

• Methods of improving cultivation– Educating women in farming techniques– Roots sustainable agriculture systems– Gathering food from our feet– For pest control, fallow natures lead

Land Policy

• Politics• Unused land

Land Policy

• Politics– The impact of political liberalization– Land and conflict in Africa– Land in the agricultural economy

Land Policy

• Unused land– Increased offshore private ownership

Land Policy

• 35,778,800 hectares or 86 million acres

• Africa size = 7.04 billion acres • Current arable land = 1.5 billion acres

• 6% of arable land is owned by other countries

Sustainability

• Land degradation• Total Land Use

Land Degradation Factors

Approximately 40% of the world’s Agricultural land has been significantly degraded

• Nutrient Depletion• Soil Salinization• Deforestation

Land Degradation Factors

Land Degradation Factors

• Nutrient Depletion– Over-Intensive cultivation and poor soil

maintenance can limit the topsoil’s ability to replenish itself.

– Slash and Burn and Soil Salinization are just two example of this

– Since the 1880’s over one half of the U.S.’s topsoil has disappeared

Land Degradation Factors

• Nutrient Depletion

Land Degradation Factors

• Soil Salination– Cheap, potassium based fertilizers for natural salts

on the surface of usable land– Most water carries traces amount of salt. Poorly

drained irrigation systems and saline watering systems accumulate surface salts and reduce the amount of nutrients future plants will be able to absorb.

Land Degradation Factors

• Deforestation– Slash-and-Burn Tactics cut down trees to create

temporary agriculture, but ruins the land for long-term use.

– Urban sprawl and commercial development takes up much or the arable land around populated areas as it worth more developed than for agriculture

Total Land Use

• In theory, the minimum amount of land it would take to support a person if everyone on earth had a diversified diet like that of the U.S. and Europe is .5 hectares. That’s about the size of a football field. If everyone on earth actually did use the same amount of land for food, however, they would only be able to use .07 hectares per person, with a strictly vegan and limited diet.

Total Land Use

Total Land Use

• Livestock takes considerable amounts of land to produce- approximately 30% of the earth’s total landmass and 40% of all agricultural output.

• Overgrazing and grain-fed livestock are major factors to soil erosion in the U.S. as well.

Total Land Use

• Effective crop rotation can mitigate land degradation effects and maximize land use– This, however, isn’t as profitable at larger scales,

as more profitable crops can’t be maximized. Arizona soy and cotton cycles are an example of this.

Methods of Improvement

• Smaller scale agriculture with private, short term incentives can mitigate land degradation and productivity losses– Offsite environmental and economic impacts,

however, still need larger policy management, especially in a poor performing market