Agricultural Education, Science and Modern Technology's Role in Solving the Problems of Global Food Resources in the 21st Century

The growth of agriculture output over the past 200 years has been phenomenal. When Malthus wrote in 1798, he perceived limits on agricultural production as serious and imminent. Since then world population has increased by six-fold and global agricultural production has more than kept pace. Falling real grain prices for most of the 20th Century are cited as evidence. The sources of the increase in food production, however, have been quite different and have come in distinct waves. For most of the 19th century, increased output came from expanded land area in production. Science-based agriculture is really a post-Mendel phenomenon. In the 20th century, new technology came in different forms. First, mechanical technology, particularly the tractor, made possible cultivating more acres and freed enormous areas used for producing fuel for draft animals, for food production. Improvements in breeding and agronomy in the middle part of the century opened the possibility of substantially increasing yields per unit of land through the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. As we look to the 21st century, this conference is asking a critical question about the role of knowledge, science and technology in meeting future global food needs.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	McCalla, Alex F.
Format:	Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 1998
Subjects:	ACCESS TO FOOD, AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES, AGRICULTURAL NEGOTIATIONS, AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS, AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS, AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE, AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS, AGRICULTURAL TRADE, AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITIES, AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, AGRICULTURE, AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION, AGRONOMY, ANATOMY, ANIMALS, APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY, ARABLE LAND, BIOCHEMISTRY, BIOTECHNOLOGY, BREEDING, CANCER, CEREALS, CGIAR, CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS, CHEMISTRY, COASTAL ZONES, COMMODITIES, CONSERVATION TILLAGE, CROP, CROPPING, DECENTRALIZATION, DEFORESTATION, DEMAND FOR FOOD, DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, ECOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, EXTENSION AGENTS, EXTERNALITIES, FAMINE, FAO, FARMERS, FARMING, FARMING SYSTEMS, FEED, FISH, FISHERIES, FOOD AVAILABILITY, FOOD CROPS, FOOD DEMAND, FOOD NEEDS, FOOD POLICY, FOOD POLICY RESEARCH, FOOD PRICES, FOOD PRODUCTION, FOOD PROJECTIONS, FOOD RESOURCES, FOOD SECURITY, FOOD SUPPLIES, FOOD SUPPLY, FRUITS, GATT, GENETIC IMPROVEMENT, GENETICS, GLOBAL WARMING, GRAIN, GRAIN PRODUCTION, GRAINS, GREEN REVOLUTION, IFPRI, INCOMES, INPUT USE, INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT, INTEGRATION, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, IRRI, IRRIGATION, LAND DEGRADATION, LAND USE, LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY, MAIZE, MARKETING, MEAT, MINISTRIES OF AGRICULTURE, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, MONOCULTURE, NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE, NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES, NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES, NGOS, NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT, PARTICIPATORY APPROACHES, PEST MANAGEMENT, PESTICIDES, PHYSICS, POLICY ENVIRONMENT, POLLUTION, POPULATION GROWTH, POPULATION GROWTH RATES, POVERTY REDUCTION, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRODUCTION AGRICULTURE, PROPRIETARY SCIENCE, PUBLIC AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, RANGE LANDS, RESEARCH AGENDA, RICE, RISK MANAGEMENT, RIVER BASINS, RURAL COMMUNITIES, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE, SCIENTISTS, SOCIOLOGY, SOILS, SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS, SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE USE, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, TREES, URBANIZATION, VEGETABLES, WATER POLLUTION, WHEAT, WORLD FOOD SUMMIT, WORLD GRAIN PRODUCTION,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/969381468332486273/Agricultural-education-science-and-modern-technologys-role-in-solving-the-problems-of-global-food-resources-in-the-21st-century https://hdl.handle.net/10986/27120
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