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biocapacity. Ecosystem approaches are alternative approaches
to food production that aim not only to maintain but also to
improve the fertility and productivity of ecosystems. Such
sustainable food production approaches are implemented
to prevent soil erosion, improve soil fertility and enhance
biological diversity. Ecosystem approaches in agriculture often
include traditional practices such as conservation agriculture,
crop rotation, inter-cropping and biological control of pests. For
example, maize in rotation with soybean yields 5–20 per cent
more than continuous crops of maize monocultures. Soil
nitrogen levels have also been shown to increase by 6–14 kg/ha
following a rotation of peas and wheat (Bullock 1992;
Stevenson and van Kessel 1996). In forestry, sustainable
forest management is a move away from the traditional focus
of managing forests only for timber production, and towards
management of a range of forest ecosystem services, including
food production and wild food harvesting (MA 2005). Ecosystem
approaches to fisheries include approaches such as Integrated
Coastal Zone and Marine Protected Areas that all seek to ensure
sustainable management of marine resources, including fish
stocks to reduce overexploitation (UNEP 2011b).
Food loss and food waste
Much of the data on food loss do not include potential losses
due to ecosystem degradation. About one-third, equivalent
to 1.3 billion tonnes, of all edible parts of food produced for
human consumption are either lost or wasted (FAO 2013b). This
is in addition to a far greater amount of non-food waste such as
straw. Estimates by Smil (2001) as cited by Stuart (2009) show
that as much as 4 600 kcal of agricultural food is harvested
per day for every person on the planet, but around 2 000 kcal
on average are consumed, implying that more than half of
agricultural food products are lost or wasted along the food
production and distribution chain.
There is a clear variation between developing and developed
countries with regards to food loss and waste. In developing
countries, food loss is the greatest problem. It is estimated that
over 75 per cent of the food loss and waste occur in developing
countries before the food reaches the retailer, compared to
57 per cent in developed countries (Gustavsson
et al.
2011b,c).
This is typically due to poor capacity in developing countries to
store, process and transport food as well as lack of access to
markets (Moomaw
et al.
2012). In sub-Saharan Africa alone, grain
enough to feed 48 million people is lost every year (FAO 2012c).
In developed countries, food waste at the retail and household
levels is the biggest problem. Asmuch as 43 per cent of all loss and
waste occur at this stage, compared to 25 per cent in developing
countries (Gustavsson
et al.
2011b,c). Food waste by consumers
Population growth
Billions
Global yield production trend and projections
Tonnes per hectare
Source: UN Population Division, from van der Mensbrugghe
etal.
2009
Source: Deepak, K. R., Yield Trends Are Insu cient to Double Global Crop
Production by 2050, PLoS ONE, 2013
Developed
Developing
Least developed
World
Maize
Rice
Wheat
Soybean
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
Production trend and forecast
Increase required to
meet future agriculture
demand
Will there be enough food for 9.6 billion people?