Opportunities for the Greening of the Global Food Chain
It is not difficult to identify areas of concern regarding the impact of agriculture on global warming. Agriculture directly and indirectly consumes non-renewable energy, almost half of the food produced ends up as waste, and farming itself generates greenhouse gases (GHGs). For the sake of this summary, I have considered five key areas of concern:
Government policy misalignment
Agricultural inputs requiring non-renewable energy resources
Farm enterprise and integrated farm management
Food processing and distribution
Consumer preference, food cost and diet
Governments and politicians care about capturing votes. Consumer trends are difficult to predict or influence. Thus, our focus should be further narrowed to the impact of agricultural inputs, the farm enterprise, and food processing and distribution as the main areas of interest for Boundless Impact.
Consequences and impact of agriculture on global warming GHGs
To become ever-more efficient and to increase yields towards the achievement of the genetic potential of the crop requires the use of artificial fertilizer, and particularly, nitrogen in the form of ammonia. The use of crop protection chemicals to kill unwanted weeds, pests, and diseases also consumes nonrenewable resources.
Agricultural management practices for crop and livestock production directly liberate CO2 but are also responsible for sequestration in the ground. The operation of agricultural machinery consumes oil and contributes to the production of GHGs.
Livestock production and arable cropping directly liberate CH3 and can have a high biological oxygen demand as waste products are introduced into the environment.
Direct impact of intensive agriculture on global warming
Agriculture, the farm enterprise, is directly responsible for the production of GHGs. The cultivation of rice, for example, produces methane, yet billions of people across Asia and Africa rely on this staple for survival. We cannot imagine a world without rice. Meat and meat products are being consumed in seemingly ever-increasing quantities, which also produces methane. Our increasing appetite for meat protein is reducing the rain forests of South America, reducing the capability of the earth to sustain itself.
We should be thankful that agriculture is a highly responsive and successful global business. It has provided adequate supplies of a diverse range of high-quality foods at very low cost, even though land suitable for farming is declining every year.
Impact of global warming on agricultural communities
Remote farm communities are feeling the impact of global warming through unpredictable weather events—flooding in India, drought in Africa, rising sea level in the Pacific. The community is often dependent on these rural populations for food. We are experiencing unpredictable and devastating pest and disease infestations (note the global impact of Spodoptera frugiperda in corn since 2016 on production in Africa and Asia and the consequential increase in the use of crop protection chemicals).
Global agribusiness
A handful of big companies dominate the food chain, particularly in the key areas of crop inputs (seed, crop protection, fertilizer), large scale food distribution, and food processing. We are dependent on synthetic fertilizers and crop protection chemicals for the efficient (low cost) production of food. We will not be able to grow enough food at the price required to feed the growing population without chemicals, but the pendulum has perhaps swung too far. We must consider alternatives to synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, for example (a move that is already underway by the leading manufacturer).
As we pursue increasing crop yields, the use of scarce minerals like potassium and phosphorus must be questioned. How do we ensure that we apply enough fertilizer and chemicals to do the job with the minimum consequential impact to the environment? Precision agriculture will help, but we can also develop natural or biological solutions to pest (weed, disease, and insect) problems (such as insect pheromones that interfere with pest lifecycles without impacting beneficial predators or the environment). There are other considerations here too. Synthetic crop protection chemicals, when used widely or indiscriminately or without discipline, become less effective because of pest resistance. Fewer new products are being developed today than at the beginning of the millennium. So, the risk of crop failure through pest resistance is increasing. Real time field monitoring is helping to make better use of crop inputs.
Investment opportunities Opportunities for investment abound at all levels of the value chain, and there is no indication of a slowdown in investment. The population is growing, which will stimulate demand for food. We will see efficiencies in input placement and the timing of crop protection chemicals, an increase in biological crop protection, and more production closer to the market, all of which will create opportunity for investment in new technologies and practices.
