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Food
Agricultural research: A contribution to food security
Experts predict that by 2050 there will be more than nine billion people living on the earth, most of them in developing countries. More food will be required, but there is only a limited amount of agricultural land on which to produce it. We are faced with the task of securing food for this ever-growing population, although less arable and grazing land will be available per capita and water is becoming increasingly scarce. This can be done by increasing productivity while at the same time protecting ecosystems – a major challenge for agricultural research, to which scientists and academics in diverse disciplines around the world are responding.
In the early 1970s experts forecast mass starvation as a result of unchecked global population growth and stagnating yields. And so the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) was set up in 1971. The CGIAR currently supports 15 international research institutes in various disciplines. Initially, research focused on improving yields of wheat, maize and rice; later work was expanded to embrace potatoes, manioc, millet and important pulses. Developing efficient livestock production systems, fighting animal diseases and preserving genetic diversity are further topics of this applied research. The CGIAR is establishing a worldwide network of gene banks.
As a long-standing partner of CGIAR, the Federal Republic of Germany helps determine the direction of research and German experts are involved in research projects. Since 2007, Germany has been supporting the establishment of a new priority area of research, which is to focus on adapting African agriculture to climate change. In 2008 Germany contributed 17.5 million euros to support CGIAR. In 2010 it has contributed 21 million euros.
Whilst private agricultural industry keeps the results of their research under lock and key, and puts them to commercial use, public research is accessible to any interested users anywhere in the world. Innovations, expert know-how and genetic resources stored in the research institutes' gene banks are freely available.
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