A large number of scientist unable to find a solution of less production of agriculture. Why?
@ Aqarab, because less production of agriculture is mainly due to uncertain monsoons and inadequate irrigation facilities, decline in soil fertility, uneconomic holding, population pressure, lack of mechanization, lack of entrepreneurship as well as poorly educated farmers.
Whats the scientist do? Nothing except publishing of paper again and again.....We need to work in field, not in offices.
Dear Aqarab Husnain, in my opinion, researchers and research must first and foremost focus on reducing and if possible eliminating the waste of food resources. Then, if necessary, we need to think and do research to increase agricultural production. First, we must ask ourselves: Do we have enough food for everyone? Certainly yes of course. According to FAO estimates one-third of all food produced in the world is wasted it is absolutely necessary to minimize waste. Scientific research can and must do a lot in this area. Furthermore, we must learn and teach children, in schools, not to waste food. Food waste means also the unnecessary production of many tons of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. If with a magic wand we could instantly eliminate the world's food waste, perhaps we would be able to feed well more than 10 or 11 billion people. The food resources produced in the world today are sufficient to adequately feed more than 10 billion people, and we are only about 7.5 billion.
Furthermore, it is necessary to ask: Does the food we produce today, and that we often waste, reach all the people of the world in a sufficient way? The answer to this crucial question is certainly no. It is the task of politics to rethink the distribution of food produced in a fair and sufficient manner to the minimum food needs of every human being in the world. Therefore, the combination of politics and research must first resolve the questions posed in the aforementioned premise and then must address the central question of this discussion, namely how to increase agricultural production.
In my opinion, for the above, it is not necessary to increase agricultural production but it is certainly necessary to increase the "quality" and "healthiness" of agricultural production with a view to safeguarding human health and the environment. Since lower agricultural production and better quality can mean an economic loss for farmers in terms of lost income, the Policy, on the one hand, must introduce significant economic support for farmers whose productions are eco-sustainable and biologically natural and on the other hand must discourage the use of pesticides, herbicides, etc. Furthermore, the policy must provide for free education (i.e. at the expense of general taxation) for all farmers to prevent them from being victims of advertising of multinationals that produce and market chemical fertilizers (which in the long run deplete the soil), pesticides, herbicides. , etc. Furthermore, the Policy must promote greater proximity of the world of research to farmers also through meetings, seminars, and discussions with researchers from Public Universities and Public Research Bodies.
Dear scientists,
First of all, reducing food wastage is imperative. Data in my country, Poland, show that we waste about 9 million tons of food annually. According to the data of the Food Bank, over 53% of Poles admit that they throw away food from time to time. These are very large numbers and quantities. In some countries, people are starving, while in others there is overproduction and overconsumption. In our article: Proposed Changes in Polish Agricultural Products Consumption Structure for 2030 Based on Data from 2008–2018, we try to present that Polish domestic agricultural production is able to feed our population. If we take into account the food waste at the level of about 40% - we still have food surplus. Only some radical changes in the consumption style (we propose to reduce the consumption of certain types of meat, as well as cow's milk, sugar and wheat flour), can eliminate the excess kcal / person. Or maybe, knowing that we have such surpluses, we should consider increasing the share of organic farming. What share - this is what I am working on with my friend. Globally, as reported by a small number of studies - it is possible to move to about 56-60% to feed the global population. It may be real. How much in Poland? Maybe we can calculate it. The population of Poland is declining quite strongly, so maybe there is a chance for a greater share of organic farming without increasing the area of crops. The EU also aims to increase the share of organic farming to 25% by 2030. I also agree with Aqarab Husnain that we should touch the practice more and not sit in the offices. For 9 years I was an advisor at the Agricultural Advisory Center. I was an advisor in the field of organic farming. And in this job I touched on practice and helped to solve problems. I trained farmers, conducted seminars, learned but also gave knowledge. It was the best time for me. Regards, Anna Kuczuk
Dear @Anna Kuczuk, I appreciate your efforts and ideas. I hope you will get maximum in your carrier.
Dear Aqarab Husnain , though i'm a doctoral, but i think scientists are to use scientific methods to solve people‘s practical problems. It's the responsibility of scientists.
My research field are agriculture economic, but there are many complex and changeable problems in rural areas，What I can do is to use the knowledge I have learned to solve the problems encountered by farmers. Of course, “specialist only master his own field”, and the knowledge I have learned will certainly not help farmers improve the crops genes, but I can help farmers to solve their management problems.
Dear Aqarab, this is a very good and difficult question, I agree with many of the opinions of those who commented before, there is probably enough food worldwide, but there is a lot of food waste and post-harvest losses. The issue here is how to solve that? Since the productive capacity of each country varies a lot, certainly while in developed countries there is plenty of food, some developing countries their yields are still very low, so this issue of "balance" is complex across countries and regions and it involves food policy more than science. But of course science must advise decision makers, if they are willing to listen. Something curious is that many times researchers in developing countries propose applied studies to overcome these production deficits, but they are perceived as low impact or low relevance research for science when their applicability is relevant to solve practical problems for their own countries.
Due to its complexity, in my opinion this issue should be approached from multiple levels, international, regional and each country, because particularities are not the same.
Agricultural Productivity is a function of several parameters and if these are not met, Production will always remain low. This list is mandatory but it is not final.
1.Soil Profile-This must be gotten right from PH to the overall land Preparation. Nutrient levels to meet the required Crop Nutrition must be in adequate amounts. Organic matter content to house the available nutrients must also be in standard.
2.The Right Seed-Good genetics provide a basis for higher productivity as long as all agronomic practices are followed and adhered to.
3.Pest & Disease Control-Robust management of these can save a farmer 30% of losses. Control at the right time with the right Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can do a lot in minimising crop productivity losses.
4.Applying wrong decisions-If you cant tell between a Pest and a disease, you have missed the point. We have a lot of work to do in this aspect and if we get it right then we will save a lot of investments in Crop Farming.
I feel research has found solutions to low agriculture production especially in developed countries but for less developed countries there are alot of challenges that impede development of research such as policies in place, lack of funding and appreciating of research among others.....
Check https://blog.agrivi.com/post/5-key-measures-to-improve-farming-productivity
Also check https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/25816/files/cp03pe02.pdf
Aqarab, the problem I find is that we come up with technologies that are so sophisticated and less adaptable by local farmers.
Maybe because there are many variables while a great number of them are not controllable.
This is because the issue is complex, multi-disciplinary and needs collaborative action. Most work environment the scientists have are compartmentalized to a particular disciple/geographical location/legal framework. This is an evidence which hints scientists to work holistically and in collaboration related components. However, for science to grow some form compartmentalization is also required to tease and understand out the confounding factors in an agricultural system.
It's not the problem of scientist brother. Its the monopoly players at assembly level and the absence of proper communication channels among the research institutions and farming community.
About 90% farmers of the country still have poor level of understanding about the basic level field operations like soil and water testing, sowing methods, intercultural operations and harvesting methods, marketing understanding and timely decesions about their output in terms of price flucation.
Unfortunately the stuff that is now( agriculture students) in market are not upto the the mark to cope with modern day challenges. Those who have urban backgrounds are totally unfamiliar with the ground realities and the book stuff is mostly designed according to the western conditions, not identical to the pattern associated with domestic condition.
Teachers are now curious about articles, projects and book chapters which is not the demand of the domestic market to address the concerned problems. Prime responsibility of teacher is to produce a quality students which is totally outdated at university level. Rather universities have now become research institute. Student grooming (like courses, thesis, reports writing, paper setting, paper checking, research basics, training of computer applications, assignments, ethics of life) is not the priority of the teachers at university level.
Its problem at all the level of society
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Agriculture