ISBN-13: 9788132227687 / Angielski / Twarda / 2016 / 519 str.
ISBN-13: 9788132227687 / Angielski / Twarda / 2016 / 519 str.
Presently mankind is threatened by two serious problems viz. global warming and food insecurity. The ever increasing worlds population of about 7 billion is expected to be about 9.1 billion in 2050. By this time, another one billion tons of cereals and 200 million extra tones of livestock products will need to be produced every year. The imperative for such agricultural growth is strongest in developing countries, where the challenge is not just to produce food but to ensure that the people have access that will bring them food security. Figures presented in FAO s The State of Food Insecurity in the World show that in 2010-2012, about 870 million people (14.9% of the worlds population), were undernourished and an estimated 11% of the worlds population was living without access to adequate drinking water. Out of 13.38 billion hectare available land area in the world, more than 1.6 billion ha (about 12% of total) is currently in use for cultivation of agricultural crops, 28% (3.7 billion ha) is under forest, and 35% (4.6 billion ha) comprises grasslands and woodland ecosystems. Broadly about 37.6% of the land is categorized as agricultural land, 31.1% as forest and rest in other category. Out of 4889 million ha (Mha) agricultural land 28.3% is arable, 3.1% under permanent crops and rest (68.8%) under meadows and pastures.