Beyond Yield: Why Agricultural Output is Only Part of the Global Hunger Solution

by Drew Love

On October 31^st, 2011 the 7^th billion baby was born.  By century’s end, there are reports that there will be 10 billion people on earth.

One question comes to mind.

Can we feed all of those people?

Industrial agriculture presents one solution. Innovations in genetic engineering have produced crops that can tolerate new weather conditions created by climate change. Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are heralded as miracles of productivity. A source no less prestigious than the Economist issued a report infavor of industrial agriculture as a means of solving global hunger.  

Yet strong counter arguments exist. Vandana Shiva, widely regarded as the most vocal and powerful critic of the green revolution*, notes that the long-term effect of switching to an industrial agriculture model has been crushing debt and the corollary rise in rural suicide rates amongst Indian farmers.

At the heart of the debate amongst industrial ag vs. alternative ag is the question of yield. If we are going to feed 7 billion plus people, we need to produce as much food as possible.

Yet, yield, is only part of the solution to global hunger.

Focusing exclusively on yield ignores many of the other factors that are critical to a sustainable agricultural system, such as nutrient density in the soil, and the ability of the agricultural system to retain top soil, if not actually add to that top soil. 

Moreover, yield alone doesn’t address the issue of food sovereignty, which is the issue of how much control a country, and it’s people, have over food production and food self-sufficiency.

And for a final review of putting the question of yield in its place, yield does not directly relate to hunger relief. 

Noted food author Raj Patel has joined the ranks of other hunger advocates, noting that even though there are 925 million hungry people in the world, the world currently produces enoughfood to feed everyone. It’s more a question of affordability and distribution, than it is yield.

So yes, yield is important. Yes, I will go into the different approaches to increasing agricultural yield. But before we have that discussion, it’s imperative to realize that the question of yield, and the question of how to feed the world, are related, but the latter is far more intricate than the former.

*The Green Revolution refers to technological and agricultural innovations that began in earnest during the 1960’s to increase global agricultural production.