Hi Thin! Great article, and I agree with most of your analysis. Except, for the title! We do have an enormous production problem in that we are trapped in a production system that by and large is built on mono-cropping annual crops requiring huge inputs of water, synthetic fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides, and soil tillage. This prduction system is the root cause of the degradation of soils, water bodies, biodiversity, and most importantly the diversity of the soil microbiomes that are at the root of soil fertility and crop productivity. These record yields you speak about are built on an essentially extractive system, mining soils and water bodies. The big question is why we have abandoned investment in breeding perennial crops (check out The Land Institute) and perennial production systems? Because there is a vast agrochemical and seed industry that wants farmers to remain trapped in the use of their inputs which are harmful to the environment and to health. So yes, we do have a production problem, and it is vast and an enormous lock-in. Why is FAO not working on this? All the talk about food systems transformation is just empty words if we do not dare to tackle these lock-ins!
Hi Thin! Great article, and I agree with most of your analysis. Except, for the title! We do have an enormous production problem in that we are trapped in a production system that by and large is built on mono-cropping annual crops requiring huge inputs of water, synthetic fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides, and soil tillage. This prduction system is the root cause of the degradation of soils, water bodies, biodiversity, and most importantly the diversity of the soil microbiomes that are at the root of soil fertility and crop productivity. These record yields you speak about are built on an essentially extractive system, mining soils and water bodies. The big question is why we have abandoned investment in breeding perennial crops (check out The Land Institute) and perennial production systems? Because there is a vast agrochemical and seed industry that wants farmers to remain trapped in the use of their inputs which are harmful to the environment and to health. So yes, we do have a production problem, and it is vast and an enormous lock-in. Why is FAO not working on this? All the talk about food systems transformation is just empty words if we do not dare to tackle these lock-ins!
Hi Karel, I think your comment got cut off. I'd love to hear the rest!
I sent it via email. I am new to substack. I guess there is a word limit?
Where did it get cut?
It finally showed up! Strange...