Environmental breakdown may cause world food production to plummet 25 per cent by 2050, according to a new United Nations report.

In The environmental food crisis: Environment’s role in averting future food crises, the UN says better management of the natural environment that underpins agricultural production is crucial if the world is to feed its growing population.

“The natural environment comprises the entire basis for food production through water, nutrients, soils, climate, weather and insects for pollination and controlling infestations,” said the report.

The report was commissioned last year after food prices surged, triggering riots in Egypt, Haiti, Cameroon and Bangladesh.

A rapid response team of internal and international experts concluded that the rise in food prices was caused by droughts, low food stocks and speculation in commodity markets.

They argue that unless food production and consumption are managed more sustainably and intelligently to minimise environmental degradation, food prices will become more volatile and expensive.

The combined effects of climate change, land degradation, cropland losses, water scarcity and species infestations may reduce yields by 25pc by 2050.

The report says that increasing food supplies by expanding croplands will reduce forests, further reducing biodiversity and ecosystem services and accelerating climate change.

And simply cranking up the fertiliser and pesticide-led production methods of the twentieth century is unlikely to address the challenge, says the report.

These practices would increasingly undermine the critical natural inputs and nature-based services for agriculture such as healthy and productive soils; water and nutrient recycling, and pollination.

The report suggests that all countries need to help their farmers develop systems that provide critical ecosystem services such as water supply and regulation, habitat for wild plants and animals, genetic diversity, pollination, pest control and climate regulation, as well as adequate food to meet local and consumer needs.

Another path to increasing food security is to minimise food energy losses from production, processing, consumption and recycling, an area that has received little attention in the past.

The report offers seven major recommendations to improve global food security:

1. Regulate food prices and provide safety nets for the impoverished.
2. Promote environmentally sustainable higher generation biofuels that do not compete for cropland and water resources.
3. Reallocate cereals used in animal feed to human consumption by developing alternative feeds based on new technology, waste and discards.
4. Support small scale farmers via a global fund for micro-finance, and by developing diversified and resilient eco-agriculture and intercropping systems.
5. Increase trade and market access.
6. Limit global warming.
7. Raise awareness of the pressures on ecosystems caused by increasing population growth and consumption patterns.

The report provides an easy to read illustrated overview of the range of issues facing world global food supplies today.

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