News brief
Prospects for food securityProspects for food security
By 2020 world population is projected to have grown by 30%, to be more urban and to have more income. Almost all of the increase in food demand will be in the developing countries. The implications for meeting this demand are reviewed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in its report "World Food Prospects: Critical Issues for the Early Twenty-first Century".
To meet demand, farmers will have to produce 40% more grain by 2020, of which four-fifths of the increase will have to come from increased yields (only one-fifth will come from increased cropped area). Despite the fact that food production is currently increasing faster in the developing world than in developed countries - by 2020 the developing countries will be producing 59% of the world's cereals and 61% of the world's meat - this production will not keep pace with demand. It is anticipated that net cereal imports by developing countries will almost double between 1995 and 2020. Net meat imports will have to increase eightfold during the same period to bridge local supply and demand.
The Report's authors conclude that political will is required if policies are to be adopted to encourage investments to eradicate poverty and foster food security.
The Larger Grain Borer goes south
The Plant Protection Research Institute in South Africa reports that the Larger Grain Borer has been found in the Kruger National Park near the
border with Mozambique.
The South African authorities have drawn up contingency plans to control this voracious pest of stored maize: increased monitoring through
the use of pheromone traps; ensuring stocks of insecticide are available, and training of extension staff and scientists in how to recognize and deal
with the problem. Dr Peter Golob, post harvest specialist at the UK's Natural Resources Institute, says that if the pest is not controlled it
could spread throughout South Africa, wherever maize is grown, causing widespread losses of the stored grain, especially for farmers unable to afford
chemical insecticides. In both Ghana and Tanzania, DFID-funded research efforts have had significant economic impact. In Tanzania, it is estimated
that control has saved £21.8 million.
t.donaldson@gre.ac.uk
Working through an
existing network for artisanal fisheries, the Department for International Development (UK) and the FAO Fisheries Department will assist countries
over a five year period with the implementation of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (see 
A programme
to promote vegetables as part of the local diet in Kiribati has just come to an end. The Pacific Regional Agricultural Project (PRAP) was provided
with funding by EU for five years for the project in Kiribati but it is hoped that the successful results achieved so far will result in a project
extension. In the past, vegetables have been considered excellent food for livestock, such as pigs, but not for human consumption. Local diet has
traditionally provided a good source of starch and protein but very few vitamins and minerals. However, Liz Kamauti, Head of the PRAP project has
been pleased to note the transformation of attitude towards vegetables over the last five years and is hopeful that the proposal for the project
extension will be accepted. To promote the inclusion of vegetables in the national diet, the project helped to establish family vegetable plots for
growing root crops and green vegetables, such as cabbages and cucumbers.
However, identification of genes for early flowering and maturing, and for resistance to fusarium wilt has led to the development of ICCV
2 varieties which have been released and proved popular in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra in India, Myanmar, Sudan, Egypt, Tanzania and Ethiopia. At
present ICCV 2 is the world's shortest duration kabuli variety, which allows it to mature before soil moisture is depleted and to escape pod
borer damage. Although yields are lower than traditional desi varieties, ICCV 2 sells at premium prices and farmers in Andhra Pradesh have begun to
replace cash crops, such as chilli, cotton and tobacco, with chickpea. But development of varieties continues and ICRISAT now have advanced breeding
lines of kabuli with larger seeds: e.g. ICCV 92311, known as KAK 2 which was identified for release in September 1999. Other advanced bold seeded
lines are currently under evaluation.
The amount of
essential amino acids, necessary to produce proteins not made by the human metabolism, also increased. Sweet potato is a staple food in many regions
of sub-Saharan Africa and the south Pacific but malnutrition is common as it contains insufficient protein and few essential acids.
to help improve production of
several important commodity crops. In Rwanda, a project which has been proposed by the Government, is to involve the private sector in production,
processing and export of coffee. Coffee provides more than 70% of Rwanda's export earnings but the sector was seriously affected by the civil
war. The Government intends to liberalize the coffee industry and to restrict its own role to more regulatory activities. A preliminary study will
provide background information on the potential development of wet-processing plants through private investment.
Farmers in Eastern and
West Africa are to participate in on-farm evaluation and adaptation of available bait-based techniques for fruit fly management in a two-year
project. Through the introduction of effective techniques for fruit fly control, it is anticipated that fruit crop production will increase,
rejection of African fruit exports will decrease and the risk of spread of African fruit flies to other regions will also be reduced. The Project
Executing Agency is to be the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) based in Nairobi.
This has been
recognised by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and was stressed by IRRI Director General, Dr Ronald Cantrell, when he addressed a
meeting of the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (AARD) in early December. "Increasing industrialization in Asia has
led to a decline in the role of agriculture in economic development", he said, adding that the region's recent economic crisis had shown that
Asian economies cannot sustain growth without paying adequate attention to their agricultural sectors.
Rapid
diagnosis tests produced will enable outbreaks of the disease to be better controlled by the Vietnamese duck industry. Funded by the Australian
Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), scientists from the University of Queensland, CSIRO Animal Health and the National Veterinary
Company/Veterinary Research Centre (NAVETCO) in Vietnam, have also been able to produce a cheap and effective vaccine which is to be evaluated in
field trials in Vietnam. Duck virus enteritis does not occur in Australia but domestic and wild ducks are exposed to the risk of the virus being
introduced into the country by migratory waterfowl, which are thought to be involved in disease transmission.
A high number of livestock has also been lost. Village economies have subsequently collapsed with about 10 million people affected by loss
of livelihood.
