Farming and the geography of nutrient production for human use: a transdisciplinary analysis

Abstract

SummaryBackgroundInformation about the global structure of agriculture and nutrient production and its diversity is essential to improve present understanding of national food production patterns, agricultural livelihoods, and food chains, and their linkages to land use and their associated ecosystems services. Here we provide a plausible breakdown of global agricultural and nutrient production by farm size, and also study the associations between farm size, agricultural diversity, and nutrient production. This analysis is crucial to design interventions that might be appropriately targeted to promote healthy diets and ecosystems in the face of population growth, urbanisation, and climate change.MethodsWe used existing spatially-explicit global datasets to estimate the production levels of 41 major crops, seven livestock, and 14 aquaculture and fish products. From overall production estimates, we estimated the production of vitamin A, vitamin B12, folate, iron, zinc, calcium, calories, and protein. We also estimated the relative contribution of farms of different sizes to the production of different agricultural commodities and associated nutrients, as well as how the diversity of food production based on the number of different products grown per geographic pixel and distribution of products within this pixel (Shannon diversity index [H]) changes with different farm sizes.FindingsGlobally, small and medium farms (≤50 ha) produce 51–77% of nearly all commodities and nutrients examined here. However, important regional differences exist. Large farms (>50 ha) dominate production in North America, South America, and Australia and New Zealand. In these regions, large farms contribute between 75% and 100% of all cereal, livestock, and fruit production, and the pattern is similar for other commodity groups. By contrast, small farms (≤20 ha) produce more than 75% of most food commodities in sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, south Asia, and China. In Europe, west Asia and north Africa, and central America, medium-size farms (20–50 ha) also contribute substantially to the production of most food commodities. Very small farms (≤2 ha) are important and have local significance in sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, and south Asia, where they contribute to about 30% of most food commodities. The majority of vegetables (81%), roots and tubers (72%), pulses (67%), fruits (66%), fish and livestock products (60%), and cereals (56%) are produced in diverse landscapes (H>1·5). Similarly, the majority of global micronutrients (53–81%) and protein (57%) are also produced in more diverse agricultural landscapes (H>1·5). By contrast, the majority of sugar (73%) and oil crops (57%) are produced in less diverse ones (H≤1·5), which also account for the majority of global calorie production (56%). The diversity of agricultural and nutrient production diminishes as farm size increases. However, areas of the world with higher agricultural diversity produce more nutrients, irrespective of farm size.InterpretationOur results show that farm s...

What about Gender in Climate Change? Twelve Feminist Lessons from Development

“…Despite increasing concentration in global food supply chains, it is widely documented that smallholder farms are essential for providing food and nutrients in low-income and middle-income countries where they contribute decisively to the agricultural economy [71,72]. It is estimated that out of 570 million smallholder farms worldwide, some 470 million are found in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia [73] where they provide over 70 per cent of food calories for people [74].…”

“…It is estimated that out of 570 million smallholder farms worldwide, some 470 million are found in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia [73] where they provide over 70 per cent of food calories for people [74]. Although the typical farm size is under two hectares of land and although all such smallholder farms in total account for only roughly twelve per cent of all agricultural land on earth [73] they have high local significance [71]. And in their struggle to make ends meet they grapple with challenges such as shrinking land size [75] and increasing impacts from climate change and climate variability.…”

“…Like women in development, smallholders and family farmers have been viewed as vulnerable victims of hunger but oftentimes they are now seen as agents of change who are active in solving the food crisis [34,97]. This is partly due to the fact that smallholder livelihoods are diverse and good at producing a variety of nutrients [71]. Notably, their high diversity calls for context-specific support structures [72] especially since most mainstream agricultural intensification practices may cause agricultural diversity loss [71].…”

“…This is partly due to the fact that smallholder livelihoods are diverse and good at producing a variety of nutrients [71]. Notably, their high diversity calls for context-specific support structures [72] especially since most mainstream agricultural intensification practices may cause agricultural diversity loss [71].…”

Full Issue PDF

“…As discussed earlier, the supply of wheat is extremely important for the global population and even more important for the diets of the ~2.5 billion people living in poverty (2). Some 570 million farmers are responsible for the global food supply, providing a livelihood for about 40% of the world's population (132,133). Many of these farmers rely on wheat production as their main source of food and income required to ensure food security and to improve the livelihood of their family members.…”