A quarter of the world is degenerating

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) yesterday affirmed that 25% of the world's land area is seriously degraded.

AP said, FAO has just completed the process of assessing the status of the first land resources on a global scale. Evaluation results are published in a report yesterday.

The report said that 25% of the world's land area is 'seriously degraded' - with many manifestations such as erosion, water shortages and a decline in biodiversity levels. About 8% of the land area is degraded at a moderate level, 36% is slightly degraded or stable. Quality improved land area accounts for only 10%.

FAO said that by 2050, food must increase by 70% compared to the current level to meet the needs of the population (expected to increase to 9 billion people). That means farmers will have to produce an extra billion tons of wheat, rice and other grains. They must also produce 200 million tons of beef and other meats.

Currently most of the land that people can access has been used for farming or livestock. But current farming practices often lead to soil erosion and water wastage, leading to reduced crop yields.

With that situation, the world will have to implement measures to increase crop productivity in a strong and sustainable way on the current land area to meet each other's food needs.

FAO director-general Jacques Diouf commented that growing food crops for biofuel production, climate change and simple farming measures is increasing the risk of future food shortages."Preventive actions need to be done now ," Diouf said.