Ben Funk Liongate - Arable Land per Person is Falling

Exacerbating matters at hand, the rate of loss in supply of fertile farm land has outpaced the advancement in yield per acre over, says Funk.

In 1960 there was 2.8 acres of farmland per person globally; by 2030 it is estimated that the average arable land per person will have fallen to only 0.8 acres.Vast tracts of potential agricultural land are destroyed through erosion, salinisation, desertification, is lost to urbanization, industrial use or utilized for biofuel production. On average, the planet has about three-feet of topsoil spread over its surface, replacement is slow - it grows back perhaps an inch or two over hundreds of years.

As a result, agriculture is increasingly shifting onto marginal lands with poorer soils and weak infrastructure. Constraints on land have meant a high focus on improved yields per acre by Ben Funk Liongate.

Due to advances in agricultural science, we don’t need 2.8 acres of land per person.However, yield per acre must still be improved to ensure food security for a growing global population with limited land. High yields rely on a combination of factors including: fertile soil, sufficient water availability, skilled labour, favourable climatic conditions and continuing advancement in research and development.Over the past 40 years, yields per acre have increased by 2.1% per year, but the pace of those gains is slowing.

Since 2000, the average increase in yields per acre has been less than 1% per year.Erosion and degradation of soil quality is negatively impacting existing agricultural land.  In Africa, it is estimated that soil erosion has depressed land yields between 2% and 40%, leading to a continent-wide fall of 8.2% in crop yields per acre.