Food security means that all people are able to access enough safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary requirements. Agriculture does play a role in ensuring good crop yield and sufficient grain production to suffice the needs of the growing population. However, with increased urbanization and commercialization of agricultural land food security is an emerging challenge. Promoting agriculture could be an answer but incorporation of sustainable practices in farming is necessary to ensure that we are not compromising the ability for future generations to meet their needs.
Food directly affects health and unfortunately, many countries still face a double burden of hunger and undernutrition alongside overweight and obesity. Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cachexia continue to increase in the modern world. There exists a direct relationship between quality of food and disease progression in the majority of non-communicable diseases.
The impact of climate change and natural disasters such as floods and drought on agriculture productivity remains unquestioned. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations urges member states to promote innovation and investment in sustainable agricultural practices.
Traditional agricultural methods need to be transformed into sustainable agricultural practices to minimize environmental footprint which is a driving force behind climate change. Understanding the ecosystem and its process at macro- and microscopic levels is necessary to develop and incorporate sustainable agriculture practices into daily farming activities. Elements of sustainable agriculture can include permaculture, agroforestry, mixed farming, multiple cropping, and crop rotation. A multi-disciplinary approach is required in this area which should include academicians, farmers, policy makers, and non-governmental organizations to address the challenges in the area of food security. Supply chains to ensure essential food supply under crisis situations such as pandemics or war conflicts need to be in place and a proper contingency plan should be formulated at all levels.
The forum recognises these challenges and aims to bring different actors together to explore possible solutions.
