February 19, 2000
Meeting Food Needs in the 21st Century
How Many and Who Will Be at Risk?
WASHINGTON, D.C.—About 680 million people in the developing world are expected to be food insecure in 2010. By 2020, one out of every four children in the developing world will be malnourished. This daunting scenario can be avoided, however. A food-secure world for all becomes more attainable if revolutionary developments in information technology and biotechnology are mobilized to benefit the poor in developing countries, said Per Pinstrup-Andersen, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute.Speaking at the AAAS symposium on global food needs in the 21st century, Dr. Pinstrup- Andersen said that nearly 75 million people will be added to the world's population every year from now until 2020. During that time, rising incomes in the developing world will spur a large increase in global demand for food. IFPRI's research indicates that by 2020:
- The world's farmers will need to produce 40 percent more rice, wheat, and other grains;
- Developing countries must double their net cereal imports;
- Sixty percent of the developing world's net cereal imports will have to come from the United States; and
- The demand for meat in the developing world will double.
Dr. Pinstrup-Andersen suggested that modern biotechnology can help provide food security for all. If focused on solving developing-country problems, biotechnology may help farmers reduce production risks and increase productivity. Using biotechnology in the developing world could make foodgrains more nutritious and help combat widespread nutrient deficiencies among the poor. These deficiencies lead to diseases and premature deaths for millions of women and children every year. He added that "IFPRI's concern is that the current debate in the developed countries will have adverse impacts on the prospects that modern biotechnology can offer less-developed countries, which need to weigh the benefits and risks from their own perspectives."
"We have already made great strides in reducing the burden of food insecurity around the world," said Dr. Pinstrup-Andersen. "Building on the progress made and taking the actions described here today should enable us to finally realize a food-secure world in the 21st century."
For information related to Dr. Pinstrup-Andersen's presentation at the AAAS annual meeting, see World Food Prospects: Critical Issues for the Early Twenty-First Century, by Per Pinstrup- Andersen, Rajul Pandya-Lorch, and Mark W. Rosegrant, IFPRI, October 1999. The report suggests some of the major developments that will characterize the world food situation during the next two decades to 2020.
For more information about IFPRI contact: Don Lippincott (Tel: 202-862-5670; Email: d.lippincott@cgiar.org), or David Gately (Tel: 202-862-5679; Email: d.gately@cgiar.org).
IFPRI's 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment was launched in 1993 to develop and promote a vision and an action plan for eradicating hunger and malnutrition while protecting the environment. This initiative brings together researchers, policymakers, and representatives of international organizations and media to examine the challenges to meeting the world's food needs sustainably and to propose solutions.
IFPRI is a Washington, D.C.-based, internationally funded organization established in 1975 to identify and analyze policies for meeting the food needs of the developing world. IFPRI conducts research on ways to achieve sustainable food production and optimize land use, improve food consumption and income levels of the poor, enhance the efficiency of markets and links between agriculture and other sectors of the economy, and improve trade and macroeconomic conditions.
IFPRI holds the copyright to its publications and web pages but encourages duplication of these materials for noncommercial purposes. Proper citation is required.
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