14 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM T here are many defini- tions of hunger. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines hunger as the distress that is associated with lack of food. Such food deprivation is a food consumption that is insufficient enough to pro- vide the dietary energy one needs to live a healthy and proactive life. Under-nutrition means there are deficien- cies in energy, protein or the essential vitamins and min- erals needed and is often the result of the inadequate intake of food and poor food quantity and quality. Malnutrition is the combination of both under-nu- trition and over-nutrition – an unbalanced diet that involves consuming too many calo- ries in relation to the energy requirements needed. European Seed’s own Marcel Bruins was invited to speak as keynote speaker at the 4th Food Congress, held in Bursa, Turkey Sept. 28-29, 2017. In his presentation, Bruins looked at these defi- nitions, the progress towards reducing global hunger and the role of plant breeding and the seed sector in this. JUST THE FACTS When it comes to discussing hunger, one needs to find a way to measure it, preferably on an annual basis to assess progress. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) issues annually the Global Hunger Index (GHI) in an attempt to quantify vari- ous parameters that make up hunger. The most recent GHI, from 2016, states that a major- ity of African nations and some southern Asian countries face serious to alarming hunger levels. In 1990, there were 17 countries in the ‘Extremely alarming’ category, a number that has gradually decreased and eventually entirely dis- appeared by 2015. Hunger has fallen in all continents since 1990 and 85 countries have cut hunger by at least 25 per cent. But hunger in 52 countries is still serious or alarming and the worst hunger is in Africa, south of the Sahara. “We are definitely making progress in decreasing hunger, but there’s still an estimated 800 million people that go to bed hungry each night. So, we need to do more. And that responsibility is on all of us” says Bruins. THE FUTURE OF HUNGER But how do we take the knowl- edge we have in hand, be pro- active, and ensure that we can get these numbers down? How do we ensure we can live in a future world without hunger being an issue? It is all about planning for future numbers. In 2020, the world’s pop- ulation should hit 7.75 bil- lion people. In order to get things right, the World Water Council (WWC) estimates we need to ensure we have 17 per cent more water availa- ble to feed the world and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says we need the world agri- culture’s GDP to decrease by 16 per cent due to global warming. In 2025, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states that two thirds of the world’s population will be in water and drought stressed conditions, and the World Bank states that one ha will be needed to feed five people, whereas in 1960, the same area would feed two people. Finally, in 2050, 50 per cent of current arable land will become unusable (UNCCD - United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification), the United Nations is esti- mating the worlds popula- tion will hit 9.7 billion, global food demand will increase 2.5 times (Business and Industry Advisory Committee, BIAC) and FAO states agricul- tural production will have to increase two to three times than the output we have now. “There are many chal- lenges facing the agriculture sector in terms of reduc- ing/eliminating hunger and increasing the amount of food for the starving world,” adds Bruins. “For example, we’re seeing that a constantly larger part of the world popu- lation will be living in cities. By 2050 this will be more than two thirds of mankind. Also, the amount of arable land per inhabitant will have decreased from 0.43 ha in 1960 down to 0.15 ha in 2050.” THE CHALLENGES FOR AGRICULTURE One such factor is that there is a consistent population and energy increase while the number of farms and farm- ers are decreasing. Access to water and nutrient rich soil is becoming more difficult, and therefore more efficient food production strategies are required. This in turn requires innovation, which is a crucial component in the fight to reduce global hunger. In terms of plant breeding, innovation translates into WHY IT MATTERS Each night, close to 800 million people go to bed hungry. Plant breeding and the seed sector can help reduce global hunger, but regulatory burdens and asynchronicity are often blocking progress. Strong and effective IP, regulatory alignment and an integrated approach should be considered when attempting to mitigate hunger. Reducing Global Hunger — Utopia or Reality? EUROPEAN SEED EDITOR A KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT FOOD CONGRESS IN TURKEY. BY: MICHELLE CLARKE “We are definitely making progress in decreasing hunger, but there’s still an estimated 800 million people that go to bed hungry each night. So, we need to do more.”