The future of dryland cereals and legumes for the smallholder farmer in the semi-arid tropics

Abstract

Besides a major financial crisis since 2008, a major inflation and volatility of the price of the most important staple foods such as rice or wheat is threatening global food security, especially for the millions of poor in developing countries. Food production has returned to the top of the political agenda worldwide. Today, we are at a crossroads. About 850 million people still go to bed hungry. Food production needs to be increased by about 70% in the next 40 years to feed over 9 billion people by 2050 and food systems have to be more inclusive of the poorest population. To achieve this increase and food access for the most vulnerable, many challenges need to be addressed, including a changing climate and shrinking natural resources. Innovations such as high yield wheat and rice cultivars and fertilizers sparked a green revolution in South Asia in the 1960s but they are now showing certain limits in terms of sustainability and profitability