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Essay / Several factors of food security
The world population which currently stands at 7.6 billion and is expected to reach 9.77 billion by 2050 (United Nations, 2017). This growth will put pressure on food security. Several factors affect the ability of the world's people to achieve greater food security. Factors affecting food security are the reallocation of agricultural land to biofuel cultivation (HLPE, 2013; Tenenbaum, 2008). A change in agricultural practices driven by regulation, costs and limited resources will result in a reduction in the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Finally, climate change and its associated changes will affect crop yield and survivability. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay The main factor affecting greater food security is the lack of sustainable agriculture and that is the overuse and dependence on fertilizers nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The use of nitrogen and phosphorus in agriculture is expected to increase (Tilman et al., 2001). This increase in fertilizer use is unlikely to be able to effectively increase crop yield due to inefficient uptake by crops (Tilman et al., 2002), as evidenced by a 30% increase in the application of nitrogen which only gives a 4% yield in productivity (Donner and Kucharik, 2003). At the same time, the large-scale use of fertilizers in unsustainable environments is of particular importance, as phosphorus, including phosphate rock, is a limited resource (Cordell et al., 2009). This resource is expected to reach peak production before 2040 (Cordell and White, 2011). On the other hand, nitrogen fertilizers are an infinite resource but their production is energy intensive (Mudahar and Hignett, 1985). The use of nitrogen fertilizers in the future is likely to be limited due to the high energy requirements of production which cannot be met, given that the demand for oil is expected to increase and is a diminishing resource (Organization of Exporting Countries oil). , 2017). This will also inflate the cost of nitrogen fertilizers, which will be further exacerbated by increased demand from developing countries (Blanco, 2011). The use of fertilizers in agriculture is necessary to meet current food demand. Another condition to achieve this is the use of pesticides (Popp et al., 2013). Pesticides are associated with benefits and costs. They improve agricultural productivity through disease control, insect pesticides also improve food quality (Aktar et al., 2009). On the other hand, pesticides have an impact on human and environmental health. These human costs are difficult to establish but pesticides are likely to be carcinogenic and to affect the endocrine system (Nicolopoulou-Stamati et al., 2016). The environmental impact of pesticides includes contamination of water, soil and air, which also negatively impacts the following year's crops. An additional negative effect of pesticides is also present on natural flora and fauna (Damalas and Eleftherohorinos, 2011). Countries are now engaging in pesticide reduction programs. Canada has the Pesticide Risk Reduction Strategy. This aims to promote the adoption of new technologies and reduce the reliance on chemical pesticides (Pest Management Center and Pest Management Regulatory Agency, 2003). Likewise, in 2009, the European Union Regulation CE 1107/2009 was adopted. This regulation aims to protect human and animal health, to preventenvironmental damage and to ensure that pesticides have a real benefit for agriculture (European Parliament, 2009). This directive should reduce the number of pesticides available. (Wynn et al., 2010) Likewise, climate change is expected to affect food security, with both positive and negative effects. Global temperatures are expected to increase by 3 to 4°C (New et al., 2011). An increase in temperature between 1°C and 3°C will result in an increase in crop yield, but above 3°C, crop yield will be affected (Easterling et al., 2007). In temperate zones, an increase in temperature will cause agriculture to shift northward. This will be associated with increased risk of diseases and pests (Masters et al., 2010) as well as increased leaching of nutrients and loss of soil organic matter (Olesen et al., 2007). Although increasing temperature below 3ºC has a positive effect on agriculture in temperate zones with a longer growing season which is associated with increased crop yield and quality (Olesen et al. , 2007). This is probably associated with an expansion of agricultural areas and the introduction of new crops (Tuck et al., 2006). In the southern part of temperate zones, climate change will negatively impact crop yields due to droughts and erratic weather events (Olesen et al., 2007). In the tropical zone, an increase in temperature will have direct effects on crop yield and increase yields. failure. Similarly, in the tropical zone, it is likely that crops will be exposed to heat stress and water loss (Gornall et al., 2010). Additionally, tropical areas will experience extreme temperatures affecting crop yields or leading to crop failures (Porter and Gawith, 1999; Wheeler et al., 2000). Climate change is also expected to impact the hydrological cycle, causing an increase in average precipitation globally (Donat et al., 2000). al., 2016). This precipitation will be highly variable, with areas experiencing prolonged droughts, primarily in the subthemes, and conversely, higher latitudes will experience higher precipitation levels (Trenberth, 2011). Droughts reduce crop yields (Kang et al., 2009) and high precipitation levels can cause total crop loss and amplify soil erosion and nutrient loss (Falloon and Betts, 2010). Climate change has shown an increase during extreme weather events that threaten food security. These extreme weather events include floods, droughts, wildfires, heat waves, heavy precipitation, heavy snowfall, storms and hurricanes, all of which are expected to continue (Huber and Gulledge, 2011). Climate change is accompanied by an increase in sea level, as a result of melting ice (Griggs and Noguer, 2002) and thermal expansion of the oceans (Meehl et al., 2005). This will cause tidal flooding of coastal regions, leading to land loss and increasing erosion loss (Nageswara Rao et al., 2011), which will be accompanied by saltwater intrusion into land and water. water table (Chen and Zong, 1999). It is clear that achieving food security requires a change in agriculture. To one that increases yield by promoting the use of nutrients by crops and provides crops more resistant to abiotic and biotic stress. These objectives must be achieved while preserving environmental integrity and without having.