Ever since the example of Egyptian irrigation systems, thought in schools across the modern world, agriculture has been a pillar of modern civilization. Without it, Men would have never been able to discover, grow, invent, and simply live a modern lifestyle.
It has been part of our evolution as a species and remains a key element in enabling society to thrive. It is with this perspective that the European Union announced that, in order to account for population growth, worldwide food production will likely have to double by 2050. Adversely, agriculture and farming activities in the EU have been in a steady decline for the past decades. Eurostat estimates the number of small farms in the EU to have decreased by about one quarter between 2005 and 2016, totaling up to 4.2 million farms across the Member States. This decrease can mainly be attributed to the lack of subsidy programs for agricultural activities,
in combination with ever-increasing competition from multinationals. Another major factor for this decrease is the increasing costs of productions for farms, intertwined with decreasing output due to inclement weather associated with climate change. Interestingly enough, despite this sizable decrease in farms, the land being used for agricultural purposes in the EU has remained more or less the same.
This would suggest a shift of ownership from family-owned farming businesses, who tend to have a more traditional agricultural approach, to benefit-driven conglomerates with, far from eco-friendly, intensive farming practices. Moreover, all of these factors are even more compelling when in conjunction with the rapid urbanization of cities due to better economic and living standards. According to Our world in data, more than two-thirds of the world population will live in urban areas by 2050.
Furthermore, apart from pushing the overconsumption of cheaply made, innutritious foods from people who are fortunate enough to be able to afford it, our food system is failing on all sides. According to the EU commission, food production in its entirety accounts for nearly one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, despite the technological advances made to facilitate intensive production methods to increase output, many primary producers can’t even afford a decent livelihood. This is in turn partly due to the increasing negative impacts of climate change on farmlands’ecosphere, including water and soil quality. Not only that but with the current food distribution system being the way it is, many around the globe are still left famished, or malnourished. These issues and more have been at the forefront of the newly implemented Farm to Fork strategy, which is now at the core of the EU Green deal. This strategy aims to “make food systems fair, healthy, and environmentally-friendly" through the implementation of key elements such as more sustainable food production, distribution, and consumption, including waste prevention.
In short, the EU is currently leading the charge, but since this is a global problem, it will be imperative, in order to resolve it, to put our differences and greed aside, to achieve international cooperation. Serious strides need to be made to sensitize the general population, on the dangers of rural exodus. This could be achieved by promoting the growing agritourism industry. Also, since the COVID19 pandemic, moving from the city to the countryside in order to reconnect with nature has never been such a hot topic. The world as a whole could capitalize on this trend by promoting such moves and incentivizing professional transitions to the sustainable agricultural sector. The valorization of sustainable rural professions and their key future roles as pillars of society could also help to bring in new farmers. Likewise, support for the succession of sustainable farms and traditions between generations could ensure a steady number of eco-friendly farming practices.
To conclude, if the current methods of intensive agriculture, mass consumption, and poor distribution are maintained, the never-ending cycle of world hunger and CO2 emissions will perpetuate. The longer the world waits to take action, the harder it will be to break out of this self-fulfilling prophecy. Therefore, an increase in sustainable farmland and farmers is now more vital than ever for the well-being of future generations to come. However, it is important to note that this increase does not coincide with an augmentation of the same food systems, which led us down this tragic path in the first place.
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