Land degradation threatens food security

Land degradation is threatening food security in the Southern African region, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in its recent GEO-2000 Global Environmental Outlook report. “Land degradation is a serious problem threatening economic and physical survival,” the UNEP report said. It warned that slow progress in increasing food production has meant decreasing per capita supplies for many Africans over the past 40 years. While per capita food production in the rest of the world has increased, in Africa it has actually declined. According to the report, key issues to be addressed include escalating soil erosion, declining soil fertility, agrochemical pollution and deserfication. The report said that an estimated 500 million hectares of land has been affected by soil degradation since 1950, including about 65 percent of agricultural land. In South Africa it estimated on average of about 400 million mt of soil is lost annually. Soil erosion affects other sectors such as energy and water supply and affects the crop yields of arable land. “In a continent where too many people are already malnourished, crop yields could be cut by half within 40 years if the degradation of cultivated lands were to continue at present rates,” UNEP said. The report added that land degradation has become a major constraining factor in food production, leading to a mere two percent increase annually. This is much lower than the average population growth rate. It said that this, linked with declining food production per capita, could lead to “household and national food insecurity in many countries.” According to UNEP, as a result of declining food security, the number of undernourished people on the continent had nearly doubled in the last 30 years. “Projections indicate that the region will be able to feed (only) 40 percent of its population by 2025.” But on an optimistic note, the report said that Africa had not yet “tapped into” its vast agriculture potential: “Although there are an estimated 632 million hectares of arable land in Africa, only 179 million hectares are actually cultivated.” It said that other factors that lower food self-sufficiency and security in Africa include pests and diseases, inappropriate food production and storage practices, inadequate food processing technologies, civil wars and the low economic status of women who produce the bulk of the food. “Unless urgent and effective land conservation and watershed management measures are taken, food insecurity will continue to be a critical local, national and regional problem,” the report cautioned.