‘‘Today, the world is facing most crucial problem of sustainable food security because it’s fast reaching 13 billion population marks, and seems to be running out of land. The dietary shift further has compounded the issue and it would need 60% more food by 2050,’’ said Dr Rogier Schulte, Leader for Translational Research on Sustainable Food Production from The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc). Dr Rogier was delivering guest lecture on ‘Functional Land Management’ at Lecture Theatre; the talk was organized by Community Service and Research Vice President’s office which was attended by AMU officials, faculty members and students.
Dr Rogier dwelt into the significant topics like Green House Gas (GHG) emission, carbon sequestration, water footprint, bio-diversity and said, across the world intensive use of agricultural land has invariably lowered the quality of crops.
He suggested, to stem the rot, we need to link research & extension services, foster diversity by identifying what is best and resilient farming i.e. organic, livestock or crops, smallholders or industrial.
Limited knowledge on nutrient management has led to the severely unbalanced soil fertility. Hence, it’s imperative to make available resources efficient, take utmost care of Think Value Chain by looking into invariables like inputs, farm production, storage and transport and processing of our crops.
Developing non-agricultural sector by refurbishing research & development, evolve farm insurance, quality seed production, hi-tech processing units and trained farmers to withstand the onslaught of modern day agricultural predicament, he adds.
Enlightened the gathering on soil functions in Europe, he said, ‘‘Europeans expect their land to function according to EU thematic strategy. Primary productivity (food, fiber & fuel), water purification, carbon regulation & sequestration, habitat for functional and intrinsic bio-diversity and nutrient cycling are their prime concern.
He used case study: ‘Supply and demand of soil functions in Ireland,’ to drive his point home and exhorted, people to know how they can maximize multi-functionality of spoil and match local supply and demand of soil functions.
Concluding talks on the optimistic note, he said, ‘‘It’s possible to meet ‘Food Harvest 2020’ ambition and environmental targets, but given the large variation and functionality between soils, we can only do this if we manage our land so that each soil performs the functions that it is good at resulting in a mosaic of intensification and expansion.’’

By Corporate Communication Directorate (Philips Joseph)