Issues for cropping and agricultural science in the next 20 years

Abstract

This position paper honours agricultural scientist and colleague, Professor Bob Loomis, by discussing the urgent global challenge of food security and the related impacts on the environment facing agricultural science and society in the next critical 20 years. It uses the concepts of potential and actual (farm) crop yields and the yield gap between them to assess current and future opportunities for food supply to satisfy increasing demand. The cropping world is seen in two parts. The first part predominantly comprises low-input farming with very large yield gaps and a faster growing demand that can only be met with increasing imports. For these regions, a well-established strategy is outlin..