How to feed the growing world population, alleviate poverty and combat climate change.

The Broker explores comprehensive food security strategies that ensure a secure supply of affordable food using less land and water, produce less waste and emissions, and alleviate worldwide poverty.

Food security is sure to be a major challenge in future decades. The growing world population and the rapidly expanding middle classes in countries such as China, Brazil and India (not to mention over-consumption in rich countries) will trigger a surge in the demand for food, water and energy over the next two decades. This surge will come at a time when governments must also make major progress in combating climate change.

Food security is a global public good. The challenge of securing food supplies at local, national and international levels is a global commons problem that needs a global strategy. The Broker intends with this theme page to produce and gather knowledge that will help policy makers, scientists, and representatives of civil society organizations and the private sector to develop such a global strategy on food security.

The issue of food security is multidisciplinary. For that reason The Broker aims to bring together experts in development, climate change and sustainability, and gather their opinions on for example technology and innovation, trade policies, new agricultural models, access to natural resources, and supply chain management.

The way food is currently produced, traded, distributed and consumed is unsustainable. Indeed, this system will not end hunger unless radically redesigned. Research is crucial in that respect. The Broker has already published a good number of articles outlining a rich body of scientific evidence for sustainable agricultural solutions. And yet there still does not seem to be common ground, at least due to the many political and economic interests that are at stake.

Some of the controversial issues pertaining to the food security debate include smallholders versus large-scale agriculture, biofuels, the use of chemical fertilizers, genetically modified foods, and free trade versus regulation and export restrictions. Agreement has to be reached on how innovative ideas can be implemented and how to reconcile conflicting interests.

Until the end of 2012, the food security debate on The Broker’s website will focus on price volatility, climate compatible and sustainable agriculture, and land grabbing. These three topics are interrelated in ways that impact food security. To give an example, the 2010-2011 spike in food prices is being discussed more in relation to climate change than the 2007 worldwide rise in food prices.

Climate change does not only concern direct threats to food production, such as temperature rises, unpredictable weather patterns and rising sea levels. Policies with the aim to combat climate change – for example those that advocate the use of biofuels and reforestation – can have tremendous impact on food prices and food security. On the other hand agriculture itself, if developed in the right way, can help solve climate related problems – so called climate smart/compatible agriculture.

The agricultural renaissance is not just an academic exercise. It has meanwhile become a staple on policy makers’ agendas. The challenge for this theme page on food security is to bridge the gap between academia and policy making to help develop a global vision and strategy that will feed the current and future generations in a sustainable way.