Agriculture Reference
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9% of the total land base [23]. Lambin and Meyfroidt [22] estimated that
anywhere between 81-147 million hectares of additional cropland will be
needed to produce food for the 2030 population. Although there are major
uncertainties and inconsistencies involved with estimating the potential
of land for agricultural purposes, it seems inevitable that the demand for
land will progressively increase as the population and demand for food
increases.
11.4 REALITY OF THE SITUATION IN MODERN AGRICULTURE
11.4.1 LOW-INPUT PRODUCTION
Low-input farming can be defined as systems managed with reduced use
of inputs, usually resulting in a system that suffers from some type of
limitation or stress, commonly nitrogen and phosphorus deficiencies or
inadequate water supply, that ultimately cause yield losses. These systems
are not necessarily organic in practice (as defined by the USDA), since
conventional low-input and organic high-input operations are not unheard
of around the world. However low-input is often associated and used as
a synonym for organic production systems, especially in developed coun-
tries. Low-input systems have reduced use, but not elimination of fertiliz-
ers (either from inorganic or organic sources), or pesticides and herbicides
(either biological, inorganic, or organic). Low-input systems rely on the
improved management of on-farm resources, consequently resulting in a
more sustainable agroecosystem, due to a reduced dependence on off-farm
resources, including energy inputs such as gas and oil, in comparison to
modern high-input systems.
One billion and four hundred million people in the world, mostly in
developing nations, rely on crops grown in low-input systems as the pri-
mary source of agricultural production [13]. Low-input or resource-poor
farmers account for half of the world's food producers, providing upwards
of 20% of the global food supply [25]. Despite the high number of low-
input producers globally, these resource-poor farmers have not benefi ted
as much from modern breeding programs. This is largely thought to be due
to varieties being developed under conditions not represented by marginal
 
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