Global Cropland Expansion

• 31 Dec 2021

For Prelims: Cropland area, Cropland Net Primary Production, Sustainable Development Goal, deforestation, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

For Mains: Impact of the Expansion of the Cropland area and steps that can be taken to address it.

Why in News

According to a new study, cropland area across the world increased 9% and cropland Net Primary Production (NPP) by 25% from 2003-2019.

• The growth was primarily due to agricultural expansion in Africa and South America.

Cropland Area

• Cropland is defined as ‘land used for annual and perennial herbaceous crops for human consumption, forage (including hay) and biofuel’.
  • Perennial woody crops, permanent pastures and shifting cultivation are excluded from the definition.
  • Herbaceous energy crops are perennials that are harvested annually.

Cropland Net Primary Production

• Net Primary Production (NPP) is defined as the difference between the energy fixed by autotrophs and their respiration, and it is most commonly equated to increments in biomass per unit of land surface and time.
  • An autotroph is an organism that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals.
  • Respiration is a chemical reaction which occurs in all living cells, releasing energy from glucose.

Key Points

• Cropland Expansion:
  • The largest cropland expansion was observed in Africa.
    • In Africa, cropland expansion accelerated from 2004-2007 to 2016-2019, with a more than two-fold increase in annual expansion rates.
  • The largest proportions of natural vegetation conversion to croplands (excluding dryland irrigation) were found in Africa, southeast Asia and South America.
  • Global per capita cropland area decreased 10% during the period due to population growth but the per capita annual cropland NPP increased by 3.5% as a result of intensified agricultural land use.
• Reasons behind the Expansion:
  • The agricultural expansion is often explained as a direct consequence of the global increase in food and energy requirements due to continuing population growth.
    • The global population increased by 21% from 2003-2019.
• Issues with the Expansion:
  • Against SDG15:
    • Cropland expansion is a major factor in forest loss, which comes in conflict with Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG 15)
      • SDG 15 aims to stop deforestation and degradation of natural habitats.
      • But 49% of the new cropland area replaced natural vegetation and tree covers, indicating a conflict with the sustainability goal of protecting terrestrial ecosystems.
  • Ecological Threat:
    • It is one of the biggest threats to the planet’s ecological health.
      • Cropland expansion mostly affects biodiversity hotspots in Central and South America, while cropland intensification threatens biodiversity especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, India and China.
        • Agricultural intensification can be technically defined as an increase in agricultural production per unit of inputs.
  • Driver of Deforestation:
    • Agricultural expansion continues to be the main driver of deforestation and forest fragmentation.
  • FAO’s Estimation:
    • According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), if current trends hold, by 2050 the world’s arable land will increase by some 70 million hectares, and much of the new farmland will be in areas that are currently forested.
• Agricultural land in India:
  • Agricultural land in India was reported at 60.43% in 2018.
  • Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures.
    • Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow.

Way Forward

• Better farming practices and technology can increase agricultural productivity while reducing habitat loss and protecting wildlife.
  • This approach, known as “sustainable intensification,” aims to boost the output of existing farmland using techniques such as integrated crop management and advanced pest control.
  • If applied widely, sustainable intensification could even reduce the total amount of land currently under cultivation.
• To protect wildlife habitats, developing countries must increase the productivity of existing areas of land by encouraging more sustainable farming practices.

Source: DTE