Sustainable Agriculture Reviews 29 by Rattan Lal & Rosa Francaviglia

Author:Rattan Lal & Rosa Francaviglia
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030262655
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

3.1.1.1 Wheat

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is grown on more land area than any other food crop (220.4 million ha) reported in FAOSTAT (2014). World trade in wheat is greater than for all other crops combined (Curtis et al. (2002). In 2018, world production of wheat was 736.1 million tonnes (FAO 2018a, b) making it the second most-produced cereal after maize. Importance of wheat production in world economy is proven by its share of 15% from 1500 million hectares arable land in the world (Kiss 2018). Wheat is grown on more land area than any other commercial crop and continues to be the most important food grain source for humans.

Wheat production leads all crops, including rice, maize and potatoes (FAO accessed 17 July 2018c). Wheat is grown in nearly every region of the world and represents a main source of food and income for millions of smallholder farmers (CIMMYT accessed 17 July 2018). In developing countries, the increase in population, especially in Africa and South Asia, need for larger investments in wheat crop and other cereal crops to keep pace with future demand (CIMMYT accessed 17 July 2018). Wheat provides 20% of the calories and protein people consume globally. An estimated 80 million farmers in the developing world depend on wheat for their livelihoods. Demand for wheat by 2050 is predicted to increase by 70% from today’s levels due to population growth and dietary changes, but the challenges to wheat production are stark and growing. FAO’s latest forecast for global 2018 wheat production stands at 736.1 million tonnes, down 2.7% from 2017 (Table 3.1). The crop is at risk from new and more aggressive pests and diseases, diminishing water resources, limited available land and unstable weather conditions related to climate change (CIMMYT accessed 12 January 2019). The task of feeding 9.2 billion people by 2050 is daunting, but breeding has met this challenge before during the green revolution. Hans Braun, head of the global wheat program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is calling for a “new green revolution” to meet this new challenge (Laura Strugnell, CIMMYT, 15 March 2018). Considering the world wheat production there was no significant change in wheat producing area for the last 20 years, but average yields improved over the years (Kiss 2018). According to FAO Outlook 2018 wheat production and utilization is increasing from 2008 to 2018, forecast for 2018 showed a slight increase of utilization over wheat production (Fig. 3.2). To keep and bring sustainability to we must need to keep utilization under production.Table 3.1Top 10 leading wheat producing countries during 2016–18

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