Despite the millions of tonnes of food we produce every year, some people still do not receive enough to maintain good health and support light activity, which is what we mean when we say someone is undernourished.


Source: FAO

 


What is stopping us all from having enough food? Partly there isn't a lot of land to grow it on. More than three quarters of the world's land surface cannot be used for growing crops without being irrigated, drained or otherwise improved, including with fertilizers.
 

Source: FAO and IIASA

 

 
           
   

Source:FAO		  

Much of the land in developing countries is not suited to rain-fed agriculture, but of the potentially productive land only about one third is cultivated.
  Mainly productive crop, pasture and forest land
  Mainly suitable for crops if improved
  Mostly suitable for grazing, marginal for cereals
  Mainly suitable for forest tree crops or permanent pastures
  Mostly suitable for forest
  Predominantly unproductive land
All illustrations/graphics: Deia Schlosberg/PCI
 
           
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Related Links:
 FAO IIASA PDF Version