Agriculture%20at%20a%20Crossroads_Global%20Report%20(English)

22 | IAASTD Global Report
Figure 1-10. Global capture fisheries and aquaculture production, 1950-2002. Source: FAO, 2007b; US
Census Bureau, 2007.
million cubic meters, of which 60% was produced in developing
countries where wood is the most important source of
energy (FAO, 2006d).
Forests cover 31% of global land surface (FAO, 2007a)
and have potential to provide products and services, hence,
could contribute to meeting development and sustainability
goals. All types of forests contribute to agriculture in two
main ways: (1) the world’s forests act as a buffer against
climate change, storing 50% carbon in their biomass, deadwood,
litter and soil, i.e., more than the amount of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere alone; and (2) they are a principal
source of biodiversity. Forests also play a key role in
agriculture as the source of much of the land and soils for
agriculture. “Slash and burn” agriculture is dependent on
forest ecosystems for regeneration of soils, and forests are
the source of many types of fruit, meat, timber, fuelwood,
medicine, etc. for rural people.
Almost a quarter of a billion people live in or near tropical
forests, and their well-being depends on them (CIFOR,
2006). Two billion people, a third of the world’s population,
use fuelwood and charcoal, most of which is harvested in
the forest; and two billion people rely on traditional medicines,
much of which depends on forest products (CIFOR,
2006). The rapid development of agriculture has proceeded
through conversion of natural forests, mainly due to rapid
population growth, and the higher food production and cash
income that can be obtained from farming rather than from
forestry. Deforestation, mainly due to conversion of forests
to agricultural land, continues at the rate of 13 million ha
per year (FAO, 2005b). The net global change in forest area
in 2000-2005 is estimated at -7.3 million ha per year, down
from -8.9 million ha per year in 1990-2000 (FAO, 2005b).
The deforestation trend is increasingly being reversed as
forest goods and services are becoming scarce. Changes in
cropland show that most of this deforestation has not been
for conversion of cropland. Eighty percent of incremental
crop production in developing countries by 2030 will come
from intensification and only 20% from area expansion
(FAO, 2003).
The livestock component of agriculture
Global livestock production continues to grow more rapidly
than crop agriculture, with growth rates of 5% in the 1990s,
but has slowed down since 2004 (FAO, 2006a).The volume
of livestock production in developing countries has steadily
increased since the early 1980s, both for internal consumption
and for export (COAG, 2005), driven by rising demand
for poultry, pork and eggs as income rises. Livestock production
accounts for 40% of the agricultural GDP (FAO,
2006a), produces about one-third of humanity’s protein
intake, employs 1.3 billion people and creates livelihoods
for one billion of the world’s poor (Steinfeld et al., 2006).
The social and energy benefits of livestock production have
long been recognized, as well as its economic contribution
outside the formal market system. Women play a key role
in small-scale livestock production, and in processing and
marketing animal products.
Outbreaks of animal diseases, in particular avian influenza,
and subsequent consumer fears, trade bans and
declines in poultry prices have caused slow growth rates.
Livestock production systems also cause environmental
problems, with negative impacts on land, climate, water
quality and quantity, and biodiversity (FAO, 2006a). As
poverty declines, there is predicted to be increased demand