What’s the outlook for global food production this year?
So far, USDA projections suggest a big year of production for our key crops.
Hannah Ritchie
Jul 24, 2024
The aspect of climate change I’m most concerned about is its impacts on agriculture and food security. This is a risk that we can (at least partially) address by developing temperature- and drought-resistant crops, and by making sure that farmers – especially the poorest – have access to basic technologies like irrigation, the best seed varieties, fertilizers, and pesticides. I don’t think the world is investing enough in future-proofing food production, so it’s a problem I think about a lot.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tracks agricultural conditions worldwide and frequently updates its outlook on global production for the year. I check this pretty often to see how things are looking.
Temperatures over the past year have been very high, so people are rightly concerned about how crop production is holding up.
This post gives a quick summary of what the USDA is projecting for the year based on its latest update. I’m focusing on the main cereal crops, plus soybean, which make up the majority of the world’s calories. Some of the other crops that I wanted to include: like potatoes, or leafy greens, aren’t included in the USDA’s database.
https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/global-food-outlook-2024
