ABSTRACT
Since the mid-1960s, world agricultural production has continually increased as a result of the massive use of external inputs associated with progress in crop breeding. For example, yields of the main cereals, e.g. maize (Zea maize), wheat (Triticum aestivun) and rice (Oryza sativa), increased three-or four-fold between 1950 and 2010 (Connor and Minguez, 2012). However, the increase in potential crop yields is currently declining, and nearing zero for some crops (Cassman et al., 2010). At the same time, global food demand is increasing, due to the increase in the world’s human population – from 7 billion today to 10 billion expected by 2050 (Bruinsma, 2009). This increase, associated with a higher demand for animal protein generated by increasing individual wealth, is likely to result in the need for world agricultural production to increase by about 70% (Connor and Minguez, 2012).
