Potential of Agronomy in Mitigating the Challenges of ‘Future Food Security’

Food security is the availability of food for all at every time. Now question is that our technology is sustainable enough? Have ability to meet the demand of burgeoning population without much affecting our natural economy? No doubt green revolution makes us self reliance, we have increased our food production many folds, but often a question isvery common at what extent green revolution is sustainable? In modern era agriculture, industries and urbanization are highly exploitative in nature. Modern crop production technology has considerably raised output but the natural resource base is degraded and diminished gradually simultaneously the quality of environment sustaining human life is adversely affected. We have created threats for our natural resources (soil, water, forest) and biodiversity (crop, fishes, and other plant and animal genetic resources). We have to believe in the fact “Nature is for our need not for our greed”. The earth climate has been considered as till recently as a remarkably stable, renewable, taking care of all human misadventures and assaults on fragile biosphere. Even today if we reduce the anthropogenic activities the adverse effect of global warming will be managed. Now again question is, it is possible to combat the food demand with our traditional agriculture, without moving towards modern one? It never is possible, because our per capita demand growing and availability of land diminishing. Here each and every sector of management needs security. In that situation only agronomy has ability to answer these questions. The history of the world reveals that great civilizations (Nile, Harappa Mohan zodaro) flourished along the irrigation sources (river) and mis-management of these resources sawthe extinction of these civilizations. Agronomist can take initiative tolead the challenge of Future Food Security (FFS) by increasing per capita income and make self reliance to the farmer through Integrated Intensive Farming Systems (IIFSs). Since meeting the need of present generation without eroding the ecological assets of the future generation is receiving top priority by food and environment managers.