Food security is at the top of the global agenda. Almost half a century of growth in food production notwithstanding, 1 in 7 people today receive insufficient protein and energy from their diets. With the world’s population and food consumption on the rise, the pressure on the food supply system is growing. Greater urbanization and income in countries in which meat consumption has traditionally been low have sparked an upsurge in demand for meat, putting more pressure on land.

These trends in demographic dynamics and consumption patterns, combined with the threat of climate change and irreversible ecosystem service degradation, lead to increased uncertainty regarding current food production models. The delivery of ecosystem services by agricultural ecosystems is becoming increasingly important, what with ever more land being put to agricultural use.

The United Nations Secretary-General recently suggested that global food production needed to increase by half by 2030 to meet growing demand. Although in the longer term expanded demand and increased prices for agricultural commodities may represent an opportunity for agricultural and rural development, many constraints must be overcome if a significant supply response to changes in agricultural commodity prices is to be made without compromising but rather contributing to poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability.