Global food production currently utilises approximately 4.9Gha of the 14.8Gha of land surface area on the planet, though only about 10Gha of the latter is capable of supporting productive biomass (ie not desert, tundra, mountains etc) for agriculture.[16,17] Thus some 50% of the available suitable land is already appropriated. The amount of land used for human habitation, in the form of towns and cities, is realtively small at 0.03Gha and, despite largescale urbanisation in the future, it is unlikely to become significant in proportional terms.
Although this might suggest that there is plenty of room for the expansion of food production, it needs to be recognised that the balance of unused land currently supports the world’s remaining natural ecosystems.

Rising world population, combined with improved nutrition standards and shifting dietary preferences, will in the coming decades continue to exert pressure for increases in the global food supply. Engineers, scientists and agriculturalist have knowledge, tools and systems that will assist in achieving increases, but their scale and success is dependent on the availability and affordability of a number of resources, many of which are diminishing. Currently, vast quantities of foodstuffs, estimated at 30–50% of total global production, are lost or wasted between the field and consumer. The primary cause of this wastage is inadequate engineering and agricultural practice knowledge, deficiencies in management skills, poorly engineered infrastructure in the form of electricity and potable water systems, and
storage and transport facilities which are often not fit for purpose. Further wastage results fromthe commercial practices of modern supermarkets that demand cosmetically perfect foodstuffs and encourage the more-affluent consumers to
purchase excessive quantities.
To date, history has shown that in response to population growth and dietary changes, engineering and science consistently deliver advancements that enable increased yields and production to meet demand.[2] For example
between 1960 and 2000, production of rice, maize and wheat grew by 66–88% in Asia and Latin America[8].