Resilience of Agri-Food Systems

In considering resilience of agri-food systems, we need to take a holistic perspective of many factors that can influence supply chains and their logistics: declining availability of arable land, water and healthy soils;pests and diseases of crop plants and livestock;unpredictability of weather and changing climate;growth in emerging economies;aging and increasingly urbanized populations;greater demand for convenience foods;consumer interest in provenance and ethical values in food production. To look to the future, we should consider how far agri-food systems have progressed in recent times. Since 1971 (a year chosen because of its personal significance of submitting my PhD thesis and celebrating my wedding) the world’s population has doubled from four to nearly eight billion, yet the global average daily energy and protein consumption per person have increased by about 20–25% [8], indicating a significant boost to food production. On farms, real-time sensing technologies are used for: monitoring weather, soil conditions and water availability;the growth and health of crops and livestock;outbreaks of pests, diseases and weeds;spoilage in grain storage;and to provide decision support and land-use mapping tools. Interest in alternative food sources and obtaining more dietary protein from alternative sources such as plants or insects is generating important research questions on “green” methods for processing of raw materials and developing flavoursome and nutritious products attractive to consumers, and how such systems can add value to the agri-food chain, given that a significant amount of food production currently comes from livestock grazing on marginal lands unsuited to cropping.

Food system resilience and COVID-19 - Lessons from the Asian experience.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food system has exposed the vulnerabilities of the supply chain, although the extent of disruption varies widely, globally and in Asia. However, food systems in Asia have been proven relatively resilient when compared with other regions. This paper considers the immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food system, particularly in Asia, and initial responses of governments and global agencies to manage the crisis. A major focus of the paper is on the outlook for food system resilience in a post-COVID-19 environment and likely long-term effects of the pandemic. There is always a possibility of such shock events occurring in the future, hence it seems prudent to look at lessons that may be learned from the responses to the current pandemic.