Problem
Introduction of high-yield crop varieties
Nature:
The success of the drive to introduce new high-yield varieties tends to exacerbate the instability of the international crop trade in agricultural commodities; import demand from previously low-producing countries leading to price falls and surpluses in exporting countries. The resulting shifts in trade patterns make price stabilization more difficult. Although regulating the growth of plants is as old as farming itself, the use of chemical compounds in agriculture has been one critical aspect of the contemporary explosion of crop yields. It remains to be fully seen what environmental effects these unnatural manipulations of the food chain will have in the long run. Broader Problems:
Inappropriate modernization of agricultureIrresponsible introduction of exotic plant speciesDisadvantages of improved food production in developing countriesUnsustainable short-term improvements in agricultural productivity Narrower Problems:
Inflated seed costsInappropriate irrigation schemesSubstitution of fast growing plant speciesAdverse environmental consequences of depressed agricultural prices Aggravates:
Land degradationUntested use of hormonesOver-production of commoditiesOverdependence on few crop speciesEnvironmental hazards of pesticidesDeclining breeds of cultivated plantsInstability of trade in vegetable-based foodstuffs References:
Pearse, Andrew: Seeds of Plenty, Seeds of Want: social and economic implications of the green revolutionWolf, Edward C: Beyond the Green Revolution: new approaches for Third World agriculture Subject(s):
Agriculture, Fisheries → Crops??Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
F: Fuzzy exceptional problems Date of last update
04.05.1998 – 00:00 CEST