Since the dawn of time, food has been at the center of organized society. People have gone to extreme lengths to provide stable and sustainable food sources. We took risks, migrated to unknown territories, and changed our ways of life dramatically. Industrialization and globalization revolutionized agriculture with a focus on yield increase and economy of scale and strong progress was made. However, did we achieve our goals?
Food security – By 2050, Earth’s population will have reached 9 billion people and global food production will need to increase by over 60% if we are to feed the entire population.
Nutrition and food safety – Each year worldwide, unsafe food causes 600 million cases of foodborne diseases and 420 000 deaths. We are what we eat and producing nutritious, healthy, and safe food is the major requirement for the agri-food industry.
Climate change – Agriculture, forestry, and land-use change were estimated to contribute 20–25% of global annual emissions and impact the climate. Vice versa, climate events like drought, hail, frost, and floods represent one of the major yield loss factors that impact agriculture production.
Soil health and biodiversity – Conventional agriculture practices have been involved with soil erosion caused by nutrient loss, run-off, salinity, and drought. Healthy soils rich with living organisms improve the entry and storage of water, resistance to erosion, plant nutrition, and break down of organic matter. They are crucial for building a resilient and sustainable food system.
Local self-sufficiency – The global COVID-19 pandemic made everyone realize how fragile the globalized food eco-system is. Disruptions in the global supply chain left many people without access to food and have put a strong focus on creating a locally sustainable and self-sufficient food production system.
Farmer livelihoods – Farmers are the heroes who produce the food we eat. Pressured by many challenges and risks, from climate, pests, market prices – farmers have a hard time achieving profitability and secure decent livelihoods for their families. One billion people work in agriculture, improving their livelihood is of major importance.
AGRIVI was born in 2013 with a grand yet simple vision – to solve the global food problem by changing the way food is produced and positively impact over a billion people. Â
