Effects of loss of agricultural land
Some facts about agriculture and land globally
Agriculture uses around 11.75 billion acres of land globally. The US is one of the largest stewards of productive agricultural land at 900 million acres preceded only by China at 1.3Bn acres of land. The difference (as the table below illustrates), is that the US has continuously lost agricultural land over the last 60 years, whereas China has continued to add this precious asset.
Overall, however, agricultural land around the world is on the decline and occupies around 36% of land mass as compared to 37.5% at its peak a few decades ago.
Despite the decline, however, food production has kept pace with the growing population primarily because of the factors of production. As the FAO reports, total growth in agricultural production has been predominantly driven by improvements in total factor productivity over the last decade, as against expansion in land, irrigation, or more inputs/ acre.
Despite this, some risks remain around food security as we look into the next 30 years.
The importance of agricultural land to the future
By 2050, FAO estimates agriculture will need to produce almost 50 percent more food, livestock fodder, and biofuel than in 2012 to satisfy global demand and keep on track to achieve “zero hunger” by 2030 or to feed 9.7 billion people by 2050.
Agricultural land is the foundation for this food production/ security. However, farmland is essential for other reasons as well:
Environmental security/ diversity: From a climate perspective, farmland in the US absorbs close to a billion tons of CO2. In the last few years, we have looked on as investments have flowed into alternate energy, clean energy, and storage solution, ignoring the very infrastructure that mother nature has provided to help with this challenge. Additionally, well-managed agricultural land provides food and cover for wildlife, helps control floods, and protects wetlands and watersheds. The impact of all this on our ecological diversity is tremendous.
Employment generation/ contribution to the country’s GDP: Farmland is also critical because it powers the food and farming system overall. The US food system contributes $1.2Tn to the national economy. That is around 6% of the GDP. In 2021, 21.1 million full- and part-time jobs were related to the agricultural and food sectors—10.5 percent of total U.S. employment. Direct on-farm employment accounted for about 2.6 million of these jobs or 1.3 percent of U.S. employment. Employment in agriculture- and food-related industries supported another 18.5 million jobs.
Cultural: But over and above all this land is the very basis for our subsistence, our heritage, and our culture. Open land is conducive to recreational activities like riding and hunting, while farming is the very basis of an American legacy, founded on the belief that any person can own property and make a living from it.
However, the land, soil, and water that is required to produce this food are all at risk. Land that we need, faces the risks below:
Loss of land to urbanization
Increase in the use of chemical inputs diminishing the quality of existing agricultural land.
Externalities like industrial water pollution can spill over to land degradation.
While there is growing consensus around the need for sustainable farming practices and continuing education around farmland degradation, more needs to be done to ensure that this asset class not only expands but also improves in quality.
Farms under threat: The state of American Farmland
Farmland is on the decline in the US and over the last 30 years we have lost close to 80 million acres of land. An acre of land is estimated to feed 15 people for a year and that would mean that we have permanently lost the ability to feed 1.2Bn people. To put that in perspective that is the entire population of India, the most populous nation in the world.
You can use the graph below to understand the loss in farmland by state.
There are several ways to ensure that this decline is reduced:
Stewardship: Ensuring that farmers continue to have access to farmland at reasonable rates and also ensuring that the next generation of growers are given the tools and financing to own and operate farmland
Ownership: Ensuring that the next generation of landowners are educated on the larger impact of this asset class beyond immediate returns
Regulation: Ensuring that the government approves laws that protect the most productive farmland in the US against urban expansion
The good news is that the USDA is working on many of these points.
Farms under threat: The state of American Farmland
When it comes to stewardship, there may be plenty of questions in your mind starting with:
Getting access to the land
Ensuring you are negotiating a good lease term.
Ensuring you are managing the relationship to continue to have access to the land.
Making sure you are able to demonstrate your stewardship to the next generation of landowners
Make sure you are well-positioned to execute all the administrative tasks that are required while not spending an inordinate amount of time doing it
A good landowner management system can help you achieve just this.
