Food security World population growth has accelerated since the start of the twentieth century. The global population will probably approach 10 billion in 2050 and should by that time have leveled off, according to a study by UNESCO. The question is, will there be enough food for everybody in the future? Meeting the world’s needs between now and the year 2050 would not seem beyond the bounds of possibility, if two challenges are met, the goal of sustainable development and the elimination of poverty.
According to certain ecologists, natural resources will not be adequate to meet the needs of the world population in 2050. Food security is then to be defined in terms of permanent access by all to the foodstuffs necessary for a healthy and active life. However the world must face the terrible challenge of balancing the growing number of human beings and their needs against the natural resources essential to their development. The choices made in the next 10 years will determine in large measure the future possibilities of inhabiting the planet. The collision between the number of human beings and the resources they need will become increasingly sharp.
It is then part of the role of higher education institutions to explore the local and indigenous practices and knowledge base. To develop it to overcome the food security problems, namely with education, research, and community development. Following this, institutions should be able to support the people as well as the government in providing food resilience programs. using the term food resilience, since we are not only tackling the shortage of appropriate food for the people but culturally we empower the local people to fulfill their need properly using local and indigenous practices.
Education institutions should be encourages and empowered to accomplish this task. One of the priority topics is biosecurity, a term relevant to community health and welfare, to animal health and to plant health in the production systems which sustain life. Pests and diseases impact directly on people‘s food supply, nutrient and hydrological functions and socio-economic well-being. Institutions with community groups, conducting community development programs by educating people, of both the young and older generation, in how to sustain food resilience programs incorporating plant biosecurity measures, place us on track for food security and sustainable development.
