World Food Perspective and Food Security in Korea

세계 식량전망과 한국의 식량대책

Food resources have been supplied more and more by crop land expansion, technological Improvement for higher crop yield, establishment of irrigation system, and input of fertilizers, chemicals and others, to sustain a world population increase currently about 6 billion. Food demand will be significantly increased in the 21st century due to population increases of 90 million per year and more consumption of meat with per capital income increase. But food production increase will be limited by difficulty of crop/irrigation land expansion and small or decreasing effectiveness of fertilizer use. Development of new techniques for higher yield per ha is only one way to meet future food demand increase. Optimistic prospect for food demand/supply balance was reported by FAO until 2010, and IFPRI until 2020. However, Worldwatch Institute warned world food supply will be less than expected demand by 500 million tons of cereal grains in 2030. It is necessary to establish a national plan to meet expected worldwide shortage of food resources in 21 century. What planning should be under taken to meet the upcoming century of food shortage in Korea whose food self-sufficiency rate is only $30{\%}$. It is recommended that (1) keep paddy field area as much as 1,100 thousand ha, (2) expansion of barley and wheat cultivation on all paddy area in winter season, (3) continue development of new technology to get international superiority of food resources produced in Korea, (4) expand nationwide the importance of food security under the current financial crisis encountered In Korea, and for food security in the future unified Korean peninsula.