Human Overpopulation and Food Security

Abstract

World population is rapidly growing and expected to reach in between 8.5 to 12 billion by 2100. More than 75% of the population is expected to inhabit in the African and Asian countries having most of the developing nations. The overpopulation leads to a state of food insecurity that induced the evolution of resource-exhaustive agriculture causing irreparable environmental damages. Now the challenge is to feed more with less environmental damages. Adoption of technologically-sound, traditional knowledge inclusive, socio-economically sensible recommended agricultural practices can be the basis for achieving future dietary demands. However, before wider recommendation, their environmental impact assessment at various sustainability issues is necessitated for a holistic understanding of the future agriculture. The challenges of overpopulation and food security can only be managed by identifying the core areas of research and development under different agricultural sectors. The present chapter will provide a brief dimension on some of these key issues.