With the arrival of the new year, it is practically inevitable to talk about what we expect from it. What will it be like, if it will bring changes, if it will be a turning point, if it will be decisive in consolidating the trends of recent years… That is why, investigating the sector, we have chosen 5 trends for food and agriculture in 2022. As a company dedicated to the formulation of zero residue solutions for crops and their needs, we find it interesting to know what is prevailing in the sector.
For us, it is a priority to know what is important for people and what criteria make them decide on some foods or others. Also it is just as relevant to know what current society demands with which priorities of the current agricultural professions. What issues are essential to address with the regulations of this moment or the one that is to come.
5 trends for food and agriculture in 2022
Sustainable productivity growth
Sustainable productivity growth
Talking about sustainability is not a new trend but with each passing year there are more awareness of the importance of making global agricultural production as sustainable as possible. That is why it remains a clear trend in the practice of agriculture. There is an ever-increasing need for food, on a planet that continues to grow in population but at the same time, that need is incomprensible with the production systems that have been developed decades ago.
Sustainable production
According to the FAO, sustainable productivity growth is the key. Improved productivity will be essential to sustainably feed a population that will reach 8.5 billion people in 2030. The FAO estimates that 87% will come from increased yields, while 6% will be due to expanded use of land and 7% to increased cropping intensity.
Food Safety
Food Safety
According to Qu Dongyu, director-general of the FAO, “our future food security will depend on the protection of our land, soil and water resources.” It is completely linked to the above. In fact, the use of sustainable work techniques, avoiding the use of products that harm biodiversity and healthy eating, is essential in the present and immediate future of food production and by extension, agriculture. It is just as important as food security is access to affordable food which is a challenge for 2022 onwards. According to the FAO, these are already at their highest level for more than a decade. It is one more reason to investigate new ways to take advantage of and reduce food waste.
Smart farming
Smart farming
According to the latest studies by consultants, agriculture is increasingly linked to mechatronics, sensors and digitization. In fact, the European Green Deal of the European Commission proposes a double transition: ecological and digital. In this process towards a more intelligent agriculture (in this trend towards smart farming), it is essential that administrations provide agriculture and livestock professionals with the most modern equipment to maximize their work while taking care of the environment. An agriculture that applies new technologies and that takes advantage of the experience of the past, data management and knowledge to continue providing something essential: food.
Alternative Agri-food Systems
Alternative Agri-food Systems
The sustainability of soil, land and water forms the basis of resilient agri-food systems, according to the FAO and other global organizations. The sustainable use of these resources is essential to achieve the objectives of adaptation to climate change and mitigation of its effects.
What these organizations are proposing are awareness of the extent to which fundamental resources are degraded and lost through inappropriate agricultural practices, such as land clearing or excessive water consumption. Hence, we also point to this trend towards alternative agri-food systems, in which the use of natural solutions is increasingly important.
Attention to the prebiotic feeding
Attention to the prebiotic feeding
Yes. Prebiotic feeding to take care of the microbiota is also a trend. Various studies predict that in 2022 prebiotics will continue to generate interest among those who want to take care of their intestinal microbiota, which recent research has linked to multiple health benefits. Prebiotics are plant fibers that serve as food for these bacteria and are found in some sugars in fruit and garden products such as legumes or asparagus.
Society is increasingly aware that health is indisputably linked to nutrition. And for this healthy eating and zero waste is essential.
