Can Agribusiness Feed 3 Billion New People…and Save the Planet? A GLIMPSE into the Future

Abstract

The challenge of feeding another three billion people within the next 40 years clearly meets the definition of a ‘wicked problem’. Agribusinesses have been seen as part of the problem, pursuing short-term gains at the expense of human development and the environment. We argue that private sector, market-driven solutions are an essential component to meeting this challenge. Combining a literature review with interviews from a panel of 24 agribusiness ‘experts’, we identify seven key barriers which impede our ability to feed nine billion people on earth. Collected under the acronym GLIMPSE, they help to frame the obstacles and identify the opportunities. This is an important step towards harnessing the power of the marketplace so that agribusinesses can bring together the creativity, determination, and technology similar to the ‘miracle of the cerrados’ in Brazil to bear on the challenge of feeding the three billion additional people that will join our world by 2050.