Alfalfa’s Role in Feeding a Hungry World

The world population is projected to increase by nearly 30 percent and reach 9.0 billion by 2050. Increasing competition for global protein is anticipated due to this burgeoning population and from the rising demand for food and protein that is a consequence of economic development and higher income in emerging economies, most notably India and China. It has been estimated that the world’s farmers will have to produce as much food in the next 40 years as has been consumed since the beginning of humanity. Global livestock production, and the forage needed to support them, has been shifting to marginal lands with more productive agricultural soils being increasingly used to produce higher value crops. Adaptive mechanisms like stress tolerance and salinity tolerance need to be developed in order for forage crops to support this shift. Both non-regulated and regulated technologies will be needed to effectively meet this challenge. With a small carbon footprint, broad adaptation, positive impact on sustainable production systems, and high protein productivity per hectare, alfalfa will be an important contributor.