The world has reached a population of 7 billion and the impacts of such numbers are now beginning to be felt on a number of fronts. Environmental issues such as climate change and loss of biodiversity have strong connections to anthropogenic influences; economic growth is placing enormous pressure on natural resources; and globalisation and expanding trade are escalating the spread of invasive species. There is an increasingly complex interplay of interactions making the search for viable solutions even more difficult.
Such challenges have pushed the issue of food security high up the international agenda. The impacts of drought on food availability and prices have already affected political stability; the struggle to find an acceptable way to share genetic resources while giving rewards to those at their source threatens to limit crop improvements; and growing consumer demands for food produced in environmentally sustainable ways challenges issues such as pest control, nutrient management and so on.
Food security is also intertwined with the substantial economic changes leading to impacts on dietary demands, especially from the rapidly growing middle classes in the emerging economies. Political realities are forcing countries to look for stability in their food chain–food-exporting countries such as New Zealand and Australia need to be aware of the implications.
In many cases, land resources suitable for agricultural or horticultural development are severely constrained and threatened by urban development, and the expansion of dairying has reduced areas available for crop production. New pests and diseases such as Pseudomonas syringae var. actinidia (PSA), which attacks kiwifruit, also threaten existing cropping systems.
Science needs to provide solutions that increase productivity, reduce environmental impacts, and meet changing market demands within a context of increasing political attention to the global food supply chain. No longer can the process of science follow a linear pathway of discovery to commercialisation – we as scientists need to recognise the increasingly complex systems that govern future food production and be prepared to change the way we both conduct our research and our interactions with end users.
Science must inform policy and product development. To do this the process of science must be credible and subject to rigorous peer review. We must continue to expose our science to other scientists; therefore publication must remain fundamental to maintaining the authority and credibility of scientists.
This journal is part of that process and we provide a platform to publish original research that benefits temperate crop production in particular. We encourage contributions that promote understanding of the complexities of our current economic, environmental, social and cultural contexts and ensure that the papers we publish can assist the development of food security and economic well-being. By adding to the body of knowledge on crop production, we enable wider meta-analyses of global progress that should lead to better policies and practices.
David Penman
Senior Editor