Food for thought

The human population in the world has crossed the six billion mark. With this the environmental cost of foodgrain production is rising and this is putting additional pressure on natural resources. Interestingly, though the irrigated area per person has increased, the global grain harvested area* per person is shrinking. This is due to increasing desertification, soil erosion and nutrient depletion. Groundwater depletion due to over-extraction is another reason for reduced foodgrain output.