growing population? Inspiring a new generation of farmers to stop the world

Banana market Bungoma Kenya - Boy eating banana

CRISPR Wheat - James packet of seeds John Innes Centre

FHIA 17 banana seedlings

Is diversifying crops the answer to feeding the world’s growing population?

Over millennia of agricultural practice, we’ve selectively bred a relatively small handful of robust nutritious plants to crop. More than half the calories that all of human civilisation is based upon come from the seeds of just three grass species – wheat, rice and corn. Whilst modern agriculture has given us the most affordable and the most plentiful food supply in the history of our species, relying on that small selection of crops we’ve been cultivating is a perilous foundation for all of humankind.In the second episode of the BBC World News and BBC.com series, Follow the Food: Seeds of Life, presenter and renowned ethnobotanist, James Wong, speaks to the one group of people that can solve the problems of the future, those who are trying to strike the precarious balance between mass production and diversification – farmers. Most Farmers know we need to make a change, and with over 50,000 edible plants on the planet, surely diversifying what we grow is the answer; reducing risk and bolstering our diets.

FHIA 17 bananas – Banana farmer George Matete Kew Gardens Glass House

Banana market Bungoma Kenya CRISPR Wheat - James Wong inside John Innes seed bank

The British Quinoa Company Stephen Jones founderfarmer & James Wong Image of bananas CRISPR wheat seedling in tube - John Innes Centre Norwich

CRISPR Wheat John Innes Centre Norwich - James Wong & Dr Catherine Jacott

FHIA 17 banana - Isaac Ogutu Farm Systems Coordinator – Send a Cow

FHIA 17 banana - Banana Farmer George Matete

FHIA 17 banana - Dr Ludovicus Okitoi Principal Research Scientist KALRO

Crops under threat

With our global population growing at current rates, some have estimated that we’ll have to produce more food in the next thirty years than we have in the entire history of humanity. But, if one of the small range of crops we rely on to feed us came under attack by pests, super bugs, or environmental change, it risks a catastrophic food disaster that could leave millions starving, something that’s already happening to the fourth most important crop in the world – bananas.

A staple part of the diet and a lynchpin of the economy in places such as Africa and South America, the banana isn’t just a snack. In fact, Kenya grows around 1.5 million tonnes of bananas annually, and it’s a key local food source. But, a deadly fungus is sweeping the world, and Kenyan farmers are finding themselves on the front line of the fight to find a solution.

The Cavendish variety, which makes up almost half of all the bananas grown on the planet, is susceptible to Panama disease and is at imminent risk of extinction.

A new type of food

At Kalro Kakamega Research Institute in Kenya, they’ve been studying alternative banana varieties, in the hope they can be as popular as the Cavendish, but much more resilient to disease. Dr Ludovicus Okitoi, principal research scientist at Kalro, said: “The Cavendish is dying because it’s prone to pests and diseases. We have the FHIA-17 that’s coming up that’s very tolerant to some of the pests and diseases we have around. They’re also much more tolerant compared to the Cavendish, so in areas where we get little rain, we will still have a harvest.”

George Mtate, a Kenyan farmer in Myanga, has been trying the FHIA-17 variety, amongst others on his homestead. “The FHIA-17 is the banana of the future. Most diseases do not affect it in the way that they affect other types. It’s quite a promising type of banana. I’m hopeful.”

The FHIA breeds were originally developed in Honduras and now they’re being trialled in over 50 countries worldwide. Speaking about the new variety of banana, Isaac Ogutu, farm systems coordinator at Send A Cow, a Kenyan NGO which helps smallholder farmers, like George, grow their own futures said, “We want to have farmers who are food secure. Bananas can give our farmers very good food security.”

Is diversity the seed of life?

It seems that diversifying within the food group itself could be one solution to future-proofing our food supply, but is it enough to get the right calories to the right people, at the right time? The decisions made right now from Big Ag to smallholder will affect the health and wellbeing of the entire planet for generations to come.