Food Wasted, Food Lost

much as 80 per cent of potential yield, while rain-fed agriculture produces less than 50 per cent of potential yield (Lobell et al. 2009). While this suggests that there is room for greater yields, it also points to losses in potential food production. Declines in food production are also caused by the loss of ecosystem services such as pollination, which is essential to food crop production. Clara Nicholls et al. (2013) estimate that 35 per cent of global crop production depends on animal pollination. However, looking at mango production as a case, the population of pollinators is declining due to cropland increases, which isolate crop fields from insect and animal habitats (Carvalheiro et al. 2012), as well as the use of insecticides (Alaux et al. 2010; Gill et al. 2012). Pollinator-dependent crops include alfalfa, sun ower, fruits and vegetables (Spivak

such as Bangladesh, Egypt and Vietnam (FAO 1991). Besides salinization, acidification, the concentration of ground-level ozone and the increase in intensity of ultra-violet radiation are also blamed for causing chemical and biotic stresses to crops. According to Brown (1990), about 4 million tonnes of grain are lost per year due to chemical and biotic stresses. Ecosystem degradation, such as groundwater pollution, soil erosion, salinization and loss in biodiversity, is also blamed for the failure of most farming systems to reach the potential ceiling of most animal and crop varieties. Although the difference between farm yields for cereals and genetic yield potential is closing (Peltonen-Sainio et al. 2008; Cassman 1999), the majority of farmers produce cereal yields that are far below genetic potential. Irrigated wheat, rice and maize produce as

40