Cereal crops: food and nutritional security for changing world

Abstract

Seventy percent of the world's poorest people live in rural areas. Many depend on rice-, maize- and wheatbased farming systems for food and income. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, maize and wheat account for about 40 percent of the world's food and 25 percent of the calories consumed in developing countries. Billions of poor people - including poor people in urban areas - get more than half their daily calories from rice-, maize- and wheat-based foods. Maize and wheat are farmed on nearly 200 million hectares (ha) in developing countries. While CIMMYT is a strong advocate that these crops be grown in more environmentally responsible ways, their importance cannot be overstated. Developing countries currently need about 700 mil lion tons of maize and wheat to meet their food needs. By 2020, these countries will need an additional 368 million tons of maize and wheat.