Global Food Security

ICA 2015-04 | 22 September 2015

This is an IC-coordinated Assessment.

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Global Food Security

Key Judgments

Bottom Line: We judge that the overall risk of food insecurityain many countries of strategic importance 

to the United States will increase during the next 10 years because of production, transport, and market 

disruptions to local food availability, lower purchasing power, and counterproductive government policies. 

Demographic shifts and constraints on key inputs, such as land and water, will probably compound the 

risk. In some countries, declining food security will almost certainly contribute to social disruptions and

political instability. Simply growing more food globally will not lead to more food-secure countries 

because sustainable access will remain unequal; millions lack access to land or income sources to buy 

sufficient food. We judge that augmenting traditional approaches to agricultural development with 

lesser-used strategies—such as reducing crop and food waste, generating off-farm income activities, 

conducting research in minor cropsb, and fostering technical education in agriculture—would improve the 

resilience of local and global food systems. Such strategies can help Washington and its allies to develop 

creative complements to standard approaches and help resolve inherent tensions between goals such as 

producing more food and conserving water and other natural resources.

Increasing Food Insecurity

A. We judge that the overall risk of food insecurity in many countries of strategic importance to 

the United States will increase during the next 10 years because of production, transport, and 

market disruptions to local food availability, declining purchasing power, and counterproductive 

government policies. Demographic shifts and constraints on key inputs will compound this risk. In 

some countries, declining food security will almost certainly contribute to social disruptions or 

large-scale political instability or conflict, amplifying global concerns about the availability of food.

We have moderate confidence in this judgment because we have a reliable and large body of reporting 

that correlates the effects of food supply disruptions, lower purchasing power, and poor policy choices 

with higher food insecurity. However, we are unable to pinpoint the thresholds and government actions 

that would result in these outcomes. 

 

a

 The Intelligence Community defines food security as perceived and physical access to food supplies sufficient to meet basic needs 

and preferences at every level—individual, community, state, and global.

b

 The term minor crops refers to crops not generally sold on the global food market and consumed locally. 
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 Worsening food insecurity highlights the inadequacy of government institutions and developmental 

assistance to improve the resiliency of the agricultural sector and create sustainable safety-net 

programs for at-risk populations. Complicating these efforts, some governments and 

nongovernmental actors use food security as a political tool and do not seek increased food security 

for portions or all of their populations. Greater urbanization, population growth, and shifts toward a 

more protein-rich diet will intensify pressure on national and global markets.

 Threats to food availability during the next 10 years include climate change, extreme weather, conflict, 

diseases, resource constraints, and environmental degradation. For example, large exportable 

supplies of key components of food production—such as phosphates, potash, and fuel oil—come 

from states where conflict or government actions could cause supply chain disruptions that lead to 

price spikes.

c

 In addition, monitoring and controlling outbreaks of agricultural diseases will become 

increasingly difficult as the world becomes more integrated, disease vectors shift, and domestic 

animal populations grow and become more concentrated.

 Many people will experience declining purchasing power—higher cost of food compared to wages—

resulting from a wide array of factors. These include the loss of livelihoods, lack of employment 

opportunities, and higher food prices locally caused by increasing conflict, rapid population growth, 

and dwindling natural resource bases. Urban residents in most cases will be the first affected; 

however, a large percentage of rural residents in developing countries, who must also buy food, will 

see their purchasing power decline. 

 The two food price spikes in 2007-2008 and 2010-2011 have increased the fervor with which some 

governments have implemented short-term food and agricultural policies that are likely to have 

adverse long-term effects. Governments attempting to secure political favor from certain groups or 

reduce their dependence on the world market for food have created trade restrictions, unattainable 

and inefficient self-sufficiency goals, and unsustainable social programs and agrarian reforms.

Regions at Risk 

B. Prospects are poor for countries grappling with food insecurity. The majority of countries 

already experiencing high-to-extreme food insecuritydface risk factors that could worsen their 

food security through 2025; some countries that have low-to-moderate food insecurity today are 

at risk of experiencing worsening conditions during the next 10 years. The intersection of food 

insecurity with governance gaps will probably result in social disruption, political turmoil, or 

conflict. We have only moderate confidence in these judgments because we were not able to include all 

well-documented drivers of food insecurity in the methodology used for this assessment. 

 

c

 See Annex C for a discussion of food supply and demand to include key agricultural commodities. 

d

 See Annex B for a discussion of the methodology used to evaluate food insecurity. 
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 The increase in food insecurity is likely to be most prominent in Africa, the Middle East, and South 

Asia. The increase in risk factors will worsen already high levels of food insecurity in some countries 

and threaten to undermine governments that do not have sustainable food security policies. 

 Most countries with increasing risk of worsening food insecurity are highly vulnerable to production 

disruptions resulting from environmental degradation, conflict, and disease. Such disruptions pose

the greatest threat to food security in Africa and Asia, where subsistence and small-scale farmers and 

herders comprise the majority of the world’s food-insecure population. Disruptions to production 

and transport corridors in major food-exporting countries will threaten national and global markets, 

creating fiscal strains for many countries reliant on food imports.

 Countries with rising exposure to food insecurity from lower purchasing power and counterproductive 

government policies are more prevalent in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In many of these countries, 

government leases of state-owned land to domestic and foreign agricultural developers will stoke 

conflict in areas without well-defined land ownership laws and regulations. 

Improving Food Access 

C. We judge that augmenting traditional approaches to agricultural development with innovative, 

but lesser-used strategies—such as reducing crop and food waste, generating off-farm income 

activities, conducting research into minor crops,e and fostering technical education in agriculture—

will improve the resilience of local and global food systems. This combination will probably

increase the ability of individuals to acquire food and reinforce US developmental strategies more 

than either approach alone. We have high confidence in these judgments because we have reliable 

open source information and academic research on the value of both traditional and nontraditional 

approaches to improve the resilience of local and global food systems. 

Simply growing more food will not result in more food-secure countries. As a whole, the world is likely to 

continue to produce sufficient food supplies for at least the next 10 years, but food distribution will 

almost certainly remain uneven because tens of millions of people lack access to arable land or income 

sources to buy food. 

 Because approximately one-third of the food produced globally does not get consumed due to losses 

and waste—and the amount of arable land and water available for food production is limited—the 

greatest potential to relieve food scarcity will be through investments in infrastructure, technology, 

and education to improve the food supply chain while using fewer resources. Less than 5 percent of 

all agricultural research and development (R&D) is expended on reducing food losses and waste, 

according to academic research. 

 The creation of rural nonfarm-wage jobs, such as agroprocessing and construction, would establish a 

buffer and coping mechanism for families in times when harvests might suffer from unfavorable

 

e The term minor crops refers to crops not generally sold on the global food market and consumed locally. 
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weather or other disruptions. This source of income might also reduce rapid urbanization as well as 

natural resource degradation resulting from overexploitation. Income from these jobs would 

probably spur investment in the agricultural sector; farming families could use some of this income to 

improve their land or purchase farming tools. 

 We assess that increased funding for agricultural education in both developing and developed 

countries would help provide the skilled labor force needed to meet the demands of a changing food 

system. Most developing countries face a critical shortage of the skilled labor needed to improve the 

global and local agricultural chains. In developed countries, more positions are created in agriculture 

each year than there are domestic college graduates with agricultural degrees to fill them.

 Traditional agricultural assistance to complement the lesser-used strategies includes developing and 

deploying new and existing agricultural technologies, improving water, soil, and land management,

expanding and modernizing trade infrastructure, and enhancing agricultural policies and institutional 

capacities. 

Implications for the United States

D. Developing creative complements to traditional approaches to improve global food security will 

take a worldwide effort. Opportunities exist for the United States—already viewed as a leader in 

promoting global food security—to align with long-standing allies as well as new partners. Some 

countries offer nontraditional models of how to resolve the inherent tension between goals such as 

producing more food and conserving water and other natural resources. Emerging economies with 

growing food security expertise can offer solutions more palatable to countries with low levels of 

development and technology. Food-insecure countries themselves will also be an important part 

of the effort; those taking complete or partial ownership of programs designed to build local food 

security are likely to see more sustainable results. 

 Because the United States is a major source of agricultural technology and innovation, many countries 

will expect it to continue to develop and share advanced food technologies. More poor countries, 

however, are seeking south-south cooperation on agricultural technology issues because of regional 

dietary preferences and expertise in small-scale water, land, and crop management practices. This 

positions some countries to gain greater global influence through their agricultural research 

programs.

 Developing countries will expect the United States to adapt its agricultural development operations to 

better suit these countries’ limited abilities to use first-world technologies, especially in areas that lack 

reliable electricity and maintenance capacity for agriculture infrastructure.

 Many countries would probably welcome assistance to increase the institutional capacity of their 

governments to address domestic food-security concerns. Efforts designed to change subsistence 

farms into small-and mid-sized commercial enterprises are more likely to be effective at increasing 

sustainable food security than rapidly promoting large-scale, industrial agriculture operations.
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Contents

Key Judgments

Contents

Scope Note

Definitions

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Discussion

Increasing Food Insecurity

 Threats to Local Food Availability

 Declining Purchasing Power

 Counterproductive Government Policies

 Shifting Demographics

 Constraints on Key Inputs

Regions at Risk

 Outlook by Region

Improving Food Access

 Lesser-Used Strategies

 Traditional Approaches

Implications for the United States

 Higher Expectations

 Working With Partners

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Annexes 

A: Research Used for This Assessment

B: Methodological Note

C: Food Supply-and-Demand Outlook and Key Agricultural Commodities

D: Food, Water, and Energy Nexus

E: Food Safety

F: The South China Sea and Indian Ocean Fisheries

G: Estimative Language

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Scope Note

22 September 2015

Scope

This Assessment was prepared under the auspices of the Director, Strategic Futures Group (SFG) and 

drafted by the Central Intelligence Agency. It was coordinated with DIA, NGA, NSA, DOE, DHS, State/INR, 

and the ODNI. Information available as of April 2015 was used in the preparation of this product.

The time frame for the Key Judgments is out to 2025; however, we also discuss longer-term trends that 

might affect US national security interests. 

For this Assessment, we conducted detailed unclassified research (see Annex A) on food security issues in 

multiple countries and across six food-related commodities (see Annex C). The six principal food 

commodities analyzed compose an average of 76 percent of calories and 46 percent of proteins 

consumed globally.

Assumptions

We assume that the principal demand factors that will affect food security in the long term (beyond 2025) 

are demographic changes (to include urbanization) and income growth in emerging and developing 

countries. These trends will influence dietary preferences. The principal supply factors will be: weather 

(extreme events and climate change), the rate of agricultural technology development and deployment, 

the availability of resources (land, fertilizer, water, capital, etc.), and government policies (including 

investment choices, export controls, biofuel mandates, and land and water management). We assume 

that agricultural markets, energy availability, agricultural technologies, and supporting infrastructure will 

not lead to dramatic, “discontinuous” changes in food supply or demand by 2025. 

Estimative Language

Estimates of likelihood convey judgments about the probability of developments or events. Confidence 

levels provide assessments on the quality and quantity of source information. Annex G (Estimative 

Language) elaborates on these terms.
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Definitions

The Intelligence Community defines food security as perceived and actual physical access to food supplies 

sufficient to meet basic needs and preferences at every level—individual, community, state, and global.

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) definition of food security includes at a minimum:

 The ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and 

 An assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (without resorting to 

emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies).

USAID defined food security in 1992 as "when all people at all times have both physical and economic 

access to sufficient food to meet their dietary needs for a productive and healthy life."

The United Nations World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all 

times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.” Food security is 

also defined as including both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs as 

well as their food preferences.

Most experts agree that food security is composed of the following dimensions: 

 Food availability – sufficient quantities of food are available on a consistent basis.

 Food access – sufficient resources are available to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.

 Food use – food is able to be utilized appropriately based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, 

as well as adequate water and sanitation for nutrient absorption.

We use the following degrees to assess food insecurity: 

 Extreme food insecurity – Widespread malnutrition exists, causing possible localized deaths due to 

starvation or malnutrition-related diseases. 

 High food insecurity – The population’s diet is calorie-deficient and unbalanced with localized high 

malnutrition rates.

 Moderate food insecurity – The population’s caloric intake is mostly sufficient, but its diet is 

unbalanced.

 Low food insecurity – The population’s diet generally meets most caloric and nutrient needs.

Food losses refer to the decrease in edible food mass throughout the part of the supply chain that 

specifically leads to edible food for human consumption. Food losses occurring at the end of the food 

chain, which are caused by retailers’ and consumers’ behavior, are called food waste.

Undernutrition is defined by UNICEF as the outcome of insufficient food intake and repeated infectious 

diseases. It includes being underweight for one’s age, too short for one’s age (stunted), dangerously thin 

for one’s height (wasted), and deficient in vitamins and minerals (micronutrient malnutrition). 
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Global Food Security

Discussion

Increasing Food Insecurity

KJ A. We judge that the overall risk of food insecurity in many countries of strategic importance to 

the United States will increase during the next 10 years because of production, transport, and 

market disruptions to local food availability, declining purchasing power, and counterproductive 

government policies. Demographic shifts and constraints on key inputs will compound this risk. In 

some countries, declining food security will almost certainly contribute to social disruptions or 

large-scale political instability or conflict, amplifying global concerns about the availability of food.

We have moderate confidence in this judgment because we have a reliable and large body of reporting 

that correlates the effects of food supply disruptions, lower purchasing power, and poor policy choices 

with higher food insecurity. However, we are unable to pinpoint the thresholds and government actions 

that would result in these outcomes.

 Increasing food insecurity highlights the inadequacy of government institutions and developmental 

assistance to improve the resiliency of the agricultural sector and create sustainable safety-net 

programs for at-risk populations. Complicating these efforts, some governments, as well as

nongovernmental actors, use food security as a political tool and do not seek increased food security 

for a portion or all of their populations. Greater urbanization, population growth, and shifts toward a 

more protein-rich diet also will intensify pressure on national and global markets.

Threats to Local Food Availability

We assess that a heightened risk of climate change effects, extreme weather events, conflict, disease 

spread, and environmental degradation are likely to cause disruptions to local, regional, and global food 

supplies during the next 10 years. In some cases, these dynamics will interact. For example, warmer 

temperatures might lead to disease spread or prolonged drought, prompting rapid rural migration to 

cities. In turn, urban slums may become hotbeds for unrest. 

Weather and Climate Pressures. We judge that weather and climate patterns to 2025 will be key in 

determining local and regional crop production and will be a dominant factor contributing to the volatility 

of food prices. Extreme weather events, including droughts, floods, and extended periods of extreme 

temperatures, as well as catastrophic events such as tropical cyclones, will threaten agricultural 

production. Africa and Asia will be the regions where food security is most affected. Long-term climate 
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trends and natural resource constraints (for example, land, water, and energy) will also put upward 

pressure on food pricesf.

 We judge there is a high risk that at least one region-wide drought will occur in the Horn of Africa 

and the Sahel regions during the next 10 years. Such a drought could stoke conflict and require large 

amounts of international food assistance to prevent famine.

Conflict. We judge that existing and new episodes of large-scale domestic political instability or internal 

conflict will continue to threaten access to food because such turmoil threatens livelihoods and local food 

availability and degrades resources. In the short term, instability interrupts food-distribution systems, 

farming, and other employment activities and degrades basic services. Food prices also often rise 

because of the declining availability of food and the prevalence of hoarding. Over the long term, the loss 

of assets, such as farming equipment, and the destruction of land and water resources and 

infrastructure—combined with the potential loss of skilled labor—will impede the recovery of most 

countries after a conflict has subsided.

 In 2004, during Western Sudan’s Darfur conflict, tactics such as cutting down fruit trees and 

destroying irrigation ditches were used to eradicate farmers’ claims to land and ruin livelihoods, 

according to academic research. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated that 4.7 

million people experienced reduced food security because of the conflict.

 A UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) analysis concluded that global agricultural losses due 

to conflict between 1970 and 1997 averaged $4.3 billion annually (in 1995 constant US dollars), 

exceeding the value of food aid to the affected countries. For example, the 1977-1992 Mozambique 

civil war and the 1994 Rwandan genocide reduced both countries’ national cattle herds—the primary 

asset for most pastoralists—by 80 and 50 percent, respectively, according to academic reporting.

Disease. We judge that monitoring and controlling agricultural and human disease outbreaks that affect 

food security will become increasingly difficult as the world becomes more integrated and domestic 

animal populations expand and become more concentrated. Diseases that can be transmitted from 

animals to humans and vice versa, such as the ebolavirus and avian flu, will continue to disrupt farming 

and marketing activities, causing price spikes and impeding economic growth.

 Increased globalized trade in agricultural goods—although it will improve food availability in many 

food-deficit nations—will almost certainly accelerate the spread of plant and livestock diseases. 

Outbreaks of such diseases will probably increase as the pace of trade quickens. The USDA projects 

during the next 10 years, that global grain trade will increase by 25, 35, 19, and 36 percent, 

respectively, for coarse grains, rice, wheat, and soybeans—which comprise 75 percent of the caloric 

base of the world’s population. These production-growth percentages all exceed expected global 

population growth during this time frame. Global trade in meat and poultry also is projected to 

increase 22 percent during the same period.

 

f See Annex D for a discussion of the food, water, and energy nexus.
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 The global die-off of pollinators, such as bees, caused by chemicals, diseases, pests, and poor 

nutrition already is causing extensive agricultural losses, especially of fruits and vegetables. Increasing 

temperatures due to climate change also are introducing pests to new regions. Such pests could 

harm local food security by spreading plant diseases, such as the spread of coffee rust in Central 

America and East Africa, where millions depend on the crop for their livelihoods, according to press 

reporting. 

 Deforestation is likely to increase the interaction of wildlife and livestock. The UN estimates that up to 

270 million hectares of additional forests—about the size of Colorado—could be converted to 

pastureland by 2030. Such measures increase the threat of new outbreaks of livestock diseases.

Aquaculture also is likely to be a source of increasing disease outbreaks in future years, given the 

speed of the industry’s growth, weak regulation, and the heavy concentration of fish stocks.

Environmental Degradation. We judge that depleted and degraded groundwater and soils—including 

reduced soil moisture storage capacity and fertility—will lead to local production disruptions that will 

reduce food security. Land degradation, drought, desertification, and loss in fertile soil cost up to 5 

percent of world agricultural gross domestic production—or about $450 billion—annually, according to a 

study presented at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. Many of the world’s most foodinsecure people live in rural areas that suffer from deforestation, salinization, soil erosion, desertification, 

and degraded pastures and water sources. 

 About 25 percent of arable soil worldwide is highly degraded and often requires large supplies of 

fertilizers and other inputs to remain productive. This is most pronounced in highly populated areas,

including China, India, Pakistan, and the Great Lakes and Sahel regions of Africa, according to the UN. 

Poor land-management practices, including overgrazing, the expansion of unsuitable cash-crop 

cultivation, single cropping, and improper application of modern methods, can decrease the fertility 

of soils and encourage erosion, leading to increased land degradation that contributes to a decrease 

in crop yields. 

 Large irrigation schemes around the world have created soil and water salinity problems and in many 

countries in Central Asia, where more than 16 million hectares of irrigated land are salinized, 

according to the FAO. Globally, the FAO estimates that 45 million hectares, or 19.5 percent of 

irrigated land, is salt-affected compared to 32 million hectares, or only 2 percent of land devoted to 

rain-fed agriculture.

Declining Purchasing Power 

We assess that many countries will experience declining purchasing power—higher cost of food 

compared to wages—because of the loss of livelihoods, lack of employment opportunities, and higher 

food prices. Underlying causes include increasing conflict, rapid population growth, and dwindling 

natural resource bases. Urban residents in most cases will be the first affected; however, a large 

percentage of rural residents in developing countries also need to buy food and will see their purchasing 

power decline.

 The number of people living in extreme poverty—earning only $1.25 per day—has decreased 

significantly during the past three decades, according to the World Bank, although East Asia accounts 

for the majority of this decrease. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia—regions that will face some of 
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the greatest challenges to improving food security—now account for 80 percent of the world’s 

extreme poor. Many countries are likely to see continued declining wages compared to the cost of 

food, according to diplomatic and open source reporting. 

 We assess that trends in conflict and extreme weather will increase the risk that households will have 

their livelihoods disrupted. Forced displacement is at the highest level in the post-World War II era—

accounting for more than 59 million people as of June 2015, according to UN—and we assess that 

this trend is not likely to abate. Conflicts in Africa and the Middle East continue to drive people from 

their homes and livelihoods, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Extreme weather 

events, such as droughts and storms, are likely to negatively affect a larger number of people during 

the next 10 years as population growth, among other factors, in many countries forces more people 

to reside in areas most prone to disasters. 

 If current trends continue, global unemployment will increase during the next several years—

especially for young adults—reaching more than 215 million jobseekers by 2018, compared to 202 

million in 2013, according to the International Labor Organization. During this period, around 40 

million net new jobs will be created every year—fewer than the 42.6 million people that are expected 

to enter the labor market annually. The youth-to-adult unemployment ratio, which has reached a 

historical peak, is particularly high in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in parts of Latin 

America, the Caribbean, and Southern Europe.

Counterproductive Government Policies 

In response to the two food price spikes during the past decade (in 2008 and 2011), governments 

implemented short-term food and agricultural policies that will probably have adverse long-term effects. 

Governments attempting to secure political favor from certain groups or reduce their dependence on the 

world market for food have created trade restrictions, inefficient self-sufficiency goals, and unsustainable 

social programs and agrarian reforms. 

 Between 2007 and 2011, more than 30 major food exporters restricted trade in order to stem rising 

domestic food inflation; this move caused global food prices to surge. The international price of rice 

tripled in early 2008 a few months after several major exporters restricted rice exports. Russia’s 

decision to ban their grain exports in July 2010 increased global prices by about 46 percent the 

following month.

 Many countries with dwindling water resources have sought to expand their domestic production 

through water-intensive measures. Insufficient water availability, negative environmental effects, and 

poor economic viability are likely to hamper many projects.

Shifting Demographics

We assess that demographic shifts will increase the risk of food insecurity. World population is projected 

to grow by about 900 million between 2014 and 2025; rapidly expanding urban centers will experience

the highest growth in food demand. 

Population Growth and Urbanization. Some 95 percent of the world’s population growth will occur in 

developing nations during the next 20 years. The rate of growth will be the fastest in countries that are 

the most food insecure and have the least capacity to adapt. Urbanization will undermine food security in 
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a number of ways, including the loss of prime arable land to residential construction, competition for 

water resources, more food losses through increased use of inefficient transportation networks, and a 

need for more wage-paying employment and safety-net programs. 

 Fertility rates have not fallen as expected in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa; thus the pace of 

development in some of the world’s least developed countries will probably slow. According to the 

UN Population Division’s (UNPD’s) updated projections, the population of Sub-Saharan Africa will 

reach about 2.15 billion in 2050, up from a previously projected 1.96 billion. 

 In many African and Asian countries, the average farm size is falling steadily as land continues to be 

subdivided, often through cultural inheritance customs. This leads to migration to urban areas 

because these smaller plots of land are insufficient to provide livelihoods unless other forms of rural 

income are available. 

 The FAO estimates that the world must increase food production by 50 to 60 percent to satisfy global

population growth and changing consumption patterns by 2050. Food consumption per capita in 

advanced economies has mostly peaked, but the predicted annual real GDP per capita growth rate is

5.1 percent for emerging and developing economies between now and 2020, according to the IMF. 

This growth will almost certainly prompt increased consumption of meat, dairy, and processed foods 

per capita. 

Constraints on Key Inputs

Agriculture will increasingly compete with other economic sectors for critical inputs (water, land, and 

energy) as countries become more urbanized and development projects focus on expanding industries

and services. As cities grow, they will occupy some of the most fertile agricultural land with the easiest 

access to markets; industries will demand more water and energy. Tradeoffs—such as natural gas for 

fertilizer production or heating—will occur more frequently. 

Water. Between now and 2025, global demand for fresh water will increase, but the supply will not keep 

pace with demand without more effective management of water resources. More than a billion people

currently live in water-scarce regions; as many as 3.5 billion could experience water scarcity by 2025, 

according to the World Bank. Agriculture consumes 70 percent of the global freshwater supply, and 40 

percent of the world’s agriculture depends on irrigation.

 To satisfy growing food demand, several countries in Asia, North America, Africa, and nearly all 

countries in the Middle East and North Africa have over pumped their groundwater—extracting more 

of this resource than is replenished—according to academic research. As a result, their agricultural 

production will probably be constrained by a decline in either the quality or quantity of water

available to them during the next 10 years. 

 Over the long term, without mitigating actions, the exhaustion of groundwater sources will cause 

some countries’ food production to decline, and their food demand will have to be increasingly 

satisfied through global markets. 
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Fertilizer and Fuel. Exportable supplies of 

several primary agricultural inputs, such as 

fertilizer ingredients, are in regions of the world 

that are vulnerable to political and economic 

stresses. The price of fuel, in part determined by 

turmoil in oil-producing countries and global 

economic conditions, will also be a factor in food 

availability because of the use of fuel in most 

segments of the supply chain, from running 

irrigation pumps to transporting food to markets. 

 Large, high-quality deposits of rock 

phosphate, a major fertilizer ingredient, are 

concentrated in North Africa, the Middle East, 

Asia, and North America. Morocco and China

control about 80 percent of known reserves 

globally, according to USGS. Additional reserves 

are located in unstable countries or regions. In 

2013, seven countries accounted for 93 percent 

of global unprocessed phosphate exports, 

according to trade data. 

 Potash—produced in only a few countries—is 

another critical fertilizer ingredient, especially for 

the production of corn and soybeans. 

 Supplies of fuel and natural gas are likely to 

remain sufficient on the global market, but many 

low- and middle-income importing countries will 

probably be unable—at current and projected 

prices—to sustain subsidies that increase 

supplies to support agricultural production. 

Land. During the next 10 years, the FAO estimates that only 20 percent of the increase in agricultural 

production, including more than 450 million additional tons of grain and oilseed production, will result

from the expansion of cultivation into new land. All of the increase in the amount of land under 

cultivation will come from developing countries because land used for agriculture is declining in the 

developed world. Most of this expansion will occur in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Cultivation 

of some of this land remains difficult because of the higher input costs per hectare, which make such 

cultivation uneconomical under current market conditions. In addition, much of this land is either 

environmentally unsound or currently is pastureland. 
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Regions at Risk

KJ B. Prospects are poor for countries grappling with food insecurity. The majority of countries 

already experiencing high-to-extreme food insecuritygface risk factors that could worsen their 

food security through 2025. Some countries that have low-to-moderate food insecurity today are 

at risk of experiencing worsening conditions during the next 10 years. The intersection of food 

insecurity with governance gaps will probably result in social disruption, political turmoil, or 

conflict. We have only moderate confidence in these judgments because we were not able to include all 

well-documented drivers of food insecurity in the methodology used to produce this assessment. 

 Risk factors will worsen already high levels of food insecurity in several countries, and threaten to 

undermine governments that lack sustainable food security policies, and exacerbate the depletion of 

natural resources in others. 

 Most countries with increasing risk of rising food insecurity have high vulnerabilities to production 

disruptions from environmental degradation, conflict, and disease. Such disruptions will be the 

greatest threat to food security in Africa and Asia, where subsistence and small-scale farmers and 

herders comprise the majority of the world’s food insecure. Disruptions to production and transport 

corridors in major food-exporting countries will threaten national and global markets, creating 

financial strains for many countries reliant on food imports. 

 Countries with rising exposure to food insecurity due to lower purchasing power and 

counterproductive government policies are more prevalent in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In many 

of these countries, government leases of state-owned land to domestic and foreign agricultural 

developers will stoke conflict in areas without well-defined land ownership laws and regulations. In 

addition, clashes between farmers and pastoralists will probably increase as these two groups 

compete for the same resources. (See textbox on page 9 for an expanded discussion of conflict 

resulting from food insecurity.)

Outlook by Region

Africa. Most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of worsening food insecurity, largely because of 

political instability or low-level conflict, population growth, and environmental degradation. The risk of 

growing food insecurity for countries in North Africa is increasing because of population growth, high 

unemployment—especially among young adults—and economic and employment disruptions resulting 

from conflict.

 The Horn of Africa and Sahel, especially, present microcosms of high humanitarian, geopolitical, and 

security costs associated with chronic food insecurity. Recurring severe food shortages and 

competition for resources will continue to fuel instability at local, national, and subregional levels. 

 Although the prevalence of undernutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa is declining, the number of 

undernourished people continues to climb along with increasing population, according to the FAO’s 

State of Food Insecurity 2014 report. In North Africa, the prevalence of undernutrition and the 

 

g

 See Annex B for a discussion of the methodology used to evaluate food insecurity. 
8

number of undernourished people has doubled since 2010, primarily because of the conflicts in the 

region. 

The Middle East. About half of the countries in the Middle East are at risk of worsening food security, 

and the prevalence of undernutrition in the Middle East continues to climb, according to the FAO. 

Conflict and reduced water availability are the risk factors most prominent in the region. We judge that 

escalating conflict and lower purchasing power will probably pose the greatest risks to food security for 

countries in the region that currently have a moderate-to-low food insecurity risk. 

 The Middle East is the only region in the world that has experienced an increase in the percentage of 

food-insecure people since 1990, according to the FAO’s State of Food Insecurity 2014 report. The 

number of undernourished people has increased by more than 10 million, and the percent of the 

population that is undernourished has grown by almost 40 percent. 

Asia. Most countries in South Asia are at increasing risk of worsening food insecurity, although fewer

countries in Southeast, East, and Central Asia face an increasing risk of worsening food security through 

2025. The pressures from population growth, water stress, and environmental degradation create the 

greatest number of risk factors for increased food insecurity in the region. Several countries in the region 

have over pumped their ground water resources and will be at increased risk of food insecurity. 

Latin America. With a few exceptions, Latin America overall has lower risks of increasing food insecurity 

than most other regions. Countries at risk face a combination of counterproductive government policies 

and extreme weather patterns that threaten their agriculture. 

Small Island Developing States (SIDS). We assess that most SIDS, 51 states from the Pacific, Atlantic, 

and Indian Oceans and the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and South China Seas, already face worsening 

environmental conditions and few employment opportunities. The effects of climate change will almost 

certainly increase the risks for worsening food insecurity. Some Pacific island countries already have 

begun voluntary inter- and intra-state relocation in anticipation of sea level rise, increased storm surges,

other coastal hazards, and environmental degradation such as salt water intrusion. All these factors

threaten food security and livelihoods.

 Most SIDS have limited land area for agriculture and often rely on imports because of the low 

diversity of domestically produced crops and food products. Relative isolation and the long distances 

to major import and export markets also result in higher food prices and extreme susceptibility to 

external shocks.
9

 Declining fisheries production from a warming ocean would also have a particularly adverse effect on 

Pacific island countries, where fish are the main source of animal protein and tuna fishing, in 

particular, is a critical source of revenue and employment.

 General weakness in the public sector because of declining fiscal revenues is a further major challenge 

to agricultural and rural development in many SIDS. The agricultural sector faces a lack of 

competitiveness, an aging population, low levels of investment, and increased scarcity of natural

resources, often worsened by natural disasters.

 

h See Annex F for a discussion of the South China Sea and Indian Ocean Fisheries.

Lower-Level Conflict Most Likely Form of Instability

We assess that major food-related interstate conflict (war) is unlikely through 2025, but that lesser 

forms of conflict and tension—both between groups within countries and between countries—will 

increase for three reasons. First, small-scale clashes between farmers and pastoralists—including crossborder skirmishes—will rise as government policies, natural resource constraints, and pressure due to 

climate change push these two groups into closer proximity. Second, terrorists, militants, and 

international crime organizations will probably seek to increase their control over food sources to 

recruit members, boost earnings, and promote their own interests. Third, disputes over shared marine 

fisheriesh and major river basins will probably rise as countries vie for control over increasingly scarce 

resources.

 We judge that government grants of state-owned land to domestic and foreign agricultural 

developers in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia could prompt low-level conflict in areas 

without well-defined land ownership laws and regulations. In many of the countries targeted for 

large land leases, the government retains ownership and controls decisionmaking. In addition, 

many of these countries lack land tenure laws and protection for communal and grazing lands, 

according to the Brookings Institution.

 Insurgent groups are likely to take advantage of food insecurity in countries where the central 

government has little control over large swaths of territory. These groups will almost certainly 

capitalize on poor conditions, exploit international food aid, and discredit governments that are 

unable or unwilling to address the food needs of their populations. The success of drug cartels in 

extorting money from legitimate agricultural producers also might push other criminal elements to 

use similar methods; drug cartels have targeted agriculture when counterdrug operations have

limited their drug revenue.

Disputes among countries are likely to increase as fishermen are forced to travel further from shore 

into contested waters due to the depletion of marine fisheries, especially in the South China Sea. We 

judge that such disputes might combine with other sources of friction to create a higher risk of conflict.
10

Improving Food Access

KJ C. We judge that augmenting traditional approaches to agricultural development with

innovative, but lesser-used strategies—such as reducing crop and food waste, generating off-farm 

income activities, conducting research into minor cropsi, and fostering technical education in 

agriculture—will improve the resilience of local and global food systems. This combination will 

probably increase the ability of individuals to acquire food and reinforce US developmental

strategies more than either approach alone. We have high confidence in these judgments because we 

have reliable open source information and academic research on the value of both traditional and 

nontraditional approaches to improve the resilience of local and global food systems. 

Simply growing more food will not result in more food-secure countries. As a whole, the world is likely to 

continue to produce sufficient food supplies for at least the next 10 years, but food distribution will 

almost certainly remain uneven because tens of millions of people lack access to arable land or income 

sources to buy food. 

 Current development programs often fail to consider the recipient’s capacity to use or maintain firstworld technologies. For example, some high-yielding varieties of grain crops are more susceptible to 

loss unless paired with modern storage and processing techniques often unavailable to small-scale 

farmers in developing countries. 

 For improvements in infrastructure systems to be effective over the long term, host governments and 

local communities must have the capacity to support maintenance and repair. 

 Creating multiplier effects through complementary initiatives, including combining infectious diseasecontrol efforts with food-security schemes, might increase food supplies and reduce the need for 

food aid in the long term. For example, the global initiative to eradicate river blindnessj brought 25 

million hectares of previously uninhabitable land into agricultural production. Combining programs 

that address improved sanitation infrastructure with increased food production would also improve 

overall food security because diseases and parasites from poor sanitation infrastructure inhibit the 

absorption of nutrients and calories. 

Lesser-Used Strategies

Reducing Food Losses and Waste. Because approximately one-third of the food produced globally does 

not get consumed due to losses and waste—and the amount of arable land and water available for food 

production is limited—the greatest potential for relief from food scarcity will be through investments in 

infrastructure, technology, and education to improve the food supply chain while using fewer resources. 

Less than 5 percent of all agricultural research and development (R&D) is expended on reducing food 

losses and waste. 

 Employing lessons learned from human infectious-disease control, including education, surveillance, 

and containment, would almost certainly help mitigate disease and contamination loss in livestock as 

well as grain crops. For example, 5 billion people annually are exposed to aflatoxins—carcinogenic

 

i The term minor crops refers to crops not generally sold on the global food market and consumed locally. 

j River blindness is an eye and skin disease caused by a tiny worm called Onchoncerca vulvulus spread by bites of infected blackflies. 
11

toxins produced by a soil-borne fungus that can develop in improperly stored crops. Such toxins lead 

to reduced supplies of grain and fodder and diminish the health of animals as well as humans.

 Using the power of the media to educate and encourage consumers to avoid food waste, similar to 

water conservation campaigns, would probably lead to significant reductions in the costs of subsidy 

programs and lost resources. For example, Turkey’s campaign to reduce bread waste, launched in 

2013, reduced daily bread losses by 18 percent and produced savings of $1.5 billion, according to an 

OECD-FAO report. Such campaigns could be especially effective in developed countries and those 

countries with food subsidies that provide for the whole population, not just those in need. 

 Expanded application of existing irradiation technology could reduce food losses—which can be as 

high as 50 percent in developing countries—by reducing bacteria and fungus that quicken spoilage of 

food products. However, the technology has met with minor public resistance because the process 

can alter the flavor, texture, and nutritional composition of some foods.

Developing and deploying improved types of storage and transportation methods, especially those 

designed for use by smaller stakeholders and markets, would improve food security by reducing losses. 

Fruits, vegetables, and tree crops offer a way for farmers with smaller plots of land to increase their 

incomes and diversify their nutrition sources. Unless farmers have access to markets, transportation, and

storage, however, the likelihood of increased waste is high.

 Assisting national and local governments in building and maintaining national and community reserve 

stocks in modern storage facilities, especially in countries with high temperatures and highly variable 

rainfall, would allow countries to buy and store greater amounts of excess food production during 

good harvest years. This would help governments mitigate short-term food insecurity through 

domestic interventions that would be less costly and more rapid than international aid deployment; 

this approach would also create an economic buffer for farmers.

 The increased use of container versus bulk shipping in certain markets would probably increase 

delivery options for shippers and end users, reduce cargo losses during shipment, and facilitate faster 

turnaround times. The regularity of container shipping services—ships typically call at each port in 

specific rotation weekly or biweekly—provides predictable scheduling for logistics planners. In 

addition, containerized cargo is less likely to suffer damage from the elements.

Generating Off-Farm Income. Creating rural nonfarm-wage jobs, such as those involved in the 

processing of farm products—sometimes called “agroprocesssing”—and construction, would build a 

buffer and coping mechanism for families during poor harvests. This source of income might also reduce

rapid urbanization as well as natural resource degradation through overexploitation. Income from such 

jobs would also probably spur investment in the agricultural sector.

 Farmers with small plots of land—80 percent of the world’s farmers work less than 2 acres of land—

are unlikely to be able to rise above the poverty level by growing staple crops. Landless farm workers 

account for tens of millions of the world’s most food-insecure people, and demand for farm labor is 

generally low during non-planting and non-harvest times.
12

 Rural nonfarm income could alleviate the lack of available credit by providing farmers with cash to 

invest in productivity-enhancing inputs. Furthermore, the development of wage jobs in the food 

system, such as distributing and selling farm inputs, could increase the profitability of farming 

through cheaper inputs and greater market access. 

Conducting Research in Minor Crops. Public and private research and investment is very low for many 

root crops and locally adapted small grains, but these foods can help combat food shortages in droughtprone areas and are already familiar to local communities. More than 90 percent of global agricultural 

research—the majority funded by the private sector—currently is conducted in developed countries and is 

focused on crops important to those economies given these a higher rate of return on investment. In 

most developing countries, public funds—generally small amounts—are still the major source of support 

for agricultural research; the private sector accounts for just 6 percent.

 Additional research and infrastructure investment in cassava could boost global food supplies and 

farmer incomes because of its ability to grow well in harsh conditions, its multi-purpose uses—such as 

food, animal feed, and biofuel—and its wide familiarity among food-insecure populations in SubSaharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Research is needed to improve cassava’s nutritional value—it

has the lowest protein content of all staple food crops—and reduce its susceptibility to disease. 

Cassava could become a more important global biofuel feedstock and animal feed, especially for 

export to Asia, as traditional feed stocks, such as corn and sugar, remain in tight supply.

 In Africa, finger millet, teff, and fonio are nutritious, fast-growing small grains better suited for lowfertility, dry soil than Western crops such as wheat and corn. But yields are comparatively low for 

these crops because of the lack of investment in developing new varieties as well as suboptimal 

farming and processing techniques.

 Salt-tolerant plants that can produce fodder, food, and feedstock for biofuels might be suitable for 

use on approximately 130 million hectares of salt-contaminated land worldwide. Some salt-tolerant 

crops have biomass yields similar to alfalfa and oil yields comparable to soybeans. Integration of 

saline agriculture with aquaculture can produce both salt-tolerant crops and high-quality protein.

Fostering Technical Education in Agriculture. Increased funding for agricultural education 

opportunities targeted at both developing and developed countries would help provide the skilled labor 

force needed to meet the demands of a changing food system. Foundations and other donors are 

funding and facilitating access to advanced technologies on a wide range of crops, but technical advances 

have outpaced the availability of trained personnel, creating a large gap in the ability of governments and 

development organizations to integrate and use these technologies effectively.

 Most developing countries face a critical shortage of the skilled labor needed to improve the whole 

agricultural chain, including officials trained in outreach to small-scale farmers and herders. In 

developed countries, more positions are created in agriculture each year than there are domestic 

college graduates with agricultural degrees to fill them.
13

 In most developing countries, young people associate agriculture with a lifetime of poverty. 

Therefore, government employment schemes to keep young people in the rural sectors will probably 

have the best results if they frame agriculture as a business—providing ways to create value added—

rather than focusing solely on increasing agricultural output.

 Teaching more advanced agricultural skills as part of military training—including programs tailored to 

retiring soldiers, counterinsurgency programs, or “Phase-Zero”

k operations—would provide better 

opportunities to transition soldiers into the work force after their tours are complete. 

 Countries with a shortage of skilled personnel might benefit from establishing regional research 

centers that create economies of scale to help attract transnational R&D investment. Regional centers 

offer an opportunity to access and disseminate technical expertise, harmonize the regulatory 

environment for release of new crop varieties and management practices, and prevent redundancy in 

agricultural research among neighboring countries. 

Traditional Approaches

Traditional agricultural assistance that could be combined with the above solutions might include 

developing and deploying new and existing agricultural technologies; improving water, soil, and land 

management; and expanding and modernizing transportation, storage, sanitation, and trade 

infrastructure. 

Agricultural Technologies. Although we judge that no breakthrough technological advances to address 

food problems—on the order of a new green revolution—will be globally deployed by 2025, technology 

will make important contributions in the years ahead. The global deployment and greater adoption of 

existing technologies—to include transportation infrastructure, fertilizers, and soil and water conservation 

techniques—would increase agricultural productivity. Maintaining agricultural commodities on a 

profitable price plateau will be key to stimulating investment and research in the agricultural sector.

 Emerging next-generation crop varieties are being bred for novel traits, including disease and pest 

resistance, environmental stress tolerance, and nutritional quality. Some drought-tolerant varieties of 

corn and rice are near commercial release and many more are in the development phase, according 

to Western press reporting and academic experts.

 Significant agricultural productivity improvements will require advances in other fields including 

molecular biology, chemistry, electrical engineering, remote sensing, and computer science. The tools 

from these fields are not necessarily developed specifically for agriculture, but their application can 

make improvements in controlling the management of soil, water, crop, and energy inputs to 

agriculture.

 

k Phase-zero operations are pre-conflict operations to reduce the risk of conflict.
14

Resource Management. We judge that improving the management of natural resources vital to food 

production, such as soil and water, would strengthen the resilience of communities to reduced food 

security. Climate-smart agriculture is a practice that employs agricultural conservation solutions, such as 

no-till farming and planting cover crops, supplemented by agricultural technology solutions like precision 

agriculture and drip irrigation. These approaches aim to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and 

incomes, build farmers’ resilience to climate change, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These 

techniques also conserve key natural resources. 

 Minimal or no-till practices maintain and improve soil water and nutrient storage by reducing the risk 

of erosion and preserving soil structure. Such practices require less labor and fuel inputs than 

traditional plow farming; however, these practices generally require the increased use of herbicides

and can reduce yields. Mixed cropping, including the use of multipurpose trees and rotations, also 

can increase soil nutrient availability, reduce erosion, and increase crop yields.

Continued Barriers for Genetically Engineered Crops and Biofuels

Regulatory and economic barriers for biotech seeds and biofuels are unlikely to ease during the next 

10 years.

 We assess that the use of genetically engineered (GE) seeds will gain greater acceptance in the

production of animal feed, nonfood, and industrial crops to 2025. Major global acceptance of GE 

crops for direct human consumption will continue to meet resistance, however, owing to concerns 

about health and environmental effects and prohibitive costs in developing countries. Given the 

expected 85-percent increase in meat demand by 2030, GE crops will almost certainly be used to 

meet feed demands during this time frame. Corn and oilseeds—the two primary GE food products 

used and traded widely in the world—account for more than 70 percent of the world’s animal feed 

supplies.

 We judge that biofuel and industrial uses of food crops will grow slowly out to 2025 because of 

lower oil prices and shifting energy policies. Therefore, biofuel and industrial uses will not be a 

significant threat to global food security, although such uses could produce local stresses. We 

assess that public and political support for expanding biofuel production using food crops beyond 

current levels will wane toward the end of the period. This will be especially true as competing 

fuels and technologies—including natural gas for transportation use and hybrid and electric 

vehicles—alter the economic viability of and demand for biofuel. Elevated prices of traditional 

feed stocks such as corn, sugar, and oilseeds would prompt countries to look for alternatives, such 

as cassava, and investors and governments would seek to accelerate the development of advanced 

biofuels.

 Advanced biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol, may be available in larger quantities by 2025, but 

are not competitive at current oil prices.
15

Reserved for Technology Foldout 
16

Back page of technology fold out.
17

 Today’s precision agriculture is suited for large-scale, industrial agriculture practices. Implementing 

precision agriculture—the use of soil sensors and geolocation technologies for planting, watering, 

feeding, and harvesting—more widely would require scaling down the technologies to facilitate their 

use in small plots in the developing world where the greatest potential productivity gains can be 

made.

 Drip irrigation, despite its higher installation costs, will probably be common in developed countries 

by 2040 and will be adopted more widely in developing countries as freshwater supplies become 

scarcer, according to an IC-sponsored study. Regulating the price of water would create incentives for

investment and better management of water resources. However, such regulations would come with 

high political costs—especially in the Middle East—and would not be a viable option for many 

governments at least through 2025.

Trade Infrastructure. We judge that strengthening the capacity and reliability of trade infrastructure

offers a way to improve a region’s ability to withstand political and environmental disruptions. Although 

reliable infrastructure is needed down to the lowest levels to ensure food security for all, three emerging 

regional corridors will become vital to achieve a major increase in accessible food supplies both locally 

and globally: Brazil’s Northern Export Corridor, the East African Trade Corridor, and the Economic Activity 

of West African States (ECOWAS) Trade Corridor.

 The greatest expansion in Brazil’s agricultural production during the next 10 years is likely to occur in

the northern and Amazonian regions. The country will face constraints, however, in getting surplus 

production to market for export unless major improvements are made in rail, road, and port networks 

in these regions, according to industry press reporting. 

 Increasing the safety, reliability, and interconnectedness of rail and road networks throughout SubSaharan Africa, especially in West and East Africa, would pay large dividends. These measures would 

improve regional trade and help stabilize local and regional prices and supplies year-round in areas 

with some of the worst chronic food insecurity in the world. In many African countries, shipping food 

from Europe into African ports is cheaper than moving it a few hundred miles within the continent

because of the costs and delays associated with land-based shipment.

 In East Africa, regional transshipment points face severe capacity constraints during the next 10 years.

 Some shipping lines have begun to use North African or European ports as alternative transshipment 

hubs for West Africa, raising the costs of shipping farther into the interior.

Institutional Capacity. We assess that building the capacity of governments to provide legal, 

administrative, and regulatory systems for the agricultural and food sectors would increase food security. 

The effectiveness of public sector institutions in promoting agricultural growth is hampered because many 

different ministries or agencies operate within the sector, and many public sector institutions are 

oversized, overly centralized, and staffed by underskilled workers.

 Rather than serving as a main driver of establishing new markets, many governments, especially those 

in Africa, during the next 10 years are likely to shift toward the role of coordinators that develop and 

enforce the rules by which private sector participants interact within markets, according to the World 
18

Bank. This change, however, requires considerable public sector capacity to formulate and implement 

policies that promote market development and coordination. To be successful, public sector 

institutions must also have the capacity to respond to markets. Although current development 

strategies provide for increased private sector leadership and a declining role for the public sector, the 

quality and efficiency of public sector institutions and policies are increasingly important to the 

emergence of modernized and competitive agriculture.

 Development and implementation of policies affecting the agricultural sector will increasingly depend 

on ministries and agencies outside of the agricultural ministry, including public finance, trade, natural 

resource management, and science and technology. Effective communication among the various 

players will be needed to implement policies. Ministries of agriculture have tended to focus on food 

production and self-sufficiency; to improve food security, this focus would need to be broadened to 

include poverty reduction and environmental concerns.

 Improving the capacity of negotiators at regional or global fora, such as the World Trade Organization 

(WTO), could help countries effectively represent the best short-and long-term needs and concerns of 

their domestic populations. Donor agencies could provide technical assistance and training to assist 

negotiators. Such assistance would enable public officials to evaluate potential negotiating positions 

in categories such as trade, the environment, grades and standards for market entry, intellectual 

property issues, foreign investment, and negotiating positions with donor agencies.

Implications for the United States

KJ D. Developing creative complements to traditional approaches to improve global food security 

will take a worldwide effort. Opportunities exist for the United States—already viewed as a leader 

in promoting global food security—to align with long-standing allies as well as new partners.

Some countries offer nontraditional models of how to resolve the inherent tension between goals 

such as producing more food and conserving water and other natural resources. Emerging 

economies with growing food security expertise can offer solutions more palatable to countries 

with low levels of development and technology. Food-insecure countries themselves will also be 

an important part of the effort; those taking complete or partial ownership of programs designed 

to build local food security are likely to see more sustainable results.

 Countries will expect the United States to open its domestic markets to foreign producers and 

continue to encourage the free flow of fertilizers, energy, and food-related services and equipment

under global trade agreements.

 Many governments will seek guidance from the United States and others on how to manage 

competing priorities, such as keeping urban food prices down while also ensuring that farmers have 

incentives to produce, or finding ways that countries can better tap into underutilized water resources 

while protecting the current ecosystem or environment.
19

Higher Expectations

Most countries and aid organizations will almost certainly turn to the United States for leadership and 

assistance to improve global food security. As a major source of agricultural technology and innovation,

the United States will be expected to continue to develop and share advanced food technologies. 

However, many developing countries are looking to cooperate with other developing countries on 

agricultural technology issues because of regional dietary preferences and because some developing 

countries have made agricultural advances based on small-scale water, land, and crop-management 

practices. This well positions these countries to gain greater global influence through their agricultural 

research programs.

 As the world’s largest provider of food aid, the United States will be expected to continue to support 

food development efforts and provide assistance during local or regional emergencies.

Developing countries will expect the United States to adapt its agricultural development operations to 

better suit these countries’ limited abilities to use first-world technologies, especially in areas that lack 

Improving Agricultural Growth Management and Investments.

Historical attempts by governments to offer large, low-cost tracts of public land for foreign or domestic 

development have mostly met with failure. Land deals of tens or hundreds of thousands of acres often 

are too cumbersome to manage, lack necessary capital and expertise, and focus more on short-term 

gains rather than long-term sustainability, especially when land rents are low.

 The policies and market conditions that small-scale commercial farmers need to thrive are very 

different from those that are required for subsistence farmers. Therefore, government policies that 

treat these two categories as separate entities and provide for the unique needs of each are likely 

to encourage greater resilience and agricultural growth, according to academics.

The development of greater commercialization in agriculture will partially depend on revising landtenure laws and ownership/use regulations. US and international academic research shows that secure 

land tenure is an important factor affecting agricultural technology use by small farmers because it 

provides incentives for investment to enhance the productivity of the land and reduces the risk to 

farmers.

 Most countries in Africa lack land tenure laws that are necessary to create sustainable commercial 

opportunities in agriculture, including legal security of land owners and users, and limits to 

property transfers, according to an Africa-focused research institution.

 Effective land tenure reforms include those that: 1) clarify rights of land users; 2) recognize and 

expand rights for women—who comprise the majority of the world’s farmers—to use and transfer 

property; 3) manage potentially conflicting claims of property users effectively—including between 

pastoralists and farmers; 4) create more effective dispute resolution processes; and 5) recognize 

communal land ownership.
20

reliable electricity and maintenance capacity. Emerging markets which have developed innovative and

self-sustaining agricultural research potential during the past 30 years, are also poised to provide these 

new techniques in the developing world.

 Food security improvement efforts designed to slowly and deliberately work to develop predominant 

subsistence-farming practices into small- and mid-sized commercial farms are more likely to be 

effective at increasing food security than rapid investment in large-scale, industrial agriculture.

Working With Partners

Several traditional partners of the United States with robust expertise and capabilities in improving 

agricultural production and food security would probably be willing to engage with the United States and 

the international community on a greater scale. 

 Reducing the number of people facing poverty and food insecurity will almost certainly remain one of 

the key development concerns as countries seek to develop their post-2015 Millennium Development 

Goals. Although almost 40 countries have met the goal of halving the number of people suffering 

from poverty and hunger, progress has been uneven: Sub-Saharan Africa trails the rest of the world. 

It is the only region that has seen the number of people living in extreme poverty rise steadily, from 

290 million in 1990 to 414 million in 2010.

 As of May 2014, 127 billionaires had pledged to provide half their fortunes to charity—many to 

agricultural and food security projects—when they die. This will create a huge windfall for many 

nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and foundations that currently might not have the capacity to 

fully use and handle such a large influx of funding. Helping to build their capacities now could 

prevent bottlenecks and more quickly generate positive results in reducing poverty and food 

insecurity as funding becomes available.
21

Annex A

Research Used for This Assessment

In May 2008, the National Intelligence Council (NIC) produced the National Intelligence Assessment, 

National Security Implications of Global Climate Change to 2030, (NIA 2008-01). The key finding was 

that climate change alone is unlikely to trigger state failure through 2030, but the effects of climate 

change—reduced water availability, degraded agriculture production, damage to infrastructure, and 

changes in disease patterns—will worsen existing problems such as poverty, social tensions, 

environmental degradation, ineffectual leadership, and weak political institutions. The NIC has 

subsequently published reports on global water security and health issues.

To produce this Assessment, the NIC commissioned six external unclassified efforts to explore global food 

security. Global Food Security: Key Drivers, (NICR 2012-05, 1 February 2012) outlined the findings of a 

conference on food security. Global Food Security: Market Forces and Selected Case Studies, (NICR 

2012-23, 10 May 2012) explored market forces that will affect food security. Global Food Security: 

Emerging Technologies to 2040, (NICR 2012-30, 28 Aug 2012) identified emerging, potentially 

breakthrough technologies for agriculture (see foldout on page 15). Natural Resources in 2020, 2030, 

and 2040: Implications for the United States, (NICR 2013-05, 25 July 2013) focused on supply and 

demand for food (see Annex C), water, energy, and minerals out to 2040 and was used to support the 

NIC’s Global Trends 2030 project. The Future of Indian Ocean and South China Sea Fisheries: 

Implications for the United States, (NICR 2013-38, 30 July 2013) focused on the fisheries of the Indian 

Ocean and South China Sea (see Annex F). The sixth report was an unpublished evaluation of global food 

security and implications for US national security—completed in April 2013—that evaluated food security 

in 36 countries as well as seven major agricultural commodities.

The year 2040 was selected as the target endpoint for these research efforts. We selected this endpoint 

to enable us to consider longer-term effects of climate change, growing populations, continued global 

economic development, and emerging food technologies. However, the data referenced in all of the 

NIC’s external research efforts covers a wide range of dates, some as far out as 2050.
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Annex B

Methodological Note

Our approach to analyzing the risk of increasing food insecurity in the period from 2015-2025 required 

two distinct ways of measuring food security on a global scale. First, we used an openly available foodsecurity risk index to establish the current risk of food security. We then overlaid that with a simple binary 

model with several projected risk factors that were mutually exclusive—both from the current risk index 

and each other. These indicators fell into three broad categories: food-supply disruptions, purchasing 

power, and counterproductive government policies. When the future risk indicators were present within a 

certain limit—generally above or below the global average for most factors—they were recorded as a 1, 

and when not present, were recorded as a 0. Each indicator was ranked equally with no weight assigned 

because of the varying applicability of each indicator to each country. Countries exhibiting an established 

number of present risk factors were deemed at risk of worsening food insecurity. Our analysis excluded 

countries that had a population of less than 500,000 because of a lack of data.

The IC examines state stability as a critical part of determining potential threats to US interests. The IC 

considers water, food, energy availability, and other factors in making such assessments. It is difficult to 

discern the impact of one factor on food security because in most cases multiple factors are at play. 

To address how individuals and societies react to limited natural resources, the IC solicits the views of 

governmental and nongovernmental regional experts and develops an analytical synthesis to arrive at its 

judgment regarding likely developments. A better understanding and explanation of human behavior in 

response to environmental stresses, to include shocks stemming from environmental problems, would 

enhance the integration of social, economic (infrastructure, agriculture, and manufacturing), military, 

environmental, and political models. In the interim, assessing the future of a society’s development will 

be a scenario-driven exercise and an imprecise science. The use of outside experts is critical to our 

success.
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Annex C

Food Supply-and-Demand Outlook and Key Agricultural 

Commodities

Food Supply-and-Demand Outlookl

Overall global food supply will keep pace with demand during the next 10 years. Demand for agricultural 

products almost certainly will remain strong, but will expand at a slower rate compared with the past 

decade because of the declining population growth-rate and more gradual population growth in 

emerging markets. However, expansion of agricultural production will probably also slow during the next 

10 years because increases in the amount of area cultivated and yield growth rates are likely to be smaller 

than in previous years. This is likely to limit the rise in stock-to-use ratiosm through at least 2025 and 

increase the risk of price volatility because some major producing and consuming countries face 

challenges in rebuilding their foodstocks.

Global agricultural production is unlikely to be able to maintain the 2.1-percent annual growth seen 

during the previous decade because of higher costs of production, growing resource constraints, and 

increasing environmental pressures. The latest OECD-FAO World Agricultural Outlook for 2014-2023

projects a relatively consistent global rate of growth in production—about 1.5 percent per year—during 

the next 10 years. This projected growth rate would just keep pace with the OECD-FAO’s projected

growth in demand for agricultural products in developing countries, but the rate would outpace expected 

global population growth by 1 percent per year. Demand is expected to grow at the highest rates—2.5 

percent in Sub-Saharan Africa, for example—where existing technologies offer good potential for 

increasing yields.

Average prices of agricultural commodities are expected to decline in real terms after peaks in the 

previous decade, according to the OECD-FAO, but macroeconomic factors, resource constraints, and 

changing climates are likely to produce price spikes and volatility in some commodities. Trade restrictions 

and weather-driven production shortfalls are likely to be the primary causes of price surges during this 

time frame. Other factors likely to exacerbate volatility are biofuel policies—which could tie agricultural 

prices more closely to oil prices—and, in the medium to long term, climate change. 

During the next 10 years, the demand for particular foods—such as meat and dairy products—will grow 

faster than the demand for most other agricultural products because of the dietary preferences of an 

expanding middle class. Population growth will probably account for most of the increases in direct 

human consumption per capita of basic grains, such as wheat and rice, during this same time period. As 

incomes increase, consumption of traditional basic staples usually expands to include an increased 

 

l

 This Annex was extracted from the report on Natural Resources as well as other sources (See Annex A). 

m The stocks-to-use ratio is a convenient measure of supply-and-demand interrelationships of commodities. The stocks-to-use 

ratio indicates the level of carryover stock for any given commodity as a percentage of the total demand or use.
26

variety of foods. For example, increased rice consumption per capita in Africa, North America, and Europe 

will be offset partially by decreased per capita rice consumption in Asian countries, such as China. Many 

countries will rely more on the international market to fill their food demand as a growing middle class 

demands less traditional foods. 

Higher demand for processed foods, animal feed, and biofuel will drive rapid growth in production of 

coarse grains and oilseeds. Both of these classes of commodities might experience a doubling in globally 

traded supplies during the next 10 years, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and FAO. 

Developing countries will probably benefit from this trend because agricultural production growth will be 

highest in developing countries for these commodities, while the growth in production of these 

commodities in major developed countries will remain steady or slowly decline, according to the FAO. 

Corn and soybeans will experience some of the largest growth in production and consumption; vegetable 

oils, such as palm oil, will continue to experience significantly increased trade volumes on the international 

market. 
27

Key Food Commodities

Six key agricultural products and commodities—wheat, rice, coarse grains, oil crops, sugar crops, and 

fish—will comprise the majority of global trade and calories for the greatest number of people 

throughout the world. In many countries, accessibility of these foods is based on political considerations. 

The alteration of global or local production or distribution of these commodities has the potential to 

create instability in countries important to US national security. The majority of the chart data in this 

section are attributable to the OECD-FAO World Agricultural Outlook 2014-2023.

Wheat

Supply. World wheat production is expected to just keep pace with global population growth because 

the growth in the amount of wheat produced per acre has been slowing, with increases during the next 10 

years probably at about 1 percent in contrast to a 1.5 percent during this previous decade. The use of 

technology has not reversed this trend, in part because genetically engineered varieties are not 

commercially accepted. Most global wheat production is rain-fed, especially in major exporting countries, 

making the market for wheat more vulnerable to weather conditions than for many other crops. Major 

producers are in water-stressed environments vulnerable to extreme weather. These trends will probably

put upward pressure on wheat prices and on existing supplies. A further potential supply disruption 
28

might occur if the disease Ug99 stem rustn arrives in South Asia, which might occur in next few years.

Demand. Wheat is expected to remain a commodity predominately used for human consumption 

because it is often less economical to use as an animal feed, and it will remain the staple food grain for 

the most number of countries. The growing demand for wheat is expected to outstrip domestic 

production in Asia as a result of population growth and the dietary preferences of an expanding middle 

class, but the amount of wheat consumed in North America and Europe will probably remain the same or 

decline per capita. Demand also will probably be influenced by corn prices because wheat can be 

substituted for corn in animal feed when corn prices rise. Wheat already is the primary feed grain in 

countries that produce more wheat supplies than corn.

 

n

 Ug99 is a fungus that affects grains, such as wheat and barley, and can completely destroy a crop. Most wheat varieties worldwide are susceptible. 
29

Rice

Supply. World rice production is projected to grow about 1.2 percent per year during the next 10 years—

a significant slowdown from the 2.2 percent growth recorded in the previous 10 years because the 

amount of the world’s land used for growing rice is mostly stagnating or declining. Nevertheless, growth 

in rice production will outpace population growth. Virtually all of the expected increase in production 

stems from gains in productivity, rather than an expansion of the land devoted to growing rice. However, 

in Africa and some Asian countries, which still hold large tracts of uncultivated land and abundant water, 

the amount of land used for growing rice is slowly increasing. Because most rice production relies on 

irrigation, downturns in production caused by seasonal weather are less extreme, and many riceproducing countries also have more than one rice crop per year. Anticipated changes in rainfall patterns 

due to climate change are expected to affect rice yields, but experts do not yet know the magnitude and 

direction of this effect. However, many rice-producing countries face water-stressed environments,

including with upstream dam construction, that threaten long-term rice production. 

Demand. In Asia, where much of the rice produced is consumed domestically, per capita rice 

consumption is expected to rise only marginally or decline, because diets are diversifying away from 

traditional staple grains. On the other hand, per capita rice consumption will keep growing in African 

countries, where rice is gaining relative importance as a major food staple. Rice imports are expected to 

increase in Africa because demand will probably continue to outpace production. Most rice consumers in 

East Asia prefer local rice varieties, making the rice production sector one of the most protected domestic 
30

industries in these countries. Shocks to local production can have large effects on access to rice. 

Government policies—such as rice procurement policies and export bans—could again cause broader 

fluctuation in the global rice market because only a small percentage of global rice production is traded 

and only a few countries export the crop. The price of rice spiked during the 2008 food crisis because of 

the collapse in confidence in the rice market and the subsequent imposition of export controls, even 

though global rice production had increased from the previous year. Importers began panic buying and 

the price tripled in only a few months.

Coarse Grains

Supply. The production of coarse grains

o—such as corn, barley, and sorghum—is projected to grow 17 

percent during the next 10 years because of expanded acreage and yield growth increases. This is a 

slower rate than in the past; as a result, prices for all coarse grains will probably remain stable. Worldwide, 

most coarse grains are used for animal feed, suggesting that supply shortages might cause price increases 

across a variety of foods. Corn yields, particularly in developing countries, will probably be hurt the most 

by climate change in the coming years. Corn is also a water-intensive crop and will therefore almost 

certainly be adversely affected by water shortages. 

Demand. The expansion of livestock production in feed-deficit countries continues to be the principal 

driver of growth in coarse-grain consumption, especially in middle-income countries. The additional 

demand for biofuel production drives the demand for coarse grains—primarily corn—in developed 

countries. Key growth markets include East Asia, parts of North America, and countries in Africa and the 

Middle East that will use coarse grains as animal feed and for malting-barley. Continued reliance on corn 

as a biofuel feedstock in the near and medium term will increase demand and make corn prices more 

closely linked to oil prices, which traditionally have displayed greater volatility than food prices.

Oil Crops and Their Derivatives

Supply. The production of oil crops will probably rise faster than the production of any other group of 

food commodities during the next 10 years because of large available land expansion of these crops and 

new technologies. Oilseed production—dominated by soybeans and rapeseed (canola)—is projected to 

grow 2 percent per year with planted acreage expanding 11 percent and yields increasing by 14 percent. 

Most of these oilseeds are crushed to produce protein meals and vegetable oils. Seventy percent of 

soybeans, which comprise about 60 percent of all oilseeds produced, are consumed as animal feed. 

Production of palm oil, the other major vegetable oil, will increase about 2.9 percent per year; most of this

growth will occur in Southeast Asia. Planted acreage for corn and oilseeds will remain competitive 

because the two share the same growing season and desired soil types. Because so few countries are 

able to produce oil crops in sufficient quantities to meet the rising demands of their populations, volatility 

in global markets for these crops can have significant effects on the prices of these goods. Although state 

instability will probably not occur in the main producing countries, external shocks, such as droughts,

might cause short-term price fluctuations. 

 

o

 Coarse grains generally refer to all grains that are not wheat or rice, and include corn, barley, sorghum, and millet.
31

Demand. Vegetable oils are an essential component of most people’s diets in almost all countries 

worldwide. The demand for oilseed protein meal as an animal feed will be mainly driven by increased 

demand for poultry, pork, and milk, while the food and biodiesel sectors will dominate demand for 

vegetable oil. The bulk of biodiesel demand will be driven by national mandates because biodiesel fuel is 

not expected to be economically viable compared to diesel fuel. Rising per capita income in many 

developing countries is expected to lead to a 1.3-percent annual increase in per capita vegetable oil 

consumption; consumption of oil crops is expected to remain stable in developed countries.

Sugar

Supply. Global sugar production is projected to increase by 1.9 percent during the next 10 years. Most 

increases in sugar production will result from increased yields rather than an expansion of acreage

devoted to the crop because the sugar sector is capital-intensive with very high fixed costs. Most of the 

production will originate from countries that produce sugar cane rather than sugar beets.

Demand. Growth in consumption of sugar for food will continue to be dominated by the sugar-deficit 

regions of Africa and Asia. Developing countries—driven by rising incomes, urbanization, and growing 

populations—will continue to display the fastest growth in demand. Health concerns, often associated 

with high sugar consumption, in developed and some developing countries, might reduce the demand for 
32

sugar in the medium-to-longer term. By 2025, about 30 percent of the global sugarcane crop might be 

used in ethanol production, up from 15 percent currently.

Fish 

Supply. World fishery production is expected to be 17 percent higher during the next 10 years, led by 

gains in aquaculture output. Developing countries will account for almost all of the projected production 

growth, garnering about 84 percent of total production. Overfishing is an ongoing concern. A number of 

individual countries and international groups have taken steps to reduce overfishing, and some progress 

toward recovery has been reported in certain fisheries. However, of the 600 fish stocks monitored by the 

FAO, 52 percent are fished at renewable capacity while 25 percent are overexploited, depleted, or in 

recovery.

Demand. Rising demand for fish will be led by developing countries, especially in Asia. The fish will be 

used primarily for direct human consumption. The driving force behind this increase will be rising 

incomes and urbanization, increased production, and improved distribution channels. Sub-Saharan Africa 

will become more dependent on fish imports as demand for fish from a growing population outstrips fish 

production. However, because of higher costs than previous domestic catches, fish imports are unlikely to 

fill the growing gap between supply and demand. Food security will decline because the population will 

lack sufficient fish proteins and micronutrients.
33

Annex D

Food, Water, and Energy Nexus

The availability of water and energy will have far-reaching effects on global food security during the next 

10 years. Declining per capita availability of natural resources will increase the importance of a “nexus 

approach” to managing water, food, and energy. There is an inextricable link among the three sectors

and actions in one sector affect one or both of the others. A nexus approach facilitates the development 

of policies and investments that exploit interdependencies across the water, energy, and food sectors by 

considering the needs, uses, and consequences of development in all three sectors concurrently. The 

approach enables planners to make informed resource trade-off decisions rather than suffer the 

unintended, adverse, consequences often associated with a failure to integrate sectors. Such an approach 

is particularly important in view of the effects of climate change and pollution.

Food security is strongly linked to water availability. World agriculture consumes 71 percent of the 

world’s water, placing this resource at the heart of the nexus approach. Excessive water waste results 

largely from poor management and the perception of water as an infinite resource. The infrastructure and 

energy costs associated with water supply and treatment are largely, if not wholly, subsidized by 

governments. As a result, the declining availability of water and the cost of providing it are not factored 

directly into food pricing. For example, several of the top 10 food exporters are water-scarce regions that 

indirectly export their dwindling water resources as “virtual water.

p

” Biofuels are another example: 

although providing seemingly “inexpensive” energy, biofuels are only inexpensive because the full cost of 

water is not factored into their price. The use of biofuels—primarily ethanol and biodiesel—for 

transportation has grown rapidly worldwide. According to many government, academic, and industry 

experts, today’s biofuels provide little environmental benefit and consume or displace food crops.

The following examples illustrate the complex connections between the water, energy, and food sectors: 

 Reservoirs and rivers used for hydroelectric generation also are often used to supply agricultural 

irrigation. However, downstream irrigation schemes can suffer if water is held back in reservoirs to 

ensure steady supplies of energy, while large outtakes for irrigation water upstream can reduce the 

water needed to power hydroelectric turbines.

 Intensive water use supports all facets of the energy sector, including resource extraction, processing, 

electric power generation, and storage and transport. While the US energy sector has high water-use 

requirements, the water sector can have high energy requirements.

 Oil production consumes 1 to 14 gallons of water per gallon of oil, and coal-washing requires 20 to 40 

gallons per ton of coal washed.

 

p Virtual water is the water used (or consumed) in the development or production of a good or commodity, typically agricultural 

products. 
34
35

 The quality of water affects not only water itself, but also food and energy. Water pollution stemming 

from the energy sector, including processing and extraction waste or spills, sometimes renders water 

unusable for agriculture, fishing, and human consumption unless the water is highly treated.

 Flood-irrigation techniques often cause soil salinization, which can lead to a reduction in crop 

cultivation because the useable soil area is reduced and yields are lower, jeopardizing food security.

 Energy-intensive desalination of sea water for human consumption increases local ocean salinity and 

is associated with die-offs of near-shore fisheries.

 Large dams and resultant reservoirs consume water by redistributing it for irrigation projects and 

increasing evaporation. In addition, dams block sediment flows, which provide nutrient-rich soil and 

land for downstream agriculture that supports the livelihoods of many traditional agro-pastoralistsqin 

developing countries. Disruption of natural water and sediment flow and distribution can increase 

erosion and have detrimental effects on fisheries and other aquatic resources that provide 

employment.

Implementing the Nexus Approach

Institutions that manage energy, water, and food resources are typically separate and do not take a multisystem approach toward project development. Many food, water, and energy issues have competitive 

relationships, e.g. industrial uses versus water quality and land/water/ocean sovereignty. Competing 

relationships can be managed through coordination of all systems involved. In addition, many 

dependent, co-dependent, and complementary relationships improve the integration of food, water, and 

energy components.

 Examples of complementary relationships that could be fostered include conducting aquaculture in 

flooded rice fields (dual use of water); burning biomass waste for energy resources and fertilizer; using 

biomass waste as a nutrient source for food; and using rivers to transport materials between terrestrial 

marine environments.

A nexus approach to managing food, water, and energy would probably lead to a more optimal allocation 

of resources, improved economic efficiency and development, fewer lost jobs, and less severe 

environmental effects. Often the opposite is occurring: states—for a variety of reasons—subsidize food, 

water, or energy, or pursue development strategies that are not the best for an overall ecosystem.

 

q Small-scale farmers whose livelihoods depend on a mixture of herding and crop raising.
36
37

Annex E

Food Safety

As the world faces significant food security problems, food safety is likely to gain even more prominence 

as a global issue through 2025 and require increased collaboration among nations. The continued 

globalization and diversification of the food market and greater public demand for health protection will 

increase the global focus on food safety. Major food exporters will most likely adopt more stringent food 

safety standards to remain competitive in global markets. Stricter international food safety regulations, 

however, will inhibit the ability of small-scale producers to penetrate international markets. Such 

restrictions will probably ultimately contribute to higher food prices because of the added costs of 

meeting the regulations. Food safety scandals might cause international tensions, boycotts, and political 

and structural changes.

Highly publicized food scandals in recent years have shifted the global emphasis beyond the price and 

basic quality of food to food safety and animal health concerns. As emerging countries play a larger role 

in expanding world agricultural trade, we assess that these countries will be pressed to improve their 

food-safety programs.

The proposed tightening of food-safety regulations will probably generate controversy as food producers 

seek to meet growing demands, and policymakers in developing countries struggle to balance foodsafety modernization with preserving traditional activities.

The globalization of the food market, which increases the exportation and importation of food products 

among countries, poses new food-safety risks from emerging diseases, re-introduces previously 

controlled risks, and might foster the spread of contaminated food across wider geographical areas. Food 

contamination incidents will almost certainly be more difficult to prevent in the coming years, even with 

significant improvements to national food-safety regulations. The greatest challenge arising from food 

contamination is that the use of unconventional contaminants could go undetected until populations 

report significant adverse health effects.

 Consumer-ready foods (seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, and processed foods), particularly those 

originating from low- to middle-income countries, are the foods most likely to be contaminated. The 

dietary preferences of growing middle classes in developing countries increase the demand for fresh 

products; such demand is predominantly being met by countries with underdeveloped food-safety 

programs. Food contamination with microbial pathogens is still one of the greatest food-safety risks 

causing human diseases, although other contaminants, such as veterinary drugs and pesticide 

residues, are gaining more global attention.

 Seafood is likely to be the source of a major contamination incident in future years, given that 

aquaculture (farm fishing) is the fastest-growing sector of the global food production industry and 

that aquaculture farms are not uniformly regulated. Common aquaculture practices result in food 

contamination caused by excessive antibiotics and pesticides and other chemicals that are used to 

prevent the fish from getting diseases and parasites.
38

We judge that growing food demand through 2020 will perpetuate and possibly increase the 

economically motivated adulteration (EMA) of food products. Intentional food contamination incidents 

motivated by economic gain will be a rising threat and could spread food-safety fears more broadly than 

accidental contamination or terrorist threats to the food supply. The increasing global demand for certain 

food products, particularly processed foods, will most likely result in the illegal adulteration of food items 

by profit-seeking individuals.

 Although EMA aims to inflate profits by fraudulent means—rather than harm people—we anticipate 

that serious public health consequences will result from EMA and that the incidence of EMA of food 

products is likely to increase.

 Difficulties in testing food for safety will increase with the new and emerging contaminants posed by 

EMA and other threats. The current food-safety testing market is dominated by pathogen testing due 

to the high prevalence of pathogens in food contamination, with meat and poultry accounting for the 

major share in food testing by type. We expect that, because of time and resource constraints, the 

traditional regulatory practices and existing detection methods for food contaminants will not be 

feasible to test for all potential contaminents that could make their way into food sources.
39

Annex F

The South China Sea and Indian Ocean Fisheries

Stresses in Indian Ocean (IO) and South China Sea (SCS) fisheries might undermine the internal 

stability of some countries as well as bilateral and regional relations. The wild fisheries that 

provide an important dietary staple and livelihoods to many of the 4 billion people living around 

these fisheries are at risk of exhaustion. Looking to 2020 and beyond to 2040, it will become more 

difficult to balance rising demand from growing populations and economies with increasing 

pressure on supplies stemming from overexploitation, pollution, habitat destruction, and climate 

change. As a result, some wild fisheries in the region will probably close down. Aquaculture (farm 

fishing) in or around the coasts of the IO and SCS is growing quickly and in some cases offsetting 

the declining output of wild fisheries.

Fisheries provide an important dietary staple and livelihood to many of the 2.49 billion people of the 

Indian Ocean (IO) coast and some 1.87 billion people living around the South China Sea in eight 

southeastern Asian countries, Taiwan, and three Chinese provinces. Fisheries also constitute a key 

economic resource for many coastal communities.

 Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the two regions of the world projected to experience some of the 

heaviest population growth over the next 40 years, at least partially border on the Indian Ocean. 

These marine waters will be relied upon more intensely in coming decades to meet the growing 

demand for food.

 In 2010—the year for which the most recent data are available—roughly 14.6 percent of the world’s 

total ocean catch came from IO waters, showcasing the IO’s growing importance as a lynchpin of both 

regional—and, increasingly, global—food security. Populations in Egypt, Malaysia, Mozambique, 

Seychelles, Tanzania, and Thailand get at least one-fifth of their animal protein by consuming fish, 

while populations in Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Maldives, and Sri Lanka receive more than half 

of their animal protein from fish.

 The countries bordering the SCS—Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, 

Thailand, and Vietnam—rank among the top fish-producing and -consuming countries in the world in 

terms of both marine catch and aquaculture. Many people in these countries depend on the fishing 

industry for both food security and their incomes. According to the FAO, the average daily seafood 

consumption per person among the coastal states was almost double the global average. Further, 

three of the top five fishery commodity-exporting nations also hail from the region (China, Thailand, 

and Vietnam).

Total wild fish capture in the IO and SCS has risen substantially since the 1970s, but in 1999 it began to 

plateau or even decline for some species. Aquaculture in or around the shores of both the IO and SCS is 

growing fast and in some cases offsetting the declining output of wild fisheries.

 The health of fisheries in both the IO and SCS is difficult to assess based on total production, which 

varies slightly from year to year, and data on catches are also frequently inadequate. Total capture 
40

from global marine fisheries has remained relatively stable recently, but it trended upward from 64.7 

million tons in 2003 to 70.8 million tons in 2013. The total national wild fish catch of some countries 

in the region can include significant amounts of fish harvested outside coastal waters and the 200 

nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In some cases, catches come from beyond the IO or SCS

entirely. Despite the appearance of relative stability in the composition of the catch by species and 

distribution by country, some fishing areas and the types of fish caught have been changing markedly 

in recent years. Fish size has been steadily decreasing and mature fish are increasingly scarce. Most 

of the commercially important fish species in both bodies of water have been overfished.

 The rise of marine aquaculture is an important trend throughout the region, with the potential to 

reduce the strain on wild fish stocks. Bangladesh, Burma, Egypt, India, Indonesia, and Thailand ranked 

among the world’s top ten aquaculture producers in 2010. Those countries combined to farm 11.3 

million tons of fish in 2010—roughly the same amount as the total tonnage of fish harvested from the 

IO’s wild-capture fisheries that year. In 2013, China’s aquaculture production constituted more than 

double that of wild fisheries by weight and about 62 percent of total world production.

Looking to 2020 and beyond to 2040, the dual challenges of rising demand from growing populations 

and economies—colliding with increasing pressures on supply stemming from overexploitation, pollution, 

habitat destruction, and climate change—will impose serious pressures on fisheries. Total productionrin 

2020 in the IO and SCS will probably be somewhat less to only slightly more than recent production. IO 

fisheries are at risk of continued overexploitation, a trend that might lead to the outright collapse of some 

fisheries in the region. The ability of SCS fisheries to accommodate mounting demand is also in doubt. 

 The FAO has reported that of 47 IO fish species with sufficient available data to evaluate the condition 

of those species’ wild fish-stocks, 41 were judged to be either “moderate-full” exploited or “fulloverexploited.” The status of most IO fish species is reported by FAO as “unknown,” due to inaccurate 

reporting or lack of reporting altogether.

 Most rich fishing environments, such as shallow reefs and shoals, in the SCS have already been 

exploited to their limit or beyond, leaving few relatively underexploited areas. Areas of the SCS might 

have the potential to support more intensive fishing, but data on those fisheries are unclear, and the 

technological impediments to harvesting fish far below the surface efficiently may still pose a 

challenge. In addition, available analyses suggest that climate change could engender substantial 

shifts in catch sizes and locations by mid-century.

 Coastal and marine areas are among the most vulnerable of all environments to global climate 

change. The projected effects of global warming include rising sea levels, stronger tropical cyclones, 

larger storm surges, increasing sea surface temperatures, and growing acidification of surface waters. 

Climate change will also interact in complex ways with other stressors on marine systems, such as 

overfishing, habitat destruction, and marine pollution. Significant portions of the IO and SCS are 

already among the world’s marine ecosystems most highly affected by climate change.

 

r

 Total production is often expressed in “landings”—that part of the fish catch that is put ashore and typically measured in tons. 
41

Stresses in the IO and SCS fisheries might undermine the internal stability of some countries as well as 

bilateral and regional relations. Given other concerns about stability in the region (sovereignty issues, 

exploitation of oil and natural gas resources, and freedom of navigation), fisheries will probably remain a 

secondary matter for US national security. In places where competition for fish overlaps with maritime 

sovereignty, contending claims to fisheries will continue to exacerbate bilateral and regional tensions.

 Poor countries with high levels of seafood consumption are already facing the loss of many jobs

owing to the collapse of in-shore fisheries, though aquaculture probably will provide some 

replacement employment in the medium term (to 2025). As industrial fishing and other intensified 

practices deplete traditional fishing grounds, many engaged in fishing cross maritime boundaries into 

other countries’ fishing areas. These intrusions can exacerbate political tensions between neighbors 

with undemarcated or contested maritime or territorial boundaries. 

Potential measures to ameliorate or slow the threat posed by the stresses on food security, livelihoods, 

and regional stability include: enhancing the scientific and technical expertise of countries in the region, 

expanding the capacities of institutions to better monitor the health and quantity of fish stocks and coral 

reef destruction, supporting regional cooperation organizations, retraining those who fish for other 

employment, and supporting the production of other food sources. 
42

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43

Annex G
44

National Intelligence Council

The National Intelligence Council manages the Intelligence Community’s estimative 

process, incorporating the best available expertise inside and outside the 

government. It reports to the Director of National Intelligence in his capacity as 

head of the US Intelligence Community and speaks authoritatively on substantive 

issues for the Community as a whole.

NIC Leadership

Chairman

Vice Chairman

Counselor/Director, Analysis and Production Staff

Chief of Staff

Director, Strategic Futures Group

Gregory Treverton

Beth Sanner

Beth Sanner

Elizabeth O’Reilly

Suzanne Fry

National Intelligence Officers

Africa

Counterintelligence

Cyber Issues

East Asia

Economic Issues

Europe

Iran

Military Issues

The Near East

North Korea

Russia and Eurasia

Space & Technical Intelligence

South Asia

Technology

Transnational Threats

Weapons of Mass Destruction and Proliferation

Western Hemisphere

Judd Devermont 

Joseph Helman 

Sean Kanuck

John Culver

Rozlyn Engel

Spencer Boyer

Steven Hecker 

J.D. Williams

Alan Pino

Markus Garlauskas

Julia Gurganus

Lawrence Gershwin

Robert Williams

Thomas Campbell

Randall Blake

Andrea Hall

David Tapia
45

National Security Information

Information available as of September 2014 was used in the preparation of this product.

The following intelligence organizations participated in the drafting of this product: 

Central Intelligence Agency (lead drafter) 

Defense Intelligence Agency

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

National Security Agency

Department of Energy, Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence

Department of Homeland Security, Office of Intelligence and Analysis

Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research

Office of the Director of National Intelligence

The following intelligence organizations participated in the coordination of this product:

Central Intelligence Agency

Defense Intelligence Agency

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

National Security Agency

Department of Energy, Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence

Department of Homeland Security, Office of Intelligence and Analysis

Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research

Office of the Director of National Intelligence

This product was approved for publication by the National Intelligence Council.
46