Despite increases in food production the developing world faces major food insecurity challenges. This insecurity is linked to massive poverty, mal distribution of land, and the pressures of globalization that emphasize agro exports away from basic food crops.
Small farmers keep being bypassed by modern agricultural advances.
More than 370 million poor people live in marginal environments for which modern science does not offer any viable option. On the contrary there are many examples of farmer-led and NGO led agroecological initiatives that have resulted in enhanced food security and environmental conservation regeneration. In the more intensely cropped lands yields are declining due to degradation promoted by agrochemicals and mechanization. In such areas the need is for less pesticides and inorganic fertilizers, and less intensification. Trends however now fueled by biotechnology are enhancing monocultures and leading to a further industrialization of agriculture.