Symposium Introduction

Feeding the people is provided mainly crops occupying approximately 10% of the land (about 1.4 billion hectares). Total annual growth of cultivated plants is about 16% of the productivity of land, much of which goes to the forest. Approximately 1 / 2 crop goes directly to food for people and the rest - to feed pet, is used in industry and is lost in the garbage. Total man consumes about 0,2% of the primary production of the Earth.

Vegetable food costs for people energetically cheaper than animals. Agricultural areas in the management and distribution production could provide about twice the population of the Earth than exists. But this requires a huge amount of labor and capital.

Especially difficult to provide the population of secondary products. In the human diet must include not less than 30 grams of protein a day. Available on earth resources including livestock and fisheries on the results of the land and ocean, can provide each year about 50% of the needs of modern people Earth. Most of the population is thus able protein deficiency, and many people are suffering also from the general malnutrition.

Thus, increasing the biological productivity of ecosystems, and especially the secondary products, is one of the major challenges facing humanity.