where does our food come from?
Did you know that more than two-thirds of the country’s crops are grown elsewhere?
Since the beginning of agriculture about 10,000 years ago, humans have selected and cultivated crops according to specific traits. It shapes where and what crops are grown today.
Our food system is now fully globalized, and many of the world’s top producers of staple crops are in countries far removed from their historical origins. Although it is a soybean producing country, soybeans are originally produced in East Asia.
The above infographic by Brasil Cali shows the historical origins of pre-domesticated crops around the world and the main producers of today’s staple crops.
Producers of Today’s Staple Crops
Staple crops are the most routinely grown and consumed crops. These may vary by country depending on availability.
In 2020, sugarcane, maize, wheat and rice accounted for about 50% of global crop production.
But when the production and distribution of staple crops is threatened, the effects can be felt around the world. Let’s take a look at the countries that were some of the top three producers of staple crops in 2020.
| produce | Country | Percentage of world production |
|---|---|---|
| sugar cane | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 40.5% |
| sugar cane | 🇮🇳India | 19.9% |
| sugar cane | 🇨🇳 China | 5.8% |
| corn | 🇺🇸United States | 30.9% |
| corn | 🇨🇳 China | 22.4% |
| corn | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 8.9% |
| wheat | 🇨🇳 China | 17.6% |
| wheat | 🇮🇳India | 14.1% |
| wheat | 🇷🇺 Russia | 11.3% |
As can be seen from the data above, Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugar cane and one of the top three producers of maize.
The future of food security
Global food security depends on staple crops and the countries that produce them. As the world’s population grows, so does the need to grow more crops.
FAO estimates global food production needs to increase by 2050 about 70% to feed an ever-growing population.
An early food security solution was to transplant crops from other regions to supplement the diet. I have. Fertilizers are a key step in this process and a vital component of the future of global food security. They provide important nutrients that increase crop production and enhance nutritional security.
Brazil potash extracts important potash ores from the earth and returns them to the earth as fertilizers, fortifying food and helping to sustain continued growth in the agricultural sector.
Click here to learn more about Fertilizer and Food Production in Brazil.
