Global population growth leading to ‘golden age of agriculture’

America is on the verge of a “golden age of agriculture,” Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain says.

Strain spoke to members of the Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce on Monday in Alexandria. His message: Demand for quality agricultural products worldwide is going to explode in the coming decades.

A fast-growing global population and rising income levels in developing countries such as China and India will create the demand, Strain said. It’s up to U.S. producers to meet it.

“Think about those challenges and those opportunities,” Strain said.

Based on population projections, Strain said, demand for food globally will increase by 50 percent by 2030. Over the next eight years, worldwide food production must increase by 25 percent to meet demand.

At the same time, he said, only 17 percent of the world’s arable land is not being used in agriculture production.

“What a demand,” Strain said.

More wealth in developing countries also means more potential markets for U.S. products. The middle class outside of the United States, Strain said, is expected to double by 2020.

“Worldwide consumers want better products,” he said. “Especially in China and India. They see they can eat and live better. You have increased buying power in developing countries. You have so many new households with money to spend. People to feed, cloth, house and provide energy for. They want it, we’ve got it.”

Louisiana can play a prominent role in the coming agricultural resurgence, Strain thinks. The state, which already has a strong track record on exports, enjoys advantages such as abundant raw commodities, transportation infrastructure and huge deposits of low-cost natural gas.

“When you combine natural resources with geographic advantage and a pro-business attitude in Baton Rouge,” he said, “that makes a difference.”

Challenges the state faces in reaching its potential include catching up to long overlooked dredging needs, especially since Strain believes the shipping industry will turn more and more to larger vessels in the future that need a deeper draft to operate.

The RAMP Act (for Realizing America’s Maritime Promise), which would have mandated that taxes collected for dredging projects in America’s harbors and waterways be used solely for that purpose, was authored with that in mind. It was included in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, but with no enforcement mechanism.

“It’s time to kick and it’s time to scream,” Strain said. “If we don’t dredge, we can’t ship. It’s that simple.”

Alexandria Town Talk