The term “arable land” can at times be difficult to understand. Broadly defined, arable land is any land that people are capable of plowing and using for crops, including land supporting temporary crops, pastures and mowed meadows, gardens, and fallow land (or land that is plowed, but intentionally left unplanted to support soil recovery). At first glance, this definition seems straightforward, but in practice, the categorization of arable land can be very fluid, as any number of factors can contribute to arable land becoming non-arable, and vice-versa.

By Chris Morris, Sales Engineer – Teadit

Experts classify around 1.5 billion hectares (or over 3.7 billion acres) of agricultural land as arable. This equates to about 30% of the total agricultural land in the world. Considerations surrounding arable land are important to every individual because the sustainability of the world’s agricultural land is paramount to the survival of the global population. As the planet becomes home to an ever-increasing number of people, the protection of the planet’s finite resources, including arable land, is of the utmost importance.
History has shown that when there has been a failure to protect this vital resource by irresponsible farming and land management practices, deforestation, and increased drought or flooding caused by climate change issues, humanity suffers the consequences. Some experts predict that the current trajectory will lead to widespread global famine if there is not a serious commitment to changing how the population lives.

Advancements in Science and Technology

Advancements in farming science and technology, including improved and innovative seed technologies, have sought to create crops that are more resistant to climate changes, require less water, produce higher yields, or reduce the impact of farming on soil. These advancements have produced significant victories by helping to maximize the effectiveness of global farming, but the battle for sustainable food production is far from over.
In the United States, much of the arable land and farming is contained within the central part of the country. This area of land has long been known as the nation’s “breadbasket” and is responsible for much of domestic food production, along with massive exports that provide wheat and corn to countries around the world. However, one need not travel very far back into the history of the U.S. to see the potentially devastating impact of an unforeseen natural disaster in this area of the country.
Less than 100 years ago, in the 1930s, severe drought, coupled with poor farming practices led to the drastic transformation of the arable lands of the midwestern U.S. into a nearly unrecognizable desert wasteland. Known as the “Dust Bowl”, this period of history, along with the economic collapse of the Great Depression, led to a significant disruption in U.S. farming that took decades to recover from. Scientists have modeled how such an event might impact not just the U.S., but the global food supply were it to occur today, and the results are scary. So, how does one protect the arable land and global food supply?
Additionally, government and agricultural trade organizations have worked to create policies that promote responsible farming worldwide. However, the largest threat to sustainable food production globally is environmental change. Decades of global greenhouse gas emissions created by the industrialization of the planet have dramatically impacted Earth’s climate. This continued warming of the planet has been felt most dramatically by farmers. The math is simple, and one need not be an agricultural expert to understand that crops grow more effectively when conditions are ideal. Rising temperatures and erratic weather patterns have had a negative impact on crop growth and yield.