Despite much progress in agricultural development, persistent challenges remain.

150 | IAASTD Global Report 3.2.1.1.1 Trends in resource use land, water, genetic resources, fertilizer, pesticides and mechanization Globally, land reserves have been severely depleted by cul- tivation Goals N, E, D Certainty A Range of Impacts -1 to +2 Scale G Specificity Worldwide Africa and Latin American countries do have signiicant tracts of undeveloped land that could be cultivated, but es- timates suggest that only a small fraction these areas 7 Africa, 12 LAC are free from the types of severe soil constraints that limit proitable and sustainable production Wood et al., 2000. Moreover, many of the remaining un- developed areas are of regional and global importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services Bruinsma, 2003. The need to preserve natural areas and to avoid production on marginal lands e.g., highly erodible hill slopes provides strong incentives for advancing agricultural production through yield intensiication i.e., production per unit area rather than area expansion. Global fish production wild harvest and aquaculture has increased by about 230 between 1961 and 2001 Goals N, H Certainty B Range of Impacts 0 to +4 Scale G Specificity Worldwide Between 1961 and 2001, global ish production wild har- vest and aquaculture for all uses increased by about 230 from 39.2 million to nearly 130 million tonnes. Develop- ing countries supply 75 of the volume and 50 of the value of the global ish trade Kurien, 2004. Together the developing countries of Asia form the largest ish produc- er, with production reaching 71.2 million tonnes in 2001 FAOSTAT, 2005. Aquaculture currently provides approxi- mately 40 of the world’s total food ish supply Delgado et al., 2003ab; Kurien, 2004. Technological breakthroughs in aquaculture, triggered by private sector growth, increased demand for high-value ish in the world market and simul- taneous changes in international laws, treaties and institu- tions, contributed to the rapid growth in ish supply Ahmed and Lorica, 2002. Figure 3-2. Yield of a roots and tubers, b vegetables, c pulses, and d cereals between 1961 and 2004. Source: FAOSTAT, 2007. A C B D