The UN’s Food and Agriculture Association has released a report to coincide with the UN Climate Change Conference being held in Durban, South Africa, which suggests global food production is overly dependent on fossil fuels. The FAO said this dependency needs to change in order to succeed in feeding a growing world population.

The report states, "There is justifiable concern that the current dependence of the food sector on fossil fuels may limit the sector's ability to meet global food demands. The challenge is to decouple food prices from fluctuating and rising fossil fuel prices,"

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The FAO suggests that due to the finite supply and polluting nature of fossil fuels, an "energy-smart" model of production must be forged. The report Energy-Smart Food for People and Climate outlines a variety of ways in which the FAO believes this could be achieved.

Making agriculture less fuel dependent

According to the report, growing, manufacturing, processing, transporting, marketing and consuming food accounts for approximately 30 percent of global energy consumption and produces over 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Direct energy use from agriculture accounts for around 6 per cent of this.

On farms, energy is used for pumping water, housing livestock, cultivating and harvesting crops, heating protected crops, and drying and storage. After harvest, it is used in processing, packaging, storing, transportation and consumption. FAO spokesperson for Environment and Natural Resources, Alexander Mueller said an energy-smart approach to agriculture and food production could offer a way to produce energy as well as using it more wisely.

Mueller explained, "The global food sector needs to learn how to use energy more wisely. At each stage of the food supply chain, current practices can be adapted to become less energy intensive."

The FAO spokesperson continued that several steps can be taken for little or no cost at farm level to increase efficiency. These include using more fuel efficient engines, sourcing compost and precision fertilizers, irrigation monitoring and targeted water delivery to avoid inefficient water use, adoption of no-till farming practices and the use of less-input-dependent crop varieties and animal breeds.

After food has been harvested, improved transportation and infrastructure, better insulation of food storage facilities, reductions in packaging and food waste, and more efficient cooking devices offer the possibility of additionally reducing energy use in the food sector.

Several studies have shown that, adding up both on-farm and post-harvest losses, around one-third of all food produced — and the energy that is embedded in it — is lost or wasted. With more support, the FAO believes a significant amount of this could be avoided, thereby contributing to global agriculture’s ability to provide for an increasing population.

Making agriculture less fossil fuel dependent

As part of a dual approach, the FAO report also shows that agriculture has real potential to produce more of the energy needed to feed the planet and help rural development. The report reveals that, "Using local renewable energy resources along the entire food chain can help improve energy access, diversify farm and food processing revenues, avoid disposal of waste products, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions, and help achieve sustainable development goals."

Where good solar, wind, hydro, geothermal or biomass energy resources exist, they can be used as a substitute for fossil fuels in farming and aquaculture operations. They can also be used in food storage and processing. For example, sugar mills frequently use their residue materials for combined heat and power generation. So-called "wet processing wastes" like tomato rejects and skins, or pulp from juice processing, can be used in anaerobic digester plants to produce biogas.

Transition will prove difficult

The researchers behind today’s FAO report acknowledged the transition to an ‘energy-smart’ food chain will be a "huge undertaking" that will require long-term cooperation and planning. However, the researchers said this is all the more reason to begin immediately. The organisation has called on leaders at the Climate Change Conference to take action to this end.

Mueller concluded, "The key question at hand is not, ‘If or when we should begin the transition to energy-smart food systems?' but rather ‘how can we get started and make gradual but steady progress?"

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