World Grain Production Down, But Recovering World grain
production fell, exacerbating a global food situation already
plagued by rising prices, according to new research published by
the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online publication.
Despite record rice and maize yields around the world, global
wheat production dropped substantially enough to bring total
grain output to just below 2008 levels. Maize, wheat, and rice
provide nearly two-thirds of the global human diet and serve as
critical inputs for both animal feed and industrial products.
The significance of these crops guarantees that a decline in
production will produce ripple effects throughout the global
economy, particularly as increased food prices continue to take
a toll on the world’s neediest populations. Overall, rice and
wheat production have tripled since the 1960s, and maize
production has quadrupled, despite global acreage of these crops
increasing by only 35 percent. “Production increased worldwide,
but there was greater reliance