DISCUSSION PAPER ABSTRACT

Land is a scarce resource, becoming scarcer over time. Human populations are increasing as are their aggregated nutritional demands. There are currently no statutory controls over the type of agricultural stocks farmed and sold in the open market. These two issues combined means that for Farmers, it is a ‘race to the bottom’ as farmers consume more and more land to produce crops of an ever decreasing financial value.

There are no reliable metrics providing advice to Farmers as to forthcoming market demands for various types of agricultural crops. This creates problems of over and under supply at various times. This then has an impact on pricing of agricultural product such that this volatility can be harmful or beneficial to the Farmer. Free market dynamics for agricultural markets mean that Farmers will target the highest value crops and this may not represent an efficient use of farmland, as more land may be given over to certain crops than is actually required by the consumer market.

The variability in the current system could be improved to give more certainty to farmers in terms of demand and price for their product, as well a overall improve the efficiency of land use for farming purposes, such that where land is not required to be farmed, this can be given back to the ecology for reforestation purposes.

Recent technological advances can be combined to suit this purpose.