Pioneering research on our three most important cereal grains — maize, rice, and wheat — has contributed enormously to global food security over the last half century, chiefly by boosting yields and making these crops more resilient in the face of drought, floods, pests and diseases. But with more than 800 million people living in chronic hunger and many more suffering from inadequate diets, much remains to be done.
The importance of transforming food systems is the message of the 2019 EAT-Lancet Commission report, which defines specific actions to achieve a “planetary health diet” enhancing human nutrition and keeping resource use of food systems within planetary boundaries. With major cereals still supplying about one-third of calories required in the proposed diet, the way they are produced, processed, and consumed must be a central focus of global efforts to transform food systems. There are three main reasons for this imperative.
1. SCALE AND ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
The critical importance of these crops in global food systems can be seen in the sheer extent of major cereal production and its value. According to 2017 figures, maize is grown on 197 million hectares and rice on more than 167 million hectares, mainly in Asia and Africa. Wheat covers 218 million hectares worldwide, and the total annual harvest of these three crops amounts to about 2.5 billion tons of grain.
Global production had an estimated annual value averaging more than US$500 billion in 2014-2016. The prices of the major cereals are especially important for poor consumers. In recent years, the rising cost of bread in North Africa and tortillas in Mexico, as well as the rice price crisis in Southeast Asia, imposed great hardship on urban populations in particular, triggering major demonstrations and social unrest. Reducing dependence on cereal imports to avoid such troubles, many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have made staple crop self-sufficiency a central element of national agriculture policy.
2. CRITICAL ROLE IN HUMAN DIETS
In developing countries, maize, rice, and wheat together provide 48% of total calories consumed and 42% of total protein. As staple foods, maize and wheat make up close to two thirds of the world’s food energy intake. In every developing region except Latin America, cereals provide people with more protein than meat, fish, milk, and eggs combined, making them an important protein source for over half the world’s population.
These cereals also serve as a rich source of dietary fiber and nutrients. CGIAR research has documented the important contribution of wheat to healthy diets, linking the crop to reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and colorectal cancer.
