The amount of arable land may actually be decreasing worldwide, thanks to desertification (increasing sizes of deserts like the Sahara, the Gobi Desert and the US West), as well as increasing saltification of land. Problem of using fertilizer is that we’re are increasing the salinity of the soil up to a point it will be gradually become toxic and yields will go down. When the soil cannot sustain plant life any longer, it will lead to a desert. Its already happening in Latin America and in the US (the Dust Bowl). Happening in China too. Erosion of top soil thanks to flooding (think Yangtze and the Mississippi) does not help. Worsening the situation is the real estate development over farm land, which is happening all over in the Asian countries.

This year, there was a “rice” crisis that happened in South East Asia where rice prices suddenly escalated. Many countries like Egypt, Vietnam and Thailand stopped exporting, causing a cringe on rice importing and eating countries. Already there is a proposal to create a “rice OPEC” between Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.