Maize and wheat research for the next millennium: a preview of CIMMYT's role

Yet amid this apparent plenty, tremendous inequalities exist. The World Bank estimates that there are about a billion people – roughly one in every five – who must survive on less than one US dollar a day. Equally alarming is the deteriorating condition of the natural resources that underpin our current agricultural production systems. And an unprecedented increase is taking place in the world’s population – nearly 200 new residents are added to this crowded planet every minute; a new Mexico City every 12 weeks; a new Mexico every year. Moreover, the world’s foods stocks, as a per cent of utilization, are at their lowest level since we began keeping such records. Clearly, we can claim only a tenuous hold on global food security.