A Planning and Control Process for Sustainable Crop Production

This study contends that before examining the future state of crop supply and demand, it is necessary to learn from historical crop production trends in order to better understand how crop supply has met demand in the past. This study analysed 30 years of past crop production data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The analyses concentrated on the harvested area and production of five major crop categories for the years 1990 to 2020 in five continents worldwide. The findings show that overall production of cereals, fruits, pulses, roots and tubers, and vegetables worldwide have been trending upwards since 1990. However, the findings are mixed on whether crop production will be sufficient to meet demand in 2050. This study also proposes devising a crop production planning and control process based on the sales and operations planning (S&OP) process in supply chain management to help maintain a balance between crop supply and demand. This study suggests that achieving the target of zero hunger as visualised by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal No. 2 requires a concerted effort by the relevant stakeholders in the global crop supply chain to closely collaborate in an international crop production planning and control process.