What is the value of alternative crops to the world's food supply?

Question

What is the value of alternative crops to the world's food supply?

Answer 1

First let us define what an alternative crop is.

Is it one of 6 crops that are traditionally the mainstay of our crop rotation? (So that the question may be talking about the wisdom of crop rotation,

Or is it a rarely planted crop that a farmer chooses to insert into the rotation just now and then?

Is it for example a walnut grove that one grows every year, but that is a low volume crop nationally?

Now a farmer may start planting corn early in spring, but as time goes by will switch to an alternative, soy, because corn in this area planted after June 1 is a big gamble, whereas soy planted before May 20 is a big gamble. Farmers keep in their list of options all the crops they could grow, and choose the one they think under these circumstances will work best.

Having alternatives in mind is partly based on market opportunities, but also on practical necessities.

If a crop can not be planted at a good time, it may be necessary to plant a shorter season crop, Having some alternatives within the shorter season crops means people will have a greater choice among foods. So they choose Twinkies and poutine.

Answer 2

I have a answer of another mean. The 2nd largest source of world foods supply is Seafood only, You may say as supplimentry food for the main dite.

Bharat

Answer 3

firsr of all clear the meanng of alternative crop. envirnomental conditions and demand determine the value of the alternative crop. if a farmer choce an alternative crop instead of native crop it may increase the input many fold as comapre to their native crops. therefore value of alternative crop to world food supply depend on the environmental conditions and demand of the alteernatie crop.