Structural adjustment, resources, global economy to challenge California agriculture.

摘要

This paper discusses the challenges faced by California agriculture in the next quarter century. In an environment of rapid change, the sector will face great challenges in maintaining productivity in the face of rapid population growth, in competing effectively for global markets and in managing increasingly scarce natural resources. Intensification is a dominant feature of California agriculture, evident in the increase in fruits, vegetables, nuts and value-added products. But risk is also substantially greater in the production and marketing of these crops than in less-intensive commodities. Agriculture must confront and deal with heightened public concerns about food safety, clean water, pesticide use, groundwater contamination, worker safety,open space and the long-term sustainability of scarce natural resources, ecosystems and species. Nonetheless, the paper considers that California's agricultural sector has adapted and responded to similar challenges in the past and will continue to do so in the future.