According to scientists, fungi pose a serious threat to global food production, causing significant crop losses and jeopardizing the world’s food supply.
Fungal infections already result in losing up to 23 percent of crops annually, with an additional 10 to 20 percent lost after harvest. The impact of fungi on major calorie crops such as rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, and potatoes is equivalent to destroying enough food to feed between 600 million and 4 billion people annually.
Researchers emphasize the urgent need for global attention and action to prevent a potential global starvation crisis caused by fungal infections.
To combat the fungal threat to crops, they propose developing multi-target fungicides and adopting diverse seed mixtures in farming practices.
With the world’s population projected to increase, urgent action is needed to protect food production and ensure global food security; these measures are crucial as fungal infections continue to escalate, posing a catastrophic impact on both developing and developed countries.