World Food Crisis is a condition where the world's population keeps increasing while food production tends to stagnate or grow slowly. It can also be caused by expensive food production costs, such as the global increase in fertilizer prices due to the Ukraine-Russia war. In addition, global uncertainty exacerbates the crisis.
Cactus is typically associated with desert environments and areas with low rainfall. This is because cactus has wide and long roots that can reach water over a large area, and its stem can store water while its spiny leaves reduce evaporation, allowing it to retain water very well. Therefore, cactus is suitable for planting to address drought disasters.
Cactus is a plant rich in diversity, with 2,000 species; 139 genera; and many varieties. Each cactus has its own advantages and disadvantages, including some that can be eaten and some that cannot. One of the most popular cacti in Indonesia is the dragon fruit. However, many other cacti can be consumed. Cactus is also suitable for strengthening food security because it requires few resources to survive.
World Food Crisis
2022 is a bad year for the World Food Crisis, it is estimated that 828 million people will go to bed hungry and the number of people suffering from acute hunger will increase from 135 million to 345 million, a growth of 256% which is bad news.
Food Crisis occurs due to many factors ranging from war, desertification, inflation, climate change, pest attacks, and natural disasters such as floods or droughts.
Desertification is a phenomenon that occurs when fertile land turns into barren land that cannot be used for farming. According to the UN, up to 40% of the world's agricultural land is now beginning to degrade. Desertification mostly occurs due to Climate Change that happens across the globe due to the burning of fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide into the air. Nevertheless, scientists and venture capitalists are working together to research ways to perform desert terraforming activities that can restore barren or infertile land to become fertile again. Another term for desertification is drought, but it is even more chronic.
Food Crisis can be controlled by humans and some cannot be controlled by humans. Food Crisis that cannot be controlled are caused by floods and prolonged winter seasons. However, most Food Crisis can be controlled by humans caused by war, inflation, and pest attacks. Thus, the obligation to manage food security is also a responsibility of humankind.
Food Crisis caused by war can be handled by politicians maintaining geopolitical stability, inflation can be handled by Central Bank policies, and Pest Attacks can be handled by creating seeds that are resistant to pests; selecting commodities for each region; and using natural or artificial insecticides.
There are also problems that can be handled by humans but the cost is expensive such as Climate Change and Desertification. For example, installing pipelines to irrigate agricultural land costs as much as buying new land. Desertification has made Venture Capital invest a lot of money in researching solutions, while Climate Change has drained more than 40 billion US dollars from investors to find solutions to overcome this issue. Fortunately, we are in the 21st century where capitalism is racing to find solutions to the earth's problems.
South American Use It As Tortilla
Tortilla is a heritage of ancient American people such as the Mayan who discovered this food 10,000 years before the Common Era. Essentially, Tortilla is made from corn. Then the ancient Aztec people began to eat Tortilla with sauce, meat, beans, and other ingredients according to their creativity. Tortilla can be said to be a traditional food of South American people that plays an important role in strengthening food security there.
Tortilla is made by using flour and water, then flattened and cooked on a flat pan. Meanwhile, making Tortilla from cactus starts by heating the cactus in hot water for 10 minutes until it becomes soft, then blended with spices. After that, a little hot water is added to the dough so that it resembles cookie dough consistency. Once the dough reaches the right consistency, salt is added. Then the dough is shaped into round discs and cooked on a flat pan until done. Usually, when cooked, the tortilla is dipped into a sauce to enhance its taste. The production of cactus into tortilla is good for tackling the drought that haunts every agricultural land on earth since the occurrence of global climate change, as well as for addressing the world food crisis.
Most Latin American people love Cactus Tortilla. Some even reviewed online stores that Cactus Tortilla is tastier than Corn Tortilla.
The type of cactus commonly used to make Tortilla is not just any cactus, but it's called Nopal or its scientific name is Opuntia Cactus. There are 114 species of this cactus known in Mexico, which are used to make tortillas.
Is It Profitable to Plant Cactus ?
Nopal cactus is a plant that produces a lot of harvest, up to 108 tons per hectare per year. Planting it is quite easy by planting the cactus stem into the ground and shoots will grow. Harvesting it is also easy by taking the young stem that is ready to be harvested. Although the harvest of this cactus is very large, it must be managed properly for post-harvest handling because cacti store a lot of water.
Another advantage of cultivating cactus is that besides being able to harvest it for food, the wastewater generated during processing can be used to irrigate agricultural land, making it suitable for areas with limited resources.
KThe advantage of growing this cactus is that it requires little water to grow. In addition, pests for cactus are fewer, unlike corn plants which are susceptible to damage by rodents, such as rats. Nopal cactus is suitable for planting in an era where the world food crisis is a problem, especially with the world affected by climate change resulting in a decrease in rainfall.
According to Tridge as of October 2022, the price of Nopal cactus can reach 1 USD per kg. But in farmer it could half a dollars. So if calculated for 1 year of producing 108 tons, it can generate up to 100.000 USD per hectare in 2022.
However, from propagation to harvesting, it requires human labor, so it is not surprising that it is expensive. Unlike other commodities such as corn that can be done by machines. Other commodities may require lower operating costs under normal conditions, but when sudden drought occurs, common commodities that require sufficient water will incur high costs, thereby endangering food security.
