Research on Feedstock Optimization

Feedstock was and is constantly adapted to the needs of the modern (agricultural) industry. One focus on national and international research concerning the availability of feedstock for 

Due to the sensitive implications of expansion of agricultural areas (considerable investment and lower average yields, while possibly incurring social and environmental costs), the alternative to increasing global food production is to further increase land productivity. From the 1960s on, global cereal yields have continually increased. 

The cmcial question is whether the trend of increasing global yields will continue at the same pace. The tremendous potential for increasing yields in developing countries is hindered by lack of technology and infrastmcture on the one hand and unfavourable agricultural policies on the other. Both areas are not easy to change in the short term. 

While yields for major crops still grow, the growth rate has markedly slowed down for many crops. Bringezu (2009) showed that the global crop yields for all main crops grew slower than in the past and that there was very little optimization through conventional breeding [7]. 

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