This special issue presents the outcomes from “ Designing sustainable and circular agricultural systems for the year 2100 ,” the joint scientific workshop of ISOFAR, the Thünen-Institute, and INRA-Morocco, which was held from November 14 to 16, 2019 in Marrakesh, Morocco. Nineteen scientists from a broad array of background and nationalities came together with the understanding that food security globally is at risk, especiall...

On smallholder farms in Ethiopia, livestock manure and organic residues are traditionally removed from fields for construction, feed, and fuel purposes, while the remainder stays in the field as feed or fertilizer. Burning and removing organic matter without replacing it leads to valuable losses of on-farm nutrients and soil carbon, which could otherwise be used to fertilize crops. Instead, resources need to be used efficientl...

For feeding the world in 2100, the global agriculture, the entire food chain, as well as the behavior of all consumers must be change fundamentally. Essential resources needed to intensify agriculture and use barren land, such as phosphorus, water, and fossil fuels, are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. An ecological form of agriculture that uses these resources more responsibly requires more land for the same yields...

Four hundred fifty-eight meter square is the available cropland per person throughout Africa, if the population will increase 4 to 5 times towards 4.3 to 5.9 billion people in 2100, the maximum estimation of the UN 2019 (95% confidence interval). This space is not enough for food sovereignty, if the low African yields remain. Even with the global average yields, nearly 3 times higher than African yields, will not allow food so...