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Ten Crops that Feed the World

Corn/Maize (1/10)

Annual Production: 784,786,580 tons
Yield: 49.7 tons/hectare

No other grain is produced in such quantities worldwide as maize, or corn as it is called in North America. Industrialized countries largely use it as livestock feed. In sub-Saharan Africa, maize is a staple food for an estimated 50 percent of the population.

Maize is an important source of carbohydrates, protein, iron, vitamin B, and minerals. Untreated conventional maize, however, can lead to malnutrition and protein deficiency. (Photo: Reuters)

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Ten Crops that Feed the World

Rice (2/10)

Annual Production: 651,742,616 tons
Yield: 41.5 tons/hectare

Rice is the second most consumed cereal grain. It provides more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans. A properly cared for rice plant can produce rice for 20 years. On average, farmers need 2,000 liters of water to produce one kilogram of rice, reports the UN. (Photo: Reuters)

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Ten Crops that Feed the World

Wheat (3/10)

Annual production: 607,045,683 tons
Yield: 27.9 tons/hectare

Wheat is the third most produced cereal crop after rice, but covers more land area worldwide than any other crop. Unlike rice, wheat is more widespread globally. It tolerates windswept areas too dry and too cold for rice and corn.

About one in every 100 to 200 people is allergic to gluten, a protein found in wheat. (Photo: Reuters)

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Ten Crops that Feed the World

Potatoes (4/10)

Annual production: 321,736,483 tons
Yield: 16.6 tons/hectare

Potatoes are the world's number one non-grain food commodity. Unlike major cereals, potatoes are not a globally traded commodity and thus prices are not influenced by the vagaries of international markets. (Photo: Reuters)

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Ten Crops that Feed the World

Cassava (5/10)

Annual production: 228,138,068 tons
Yields: 12.2 tons/hectare

An important staple crop in parts of Africa and South America, cassava roots contain more starch than most other food crops. Cassava also thrives better in poor soils than any other major food plant and is drought resistant. Cassava roots and leaves contain toxic levels of cyanogenic glucosides. Cooking and pounding makes the plant edible.(Photo: Reuters)

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Ten Crops that Feed the World

Soybeans (6/10)

Annual Production: 216,144,262 tons
Yield: 22.7 tons/hectare

Soybeans contain significant amounts of all the amino acids essential for humans. Protein and oil account for 60 percent of the weight of a dried soybean. Soybeans also improve soil fertility by adding nitrogen from the atmosphere, a benefit for farmers in developing countries where fertilizers are too expensive. (Photo: Reuters)

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Ten Crops that Feed the World

Sweet Potatoes (7/10)

Annual production: 126,299,661 tons
Yield: 13.9 tons/hectare

Sweet potatoes are native to tropical South America, but China is now the world's biggest producer. They can be grown in poor soils with little fertilizer and have few natural enemies making pesticides unnecessary. Sweet potatoes contain more fiber content, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium than most vegetables. (Photo: Reuters)

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Ten Crops that Feed the World

Sorghum (8/10)

Annual production: 64,589,459 tons
Yield: 1.5 tons/hectare

Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal crop worldwide. It is drought and heat tolerant and thus an important crop in arid regions where major cereals do not produce sufficient yields. Consumption of sorghum, however, has decreased considerably in many African countries, especially in urban areas. (Photo: Reuters)

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Ten Crops that Feed the World

Yams (9/10)

Annual production: 51,948,149 tons
Yields: 11.2 tons/hectare

West and Central Africa account for more than 90 percent of world yam production. Yam cultivation and harvesting are more labor intensive than for other starchy staples. Yams are the first crop to be harvested in the year and the Yams Festival is a popular holiday in several African countries.(Photo: James Foster, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5)

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Ten Crops that Feed the World

Plantain (10/10)

Annual production: 34,444,795 tons
Yield: 6.3 tons/hectare

Plantains are a starchy, low in sugar variety of bananas that are cooked before eating. They are major food staples in East and West Africa. Since the 1970s, plantain yields have been declining due to soil degradation, pests, poor crop husbandry, and drought. (Photo: Reuters)

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Crop Insurance: Saving for a Rainy Day

It takes a financially stable agricultural sector to guarantee food security. Leonid Golovanov explains how Allianz Rosno protects farmers and food supplies in Russia with a new breed of crop insurance.

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