BOOSTING agricultural production to the levels needed to feed an expanded world population will require sharply increased public investment in research and development, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warns.
Farming will also require widespread adoption of new technologies, new farming techniques and better crop varieties, according a FAO discussion paper.
The paper is one of several produced by FAO to serve as starting points for panel discussions at the "High-Level Expert Forum on How to Feed the World in 2050," on Oct 12-13 at FAO's Rome headquarters.
The forum will prepare the ground for the World Summit on Food Security on Nov 16-18.
FAO's latest projections indicate that global agricultural production must grow by 70pc by 2050 in order to feed an additional 2.3 billion people.
The projections indicate that most gains in production will be need to be achieved by increasing yield growth and cropping intensity on existing farmlands, rather than by increasing the amount of land brought under agricultural production.
* See also separate story on FAO's latest projections saying we'll need to lift ag output by 70pc by 2050.
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