During the first day of the Food and Agricultural Organization’s (FAO) High Level Expert Panel on “How to Feed the World in 2050” on Monday, the organization’s Director General Jacques Diouf said that in order to keep up with a population that is expected to increase from 6.7 billion currently to more than 9 billion by 2050, investment in agriculture, particularly in developing countries, will need to increased by more than five times the current investment level.
“The challenge is not only to increase global future production but to increase it where it is mostly needed and by those who need it most,” FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said. “There should be a special focus on smallholder farmers, women and rural households and their access to land, water and high quality seeds … and other modern inputs.”
The Guardian discusses how Diouf focused his remarks on the need to address “…population growth, strong income growth and urbanisation, with shifts in diet structures towards more nutritious and higher quality food…” as a major challenge.
For the 300 delegates in attendance this week, identifying future food needs are one part of the Forum’s goal, identifying potential solutions to these needs are another. These policy discussions will set the table for the World Summit on Food Security held for world leaders in November 2009.
Watch Monday’s High Level Expert Forum video coverage.
