Last week for UN Food Security and Agriculture Organization (FAO) held a forum for high-level experts to discuss the question: How to Feed the World in 2050. This forum lays the groundwork for conversation at the World Food Summit to be held in mid-November. The meeting brought together international specialists working in all aspects of food security. Experts discussed how to address increasing food needs as the global population grows, and as impacts on global food security driven by external shocks, like climate change, become more menacing. The group also evaluated financing needs to successfully feed the world in 2050.

Reports from the meeting note that there was a general consensus amongst scholars that it should be possible to provide enough food to feed the expected global population of more than 9 billion people in 2050. This ability does depend, however, on how external shocks that affect the food supply—like climate change—play out. In order to achieve this growth, investments in research, technology, infrastructure, and sustainable resource management are essential.

Achieving food security will not only depend on whether the world can produce enough food. Increasing agricultural productivity must be complemented by policies that enhance access and usage of food so that people can live healthy and productive lives. Programs that fight poverty and catch families before they fall deeper into poverty—like effective safety net programs—must also be implemented along with plans to increase agricultural productivity.

Well functioning markets, increased opportunities for market access, and the development of value chains in which smallholder farmers can participate are also critical components of achieving food security.

In a report released ahead of the experts meeting, the FAO noted the following critical points that demonstrate the magnitude of the challenge:

• By 2050 the global population will be 9.1 billion people, about one third more than today, and 70% of those will live in urban areas, compared to approximately 50% today.
• In order to feed this larger and wealthier population, food production must increase by 70%.
• It is estimated that $83 billion per year in agricultural investments in the developing world will be required to achieve the necessary increases in food production.

The FAO report also emphasizes that come 2050, fewer people will be living in rural areas, and fewer people in those areas will choose to farm. This means that farmers will need new technologies which will allow them to produce more per acre of land even with fewer helping hands.

Continue to follow our Food Security in Focus series here on the blog for more information on the topic.