Increasing Public Spending in Agricultural R&D to Ensure Food Security in Developing Countries

Arguably, ensuring food and nutrition security for all people in the coming decades is the major challenge for the global community. Food demand is increasing in aggregate and per capita values, in parallel with population and income growth. In order to feed 9.6 billion people by 2050, projections indicate that food production will need to be raised by 70 per cent at global level and 100 per cent in developing countries, excluding the additional agricultural production needed for feed and biofuels. At the same time, constraints and costs are increasing on the supply side, given land and water scarcity, climate change effects, and higher energy prices. Thus, agricultural production and especially productivity have to increase sustainably, particularly in the developing world.