THE world must produce as much food over the next five decades as it has to date through history to feed a growing population.
This daunting assessment was delivered last week by CSIRO chief executive Dr Megan Clark, who said it would be an "extraordinary challenge".
Her comments were echoed by a new international study warning of a serious global food crisis by mid-century unless much more was done to help farmers adapt to climate change.
"It is really hard for me to comprehend that in the next 50 years we will need to produce as much food as we have ever produced in the entire human history," Dr Clark said at the National Press Club.
"It's an extraordinary challenge."
Dr Clark said it was achieved between 1960 and 2000 when new technology and investment in agriculture saw food production double.
But there were "fundamental differences" now, notably water shortages, climate change and population shift to the cities.
Dr Clark said Australia had a key role to play in the massive global food task, and CSIRO was doing its bit by developing new crops more resistant to drought and disease and needing less fertiliser.
Meanwhile, an International Food Policy Research Institute study said climate change could slash crop yields and send food prices soaring by 2050.
It said wheat yields could plummet by about 30 per cent in poor countries, forcing global wheat prices up to as much as three times their current level.
Dramatic increases could also be expected in rice and maize prices, the study said.
It called for an extra $8 billion to be spent globally on research into high-yield, heat-tolerant crops, boosting rural transport and improving irrigation systems.
Study co-author Mark Rosegrant said the impact would be less severe in industrialised countries.
