GLOBAL food shortages and resulting conflicts are "far more likely and pressing threats" to humanity than financial crisis or climate change, according to science consultant and author, Prof Julian Cribb.
Prof Cribb said global food demand could double by 2050.
- READ MORE THIS WEEK
- Movement to save energy
- Permaculture for the future
- Keep visiting the Country Living News page
"The food crisis is going to hit before major climate impacts, in global terms," Prof Cribb said.
"This will come when everything we need to produce food is running out - water, land, fertiliser, oil, science, fish and the climate in which agriculture was born."
Prof Cribb said the world had slashed its agricultural research since 1970.
"There's a huge technology pothole in the road in front of farmers, the knowledge to double productivity is not going to be there," he said.
Commercial bodies were focused on research that would benefit their own profit, not research that addressed public or environmental good, or the farmer's direct needs he said.
Prof Cribb said he would like to see massive increases on the amount spent on agricultural-science.
"The money should come from the world's defence budgets - we currently spend $40 billion a year on agricultural science and spend $1500 billion on weapons," he said.
Prof Cribb said Australia was blessed with farming skills and the capacity to solve many of the problems and export its knowledge.
He said biotechnology would not greatly increase yields, but improve aspects such as drought resistance of crops.
Prof Cribb said localisation of food supply was essential, particularly for cities that could grow to 30-40 million people.
"If the trucks (carrying food) don't arrive for a week, what are those people going to eat? So we are looking at the potential for huge human disasters unless those cities start taking waste and turning it into food," he said.
