The Economist published an editorial criticizing the decline in agricultural investment over the past 25 years, and called for renewed attention towards the plight of many farmers in developing countries and the importance of agriculture globally.

The recent spike in food prices and the growing world population has necessitated government action, and The Economist argues that the increased aid for agricultural activities must go towards technological advances that boost world food production without depleting resources such as water and land. They write “one way of raising yields stands out: developing genetically modified (GM) crops that, for example, use less water.”

Read the rest of the editorial here

Please comment below and let us know how you think we can increase food production to feed a growing population.

Bloomberg created a chart to demonstrate the increasing level of world hunger in the past two decades. Despite greater global wealth, investment in world food aid has declined 37% on an inflation-adjusted basis since 1988, contributing to the rise in the world’s undernourished. This chart shows the need for a long-term investment in agriculture in order to produce enough food to adequately feed the world.

You can view the article and chart here.