New York, United States - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Monday launched a new initiative to grow more food to feed the world’s growing population in an environmentally sustainable way. A statement on the initiative, made available to PANA in New York, quoted the FAO as stating that, ``there is no option but to further intensify crop production in order to feed a world population projected to reach 9.2 billion by 2050'. It said: ``To eradicate hunger and meet demand by 2050, food production needs to increase by 70 per cent in the world and 100 per cent in developing countries'. It also noted that, ``the key to meeting the challenge lies in sustainable crop production intensification, or Save and Grow'.

According to FAO: ``The Save and Grow model applies external inputs at the right time and in the right amount – no more and no less than plants need'.

``The Save and Grow toolkit also includes elements such as precision irrigation, which 'delivers more crop for the drop, and precision placement of fertilizers', which can double the amount of nutrients absorbed by plants,' it said.

``Another element is integrated pest management, whose techniques discourage the development of pest populations and minimizes the need for pesticides.

``Such methods help adapt crops to climate change and not only help grow more food but also contribute to reducing crops’ water needs by 30 per cent and energy costs by up to 60 per cent,” the agency stated.

It also noted that, ``the new approach will require significant support to farmers so they can learn the new practices and technologies, while governments will also need to strengthen national plant-breeding programmes and overall domestic and foreign investments to the agriculture sector need to be increased'.

``The new approach draws partly on conservation agriculture (CA) techniques which do away with or minimize ploughing and tilling, thus preserving soil structure and health,' the FAO added.

Pana 14/06/2011