Food security and the world food situation

The major food projection agencies see per capita food supplies continuing to increase and real prices of foodstuffs continuing to decline. This trend in food prices has made, and will continue to make, achievement of food security possible for a greater proportion of the world's population. Therefore, projections of an impending or even distant global imbalance between population and food supplies are seen as unfounded. The major problems in the food supply system are either man-made (bad policies) or can be corrected through institutional developments. In particular, increasing water supplies will be difficult and costly; but much can be done to make the use of existing supplies more efficient. Water is too often unpriced to farmers and other users; despite the political difficulties, this has to change. Establishing long-term, secure access to land for farmers is the most urgent need in many developing and transition countries and will make a significant contribution to their food security as well as to global self-sufficiency.