Food, energy demands to skyrocket

The report, by Deutsche Bank and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, says the population growth will sharply increase demand for food, fiber and fuel.

"We are at a crossroads in terms of our investments in agriculture and what we will need to do to feed the world's population by 2050," wrote report co-author David Zaks, a researcher at the institute.

In the next four decades, the world's population is expected to mushroom from 6.5 billion to 9 billion, and a gap is already developing between agricultural production and demand, the report said.

But, the report said, demand could be met by expanding agricultural to "marginal" or "unused" land, while stimulating new types of crops and relying on new technology.

Agricultural research and technological advances have increased "notably" in recent years in the United States and Europe, but not in developing nations, the report said.

The report calls for extending more research and investment into developing countries.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.