Fighting hunger

Finding a way to feed a world population that does not exacerbate climate change, nor otherwise do lasting damage to the environment, is arguably the single greatest collective challenge the world faces.

Working out how to feed a world population that is projected to top 7 billion this month is a mammoth task. A sixth of the current global population already goes hungry - another billion is malnourished. And the global population may grow to 9 billion within the next 40 years.

A report, recently published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Program, entitled "The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2011", found that 32 countries are already in need of external aid due to crop failures, conflicts or insecurity, natural disasters and high domestic food prices.