The future of agriculture

at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development held in South africa, the World Bank (Washington, Dc, uSa) and the united nations’ Food and agriculture organization (Fao, rome, italy) announced that they would organize a global consultation process on agricultural science and technology (iaaStD, 2003). they showed remarkable foresight: when the international assessment of agriculture, Science and technology for Development (iaaStD) final reports were approved in april 2008, they were released to media and governments already disturbed about biofuels, increasing food prices, food protests in developing countries, and a general concern about producing enough food to feed the world (iaaStD, 2008). in a relatively short time, agriculture has once again become the focus of politicians, consumers, scientists and environmentalists. indeed, the main question that the iaaStD set out to answer, with some foresight, was: “How can we reduce hunger and poverty, improve rural livelihoods, and facilitate equitable, environmentally, socially and economically sustainable development through the generation, access to, and use of agricultural knowledge, science and technology (aKSt)?” now, as the report is published, such topics are not only matters of academic interest, but also issues of increasing economic, political and even strategic importance. With an intergovernmental governance structure, the iaaStD is agriculture’s equivalent to the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc), with no less a difficult task. at its first meeting as a global consultative process in ireland in november 2002, the iaaStD brought together about 100 participants from governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, farmer and other producer groups, consumers, scientists and international organizations. the goal was to share ideas and views about agriculture and develop a common understanding and vision for the future (iaaStD, 2005).