$90 Billion a year needed for farm investment

This study was commissioned by several agricultural companies.

Investment in agriculture must rise by $90 billion a year to meet the world’s growing food needs, according to a study sponsored by businesses including Monsanto Co. (MON), DuPont Co., Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Deere & Co. (DE)

The “investment gap” requires more private-sector involvement in agricultural and rural development, according to a report issued today by the Global Harvest Initiative, a collaboration between companies and nonprofits such as the World Wildlife Fund.

“There are simply not enough resources in either developed or developing nations to bridge this sizable gap, so enhanced private-sector involvement is the key to improving agricultural and rural development to ensure that the world’s future agricultural needs are met,” William Lesher, the executive director of the initiative, said in a news release.

The United Nations has said that by 2050, food production must increase by 70 percent to feed an estimated world population of 9 billion people, up from almost 7 billion this year. Global food prices have increased 37 percent in the past year, reaching a record in February, according to UN estimates.

The study is the last of five on hunger and agricultural development created by the initiative.