World population growth challenges farms: group

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The burgeoning world population, estimated to reach 9 billion by 2040, will increase demand for food and energy from farmers and challenge them to balance the demands, said a think tank on Thursday.

The nonpartisan Farm Foundation, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, said in a report that U.S. agriculture will play a critical role in determining if global feed and fuel needs are met.

"A growing world population means increasing demand for both food and energy. As a source of both, agriculture will be challenged to balances and meet competing demands," said the report, titled "The 30-year challenge: Agriculture's strategic role in feeding and fueling a growing world."

It said the report was intended to clarify food and biofuel issues. The report did not recommend specific solutions.

Global food and global energy security were two of the six broadly defined challenges for the next three decades. World population was forecast to grow by one-third in that period.

"The combination of high energy prices and public policies encouraging biofuel production globally has led to a biofuel industry," said the report. "As a result, the agriculture and energy sectors are now linked through markets for key feedstocks including grains, oilseeds and sugar."

Besides food and energy security, the challenges were listed as assuring adequate financing during the current economic slump; the potential of greater volatility in crop output due to climate change; the dual demands of environmental protection and larger food output; and how agriculture can aid economic growth, particularly in developing countries.

(Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by David Gregorio)