US must double food aid, teach better farming

With the era of cheap food and fuel over, the United States must double global food aid and help poor countries upgrade farming techniques little changed from antiquity, a Washington-based think tank urged on Tuesday.

A task force for the Center for Strategic and International Studies released a series of recommendations including a doubling of U.S. emergency food aid to $3.2 billion annually and a determined effort to raise farm productivity around the world.

"In some parts of the world, farmers are trying to feed their families with technology that would not seem out of place in biblical times," said Sen. Richard Lugar, who co-chairs the task force with Democratic Sen. Robert Casey of Pennsylvania.

The report said $1 billion should be spent on developmental projects to promote rural agricultural productivity.

Lugar, an Indiana Republican, said "overcoming the science deficiency" would greatly help nations experiencing food shortages. Developing nations need better seeds and fertilizers, sustainable farming techniques and a global network of agricultural schools to help contribute to meeting global food needs, he said.

"We must not allow an aversion to modern agricultural technology to doom a part of the world's population to chronic hunger and poverty," Lugar said.