LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — More investments in agriculture as well as science and technology (S & T) are needed to avert the global food crisis.

This was stressed by Dr. Randy Hautea, global coordinator and South East Asia Center director of the International Service for the Acquisition of AgriBiotech Applications (ISAAA), pointing out that increased direct investments in agriculture will increase food production and help solve the current food crisis being experienced globally.

"We need to continue investments in agriculture and in science and technology for agriculture," Hautea said.

Hautea lamented that agricultural lands in the country have been converted to residential areas due to the increasing population.

"It's not a blaming game but a realistic assessment," he said.

He said there is a need to control the population in order to have an ample supply of food in the country.

Dr. William Dar, a former secretary of the Department of Agriculture who now heads the Indiabased International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), also cited the need to increase investments in the agriculture sector, including additional investments in agriculture research, to avert the food crisis.

"The developed countries have started to make their commitments and pledges, including international organizations. The developing countries must do the same and give the highest priority and investment to the agriculture sector," Dar said.

Dar said that participants in the just concluded World Food Summit in Rome agreed on the "strong affirmation" of countries on the need for "significant investment in agriculture."

This, he said, "includes doubling of investment in agricultural research."

"We need this policy declaration as agriculture has really been neglected for so long," Dar said.

Dar has been advocating the use of "smart crops" like sweet sorghum, pongamia and jathropa as biofuels to ensure food and energy security.

He is also pushing for a rice self-sufficiency policy in the country by establishing a long-term strategic plan, saying that it may be enacted with the support of various stakeholders, and significant budgetary support.

He is also urging the use of hybrid crops and other improved crop varieties that do not require much fertilizer to enable poor farmers cope with the rising food prices.