Study: Farming must be 'climate-smart'

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LONDON, March 28 (UPI) -- The world must make major "climate smart" changes in agriculture to ensure future generations are adequately fed, a report presented in London says.

The report issued by the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change report, led by Professor John Beddington, the British government's chief scientific adviser, was released at the Planet Under Pressure conference in Britain.

Farming must be intensified but in a sustainable fashion, cutting waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the report said.

"If you're going to generate enough food both to address the poverty of a billion people not getting enough food, with another billion [in the global population] in 13 years' time, you've got to massively increase agriculture," Beddington told BBC News.

"You can't do it using the same agricultural techniques we've used before, because that would seriously increase greenhouse gas emissions for the whole world, with climate change knock-ons.

"We need to develop agriculture that is 'climate smart' -- generating more output without the accompanying greenhouse gas emissions."

Scientific estimates suggest farming is responsible for about one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Governments must put sustainable farming at the heart of national agricultural policies, the report said.