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Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd can head to the G8 meeting in Japan this week with the answer to improving world food security growing in his own back paddock.

That’s the view of Chair of the Council of Rural Research and Development Corporation Chairs, Enzo Allara, who says the answer is increasing farm productivity. That is, growing more food from the same amount of farming land.

Mr Allara says currently annual global food production is growing at only 1.5%, not enough to keep up with demand.

“A recent study commissioned by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) and undertaken by the Centre for International Economics, found that food production has lagged annual demand for five out of the last eight years.

“But in Australia, agricultural productivity has been at an average of 2.5% and in some industries, including grains, reaching 3% per annum.

“If the rest of the world could catch up to Australia’s level of farm productivity, we would be well on the way to soothing global fears about food supply."