A report released by the G8's Italian presidency has warned that global agricultural production must be doubled by 2050 to feed an increasing population and counter the effects of climate change.

Dr Friedhelm Schmider, director general of the European Crop Protection Association, said: “Europe’s policy-makers must be realistic about agriculture and recognise that the only way to maintain stable production, let alone double yields, is through the application of the most advanced technologies at our disposal. This means we must apply a very critical eye to less productive alternatives and recognise the tools our farmers need to fight plant disease and pest resistance in order to put food on our tables.”

G8 agricultural leaders from the US, Canada, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Russia agreed to meet in Treviso later this month to analyse the state of the world's food supply.

To set the stage they released the report which indicates that, should we fail to increase production, “the food crisis of the past two years will become structural in much of the world".

“Climate change will escalate pest pressure - we must keep pace with these changes and make sure our agricultural policies are in tune with farm reality," said Schmider. "Unfortunately, the EU’s agricultural and pest management policies are currently heading in the opposite direction, actively reducing the options available to farmers without adequate scientific assessment of risk. Unless we see a change in direction, farmers will have a limited product portfolio to fight pests at a time when the world most needs these solutions.

“Pesticides are not the problem, they are solutions: they optimise the land’s potential, keep plants healthy and are used safely with respect to human health and the environment. Plant disease is a real problem, and Europe’s policies need to be connected to this crude reality of agriculture and offer real direction.

“The G8’s policy document paints a distressing but realistic scenario. In Europe, we have great agricultural capacity but an enormous challenge ahead and not many years to plan. Henceforth, our actions will influence our ability to feed ourselves and the world. Above all, we must not let our relative affluence cloud our vision and cut us off from the reality of sustaining the food supply.”