In order to meet the world’s sustainable development goals of defeating hunger and poverty by 2030, governments and the private sector need to reenergize their agricultural science and technology research capacities, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization announced today at a meeting of the world’s top agricultural scientists.

That will require greater public expenditure and investment in science and technology, FAO reiterated, because investment in agricultural sciences has been on the decline for years worldwide at the same time that advances against hunger have been slowing – particularly in Asia.