The recent weather problems around the world in major production areas are much to blame for these higher prices, with the impact of the floods on local food prices, however, still unknown.

James Borel, executive vice-president with responsibility for DuPont crop protection and pioneer in agricultural innovation, says in his global food report that there are tools to meet global food production challenges.

"We have the tools to be successful in meeting the great global challenge of our time - to essentially double agricultural production to meet the demands of the nine billion people who will crowd our planet in the year 2050. This includes developing better seeds that produce higher yields, discovering better products for controlling crop pests, providing food ingredients that benefit consumers and applying cutting-edge technology to the food safety challenge.

To date, agricultural production has worked hard to keep pace with population and economic progress in the developing world.

But, in the year 2011, "our global population will exceed seven billion people. And it won't stop then. By 2050, the globe will be home to more than nine billion people. The need is great."

Borel says increased, sustainable productivity will become necessary as available arable land and resources shift, remain unchanged, or in some areas, decrease.

The production of food must accompany environmental and economic progress, as sustainable development integrates social, economic and environmental needs to develop better solutions to today's problems, while also providing good stewardship of the resources needed for the future, Borel says.