Food prices have risen sharply over the past few years.The good news is that the rate of increase has slowed.The bad news is that prices will not go down anytime soon.Also, the rate of global agricultural production is slowing.Yet it needs to increase sixty percentover the next forty years to feed a growing world population.These are among the findingsfrom the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2012-2021.The OECD is the Organizationfor Economic Cooperation and Development.The FAO is the Food and Agriculture Organization,a United Nations agency.FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silvaspoke at a news conference in Rome last weekwhen the report was released.Mr. Da Silva said that, not surprisingly,the world's poorest peoplewill feel the greatest effects of higher prices.JOSE GRAZIANO DA SILVA: "For the millionsand millions of people living in extreme poverty,the implications of high food prices are clear-- they might have to change their diets,usually to ones with poorer nutrition quality."In middle-income countries, people are gaining weightas they eat fewer fruits and vegetablesand more of the cheaper but less nutritious foods.The report also shows that farmers in poorer countrieswill be leading efforts to feedan expected nine billion people by twenty-fifty.The outlook predicts that farmers in Latin America,the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africawill drive agricultural production in the future.Angel Gurria is chief of the OECD.ANGEL GURRIA: "We can feed nine billion people by twenty-fiftyin this planet without stretching things too far.But we have to organize ourselves better."But there are plenty of challenges.One-fourth of all agricultural land is damaged.Many countries face water shortages.And experts believe climate changeis driving increasingly unusual weather patterns.The report says farmers need to use moreenvironmentally sustainable growing methods.At the same time, it says governmentsshould end economically harmful supportsand invest more in agricultural production.Mr. Gurria says rich and poor nations needto treat agriculture more like a business.ANGEL GURRIA: "In many cases, agricultureis related in people's minds to the poorest.It's related to aid. It's relatedto very depressed living conditions, etcetera.We got to shake that image away."It also means reducing waste.The FAO and the OECD estimatethat about one-third of world food production is lost-- either because of poor growing and harvesting methodsor because people are throwing away good food.And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.