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BBC News, Paris
A United Nations-sponsored report has warned that modern farming practices and rules must change in response to rising food prices.
"Business as usual is no longer an option", says the report, as extra food costs threaten to plunge millions more people into poverty.
The study, published by Unesco in Paris, calls for more emphasis on protecting natural resources.
More natural and ecological farming techniques should be used, it says.
These should include reducing the distance between production and the consumer.
The report is the result of three years of work involving scientists and other experts, as well as governments of developed and developing countries.
The authors conclude that progress in agriculture has reaped very unequal benefits - and that it has come at a high social and environmental cost.
Unesco notes the ''considerable influence'' of big transnational corporations in North America and Europe.
'Urgent action'
By contrast, Latin America and the Caribbean are largely dependent on imported food.
The UN body describes the need for action as urgent, warning that staple food prices are likely to continue to rise because of increased demand from countries like China and India, and the alternative use of maize and soya beans for biofuels.
The report says more than a third of the world's most deteriorated land has been caused by farming.
France has called for more European help for poorer countries, and for farmers worldwide to raise their output.
But it is resisting pressure to ease support for EU farmers, saying Europe must remain a major producing continent.
(BBC)
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