1) The world population is projected to increase from 6 billion in 2000 to 9.2 billion in 2050, increasing food demand by 50% by 2030. 2) Limited availability of agricultural land and declining per capita cropland availability poses challenges to meeting increased food demand. 3) Global agricultural productivity growth is slowing down from an annual rate of 4% in the 1960s-1980s to 1% now, with a tendency toward further decline, exacerbating food security issues.