The 'Food and Farming Futures' project will analyse the global food system including changing demand, production and supply. It will also consider food and farming in oceans and freshwater environments as well as on the land.

The study is sponsored by Jane Kennedy, Minister for Farming and the Environment at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Mike Foster, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Development.

Professor John Beddington, the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Government Office for Science, who oversees the Foresight projects, said:

"There are huge challenges facing food and farming due to a growing world population and limited resources, such as water and land. Intricately linked to this is the issue of climate change and concerns over the environmental impacts of agriculture.

"The Foresight study is a fresh opportunity to consider how science and technology can help meet these challenges now and in the future.

"I am delighted that Jane Kennedy and Mike Foster have agreed to be the joint sponsoring Ministers for this project. Together we will be drawing on the top expertise from around the world, across a range of disciplines, to tackle a critical issue.

Mike Foster, Minister for International Development, said:
"It is the world's poor who are most affected by food shortages, and it is the same people who feel the main effects of climate change. I am delighted that the Department for International Development is supporting Foresight's research into this vital issue."

The project will be an in-depth study consulting experts and scientists from a wide range of disciplines from across the world. It will draw on the most up to date scientific evidence combined with well-informed futures work. The aim of the project is to assist policymakers both in the UK and overseas to develop strategies to manage our future.

Hilary Benn originally announced that Professor Beddington would commission the report in July 2008. The findings will be launched in late 2010.