Jacques Diouf, speaking in preparation of this month's Group of Eight summit in Japan, endorsed agriculture biotechnology after determining that conventional growing techniques will not feed the world.
Diouf predicted that land shortages would not make it possible to grow the food needed to feed an expanding global population.
"We cannot deprive ourselves of the potential to have crops that require less pesticide, need less nitrogen and phosphorous to grow and offer poor people improved nutrition," he stated. "I believe this is a vital tool in the fight against hunger."
Diouf believes the G8 will be able to reach a consensus on ag biotechnology in the framework of Codex Alimentarius, the international food standards body that combines the Food and Agriculture and the World Health organizations.