Feeding the world's growing population is one of the major challenges of today, and it's what economists and researchers from here and overseas will be exploring at a conference in Rotorua this week.
The conference, Transformations in Agriculture and Natural Resources, is run by the Australian Agriculture and Resource Economics Society.
Environmental impacts of farming and the results of changing food prices are among the topics being covered by 15 key speakers.
A society spokesperson Ross Cullen said the annual conference allowed academics and policy makers in the agricultural sectors to share research.
He said how to feed a growing population sustainably was a key topic at this year's event.
"There's a very fast growing world population, the world economy is still growing in size, there are incredible pressures on food supply, on processing and delivery of food, on energy supplies, on the climate, etc, and so the world has to transform the way we produce food, the way we deliver energy, the way we consume resources and the way we take care of the environment," he said.
Mr Cullen said research was often undertaken in small groups and the conference was one way to hear what people had been working on.
