GLOBAL food security is among the top issues most likely to lead to serious international conflicts over the next decade. Every day we hear another concerning statistic about the coming mismatch between world food supply and demand.

We know that global demand for food will escalate dramatically in the coming years, as the world population heads for 9 billion, while scarce resources of arable land and fresh water will become even more scarce. It isn't just about sheer numbers, however, it's about the changing nature of these populations.

In China, it's planned that a further 350 million people will move - the largest internal migration in human history - from the countryside to the cities by 2030. This means fewer farmers and more consumers. Of the 580 million people living in south-east Asia, a quarter do not yet have access to electricity. As an Asian middle-class rises, with its associated consumer needs, the demand for food, energy and other resources is going to dramatically escalate.

As a planet and as a nation, we don't have a choice - we simply must do much more than is being done to help feed a hungry world, and notwithstanding the obvious challenges and the doomsayers, we believe that we can. This conjures up a different kind of moral and strategic debate to that which pops up in our domestic dialogue much of the time.

How to resolve this conundrum, of producing much more with less, sustainably, is one of the great challenges for humanity. It is also an amazing opportunity for Australia. We need to be willing to lead, at home and abroad, in resetting the global food agenda and in transforming our national ability to become the ''clean, green food bowl of Asia''.