By Jasmin Melvin

WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters) - With the era of cheap food and fuel over, the United States must double global food aid and help poor countries upgrade farming techniques little changed from antiquity, a Washington-based think tank urged on Tuesday.

A task force for the Center for Strategic and International Studies released a series of recommendations including a doubling of U.S. emergency food aid to $3.2 billion annually and a determined effort to raise farm productivity around the world.

"In some parts of the world, farmers are trying to feed their families with technology that would not seem out of place in biblical times," said Sen. Richard Lugar, who co-chairs the task force with Democratic Sen. Robert Casey of Pennsylvania.

The report said $1 billion should be spent on developmental projects to promote rural agricultural productivity.

Lugar, an Indiana Republican, said "overcoming the science deficiency" would greatly help nations experiencing food shortages. Developing nations need better seeds and fertilizers, sustainable farming techniques and a global network of agricultural schools to help contribute to meeting global food needs, he said.

"We must not allow an aversion to modern agricultural technology to doom a part of the world's population to chronic hunger and poverty," Lugar said.

At least 25 percent of U.S. aid, growing to at least 50 percent over five years, would be earmarked for regional purchases of food aid, as relying on U.S.-grown crops can take up to six months to reach the needy.

Buying locally has long been opposed by some U.S. farm and transportation groups but the CSIS plan called for at least 25 percent of food aid still coming from U.S.-grown crops shipped on U.S. carriers.

Lugar said the global community must become more accepting of genetically modified crops.

"Many countries with chronic food insecurity have rejected or limited the import of genetically modified foodstuffs, including food aid," Lugar said, citing African farmers worrying that European nations will not accept their exports.

"The governments and people of Europe must understand that their opposition to safe GM technology contributes to hunger in Africa," he said.

The report called for a heightening of efforts to bring cellulosic-ethanol online sooner, which depends on non-food crops for production. (Reporting by Jasmin Melvin, editing by Matthew Lewis)

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