The summit hosted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization is taking place against the backdrop of rocketing food prices, which have caused riots in around 30 countries, especially those most dependent on food imports. In Haiti, riots led to the fall of the government.
Ban Ki-moon said the current food crisis offered a "historic opportunity to revitalize agriculture."
"While we must respond immediately to high food prices, it is important that our longer term focus is on improving world food security," he told the summit.
The UN chief urged rich countries to expand aid to poor nations, boost smallholder production and cut export restrictions and import tariffs, the measures he said would help deter a global catastrophe.
Food inflation has been blamed on a number of factors, including growing demand for food especially from China and India, the hike in oil prices, which has pushed up fertilizer costs and transportation rates.
In addition the push to produce biofuels as an alternative to oil is further straining food supplies as subsidies for ethanol have lured thousands of farmers away from growing crops for food.
