If we have any hope of reaching the United Nations’ goal of doubling Earth’s food production by 2050, farmers will have to innovate—and not just farmers, but the seed and fertilizer companies who work in labs to make food grow more efficiently and reliably.

What if there’s another way, however, to dramatically boost food production? Crops that withstand drought or drive away pests can only go so far. Once you can get plants to literally grow faster, it may be possible to boost production. That’s the thinking of several Columbia University researchers who have an idea to make plants photosynthesize more quickly, to the tune of 60 percent higher yields.

Here’s how it would work. Photosynthesis is the process by