As the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reaches the halfway mark, progress towards food and agriculture-related targets has either stagnated or reversed. This poses challenges in eradicating poverty and hunger, improving health and nutrition, and combating climate change. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), most of the food and agriculture-related SDG targets are still far from being achieved. Factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and armed conflict have had widespread impacts on poverty, food security, nutrition, health, and the environment.
The 2023 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report by FAO reveals that global hunger figures for 2022 range between 691 million and 783 million people. These numbers indicate that progress in reducing undernourishment has been eroded since 2015. Additionally, food insecurity has increased from 25.3% of the global population in 2019 to 29.6% in 2022.
During the UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment in Rome, world leaders acknowledged the challenges facing food systems and recognized the importance of sustainable, equitable, healthy, and resilient food systems in achieving the SDGs and the Paris Agreement. They committed to mobilizing efforts towards transforming food systems for a better future.
Current agricultural practices deplete natural resources, with agriculture being the largest consumer of freshwater resources, a major contributor to greenhouse gases, and consuming a significant amount of global energy. The Africa Food Systems (AFS) Forum in Tanzania emphasized the need to scale up existing solutions to accelerate food systems transformation, particularly in Africa. Sustainable agricultural practices are necessary to enhance food security while minimizing negative environmental impacts.
To address the challenges faced by food systems, it is crucial to increase investments in building the resilience of agricultural systems and reducing the vulnerability of food producers. Implementing national food systems transformation pathways should align with climate action plans. Strategies, plans, and coordination among institutions governing food systems are essential to ensure coherence, collaboration, and reduce duplication.
Effective policies that coordinate actions by different stakeholders are required to navigate the interactions between various drivers of change and advance food systems towards SDG compliance. Transforming food systems can have multiplier effects, catalyzing broader transformation across multiple systems and SDGs.
Building sustainable food systems can eradicate poverty, increase nutritious food availability, enhance agricultural productivity, and create income-generating activities, particularly for smallholder farmers, including women and youth.
To accelerate progress towards the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, it is essential to bring food systems into the climate process, leverage opportunities created by food systems transformation, and address the finance problem by mobilizing and directing financing in a coordinated manner.
By uniting efforts, we can eliminate poverty and hunger and work towards an inclusive and sustainable future. It is important to recognize that food systems transformation is not just a goal but also a catalyst for achieving climate goals and all the SDGs.