UN Calls for Reimagined Food System Policy

• In 2021, an estimated 29.3% of the global population – 2.3 billion people – were moderately or severely food insecure and 11.7% (923.7 million people) faced severe food insecurity.
• The gender gap in food insecurity is widening, in 2021, 31.9% of women in the world were moderately or severely food insecure compared to 27.6 percent of men.
• Globally in 2020, an estimated 22% of children under five years of age were stunted, 6.7% were wasted, and 5.7% were overweight. 
• Projections are that nearly 670 million people will still be facing hunger in 2030–8 percent of the world population, which is the same as in 2015 when the 2030 Agenda was launched.

While the world has the capacity to feed everyone, millions of people around the world are suffering from food insecurity and malnutrition because of the high cost of healthy diets. While the causes of this high cost vary by context, the report notes that government support for agricultural production largely concentrates on rice, sugar and meats of various types, while fruits and vegetables are less supported overall, or even penalised in some countries.

The report issues guidance about how food and agricultural policy could be leveraged to reduce the cost of nutritious foods and suggestions for transforming the agri-food system.  A key recommendation of the report is for governments to rethink the reallocation of existing public budgets to make nutritious foods affordable and increase the availability of healthy diets for everyone. While we agree, we at The Hunger Project also believe that we must invest in strengthening local food systems to sustainably end global hunger.            

“It’s time to examine our food and agriculture policies, to better ensure healthy, nutritious food for all. The recommendations from the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, released today are a good start but we must be bolder and focus locally. Every country, rich or poor, needs to take action to strengthen local food systems. Indigenous crops and traditional farming methods, while usually less productive, have evolved over hundreds of years and are more resilient to climate shocks, and are often grown more in harmony with nature”.  Tim Prewitt, Global THP President & CEO

One of the ways we can end hunger and malnutrition is by supporting smallholder farmers. In developing countries, smallholder farmers make up 40-85% of food producers in the world. It is important to strengthen their local markets for hardier and climate resilient crops with increased nutritional value and decrease their reliance on imported agro-inputs, such as seeds and fertilisers.

Sustainable food systems strategies include enhanced local biodiversity, management of natural resources, better access to markets for farmers, inclusive global and local food value chains, social sustainability and empowerment of women, consumers and small-holder farmers.

Our work across Africa, South Asia and Latin America is laying the foundation for the sustainable transformation of local food systems. With communities, we are building a path to self-reliance by leveraging partnerships that unite many actors and their specialised knowledge to drive community-led development. Through our programming, community leaders learn sustainable farming practices, food processing and storage techniques, together with distribution of their produce to promote improved nutrition outcomes and uptake. 

While the SOFI Report indicates that efforts to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all of its manifestations are failing, this is a challenge we can overcome. By transforming our food system policies and resources we can reduce chronic hunger globally, and contribute to the health of our planet. These efforts can only be achieved through the engagement of communities, civic societies, private sector and governments to prevent and manage conflicts to balance out unequal powers within agri-food systems.

Learn more about The Hunger Project’s community-led approach and join us to end hunger. 

The 2022 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report was published jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).