FAO warns that global food crises ‘likely to increase’ in the future without wider systemic change

Dec 04, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Poverty, inequality, food insecurity and inadequate funding in agriculture are among key trends the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) says will prevent the world from being able to feed itself in the future.

In a report released Friday, ‘The future of food and agriculture Trends and challenges’, the international agency which works with governments and the private sector to ensure food quality and safety globally said that “If trends continue, the target of ending hunger by 2030 will not be reached.”

The organization said that despite progress in reducing the prevalence of undernourishment, some 794 million people were estimated to be undernourished between 2014 and 2016.

The FAO said its most recent projections of trends in undernourishment, provided in another report, ‘Achieving Zero Hunger’, suggest that “under a “business as usual” scenario, some 637 million people in low- and middle-income countries would be undernourished by 2030, most of them living in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.”

As improvements in food security are associated with increases in purchasing power, the organization submitted that the twin-track approach is needed; “one that combines investment in social protection, to immediately tackle undernourishment, with pro-poor investments in productive activities, to sustainably increase the income-earning opportunities of the poor.” The FAO highlighted that agriculture remains much less capital intensive in low- and middle-income countries.

While this was not the case previous, the agency said that, “nowadays, low- and middle-income countries invest in agriculture almost as much, in absolute terms, as high-income countries – around US$190 billion in both cases. However, agriculture in high-income countries is still significantly more capital-intensive than in low- and middle-income countries. It requires four units of capital to generate one unit of value added in high income countries, compared to around 1.5 in low and middle-income countries.”

The FAO reminded of the ‘triple burden’ of malnutrition, when it comes to food security. It said that this issue remains a global health emergency.

Wheat fields in Serbia (FAO)

“The ‘triple burden’, which consists of under nutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity, affects large proportions of the world’s population who still go to bed hungry.”

In fact, there are parts of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, where the rate of stunting is not declining fast enough. Micronutrient deficiencies affect more than two billion people worldwide, FAO stated. It continued that overweight and obesity levels are increasing and affect men and women of all ages, owing to increased consumption of foods high in calories and fat and with added sugar or salt.

With the increases in food supply in recent decades, FAO highlighted that the world now produces more than enough food to satisfy the dietary needs of the entire global population. An analysis by food groups reveals that in the last 50 years, per capita caloric availability and the diversity of foods consumed have increased in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries.

“Overall, the average dietary energy supply (DES) in low- and middle-income countries remains well below that of high -income countries, but the gap is gradually narrowing.” It was related that in 1961, the DES of low- and middle-income countries was only 68 percent of that in high-income countries but rose to 81 percent in 2011. By 2050, it is projected to reach 86 percent.

The FAO noted however that “adequate food availability does not automatically imply adequate food intake by all.”

It said firstly, inequalities in income and other means of subsistence explain large differences in people’s access to food. Second, poorer households tend to face impediments to the adequate use of food, owing to a lack of access to facilities such as storage, cooking equipment and clean water, and to services such as health care and basic nutrition education. Third, this dietary transition is partially reflected in improved access to more nutritious foods, including meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, but not necessary in the right balance.

The FAO warned that, “this trend, together with the rapidly growing consumption of processed foods that often incur excessive quantities of sugar, salt and preservatives, has given rise to concerns over the shift to less healthy diets and the increasing prevalence of micronutrient deficiency and overweight.”

The FAO said that geopolitical instability; scarcity; degradation of resources and climate change is among other factors that can affect the world’s future abilities to feed itself.