The United Nations report points out that the global agricultural and food system has caused huge hidden costs and the food security situation is grim
Liang Fan
A recent report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) shows that the current global agricultural and food system has caused huge hidden costs to human health, the environment and society. The report urges governments and international organizations to actively promote the transformation of agri-food systems to address issues such as the climate crisis, poverty, inequality and food insecurity.
In the latest “State of Food and Agriculture 2023” report, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations analyzed the agricultural and food systems of 154 countries around the world. The results showed that the current agricultural and food system has caused serious harm to human health, the environment and society. The huge hidden cost is as high as 10 trillion U.S. dollars every year, equivalent to nearly 10% of global GDP.
According to the report, the hidden costs of the agri-food system have the greatest impact on low-income countries, reaching more than a quarter of the relevant countries’ GDP, while middle-income countries are affected by less than 12%, and high-income countries are less at 8%. The scale of the hidden costs associated with poverty and undernourishment is most pronounced in low-income countries.
Echoing this report, the “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” report jointly released by multiple United Nations agencies not long ago pointed out that an estimated 691 million to 783 million people worldwide will face hunger in 2022, an increase of 122 million people compared with 2019. The report warns that by 2030, nearly 600 million people around the world are expected to be chronically undernourished, with the situation in Africa being particularly severe.
In addition, the United Nations estimates that almost one-third of the food produced globally is lost or wasted, and nearly 3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. The COVID-19 epidemic has exacerbated the structural and systemic wealth gaps between countries and regions, and the food security situation of low-income countries is at risk of falling further behind.
Currently, the global agricultural and food system is affected by multiple adverse factors such as extreme climate, geopolitical conflicts, economic recession, and fertilizer shortages, and global food security faces severe challenges.
According to the “Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security” report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in the past 30 years, various disasters have caused losses to agricultural and animal husbandry production of approximately US$3.8 trillion, equivalent to an average annual loss of US$123 billion. Accounting for 5% of the world‘s annual agricultural output value. This year’s El Niño phenomenon has caused disastrous weather in some major agricultural producing areas around the world, affecting crop production.
The international community generally believes that another major crux of the current global food crisis lies in the uneven distribution of global food, with huge gaps in food resources between different countries and regions.
“The global food system has ‘collapsed’, and vulnerable groups have paid the price, and the way food is produced and consumed must be changed.” United Nations Secretary-General Guterres warned not long ago.
Guterres listed three key areas for action: The first is to make large-scale investments in sustainable food systems. He called on governments to respond to the Sustainable Development Goals stimulus plan set by the United Nations and invest at least US$500 billion per year to provide benefits to all stakeholders. Countries in need should provide long-term financial support; secondly, governments and enterprises of various countries should cooperate to keep food markets open and eliminate trade barriers and export restrictions; thirdly, reduce the carbon footprint of the food system.
Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, emphasized that the transformation of the global agricultural and food system is urgent. All parties should strive to build a more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agricultural and food system.
Efforts to transform the global agricultural and food system involve multiple sectors such as agriculture, climate crisis, biodiversity, trade and nutrition. Countries should increase coordination efforts to make governance processes and policies coherent and coordinated, combine short-term and long-term, and actively join forces to find solutions. Scientific and technological innovation is very important for accelerating the transformation of global agriculture and food systems. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has elevated the status of scientific and technological innovation to unprecedented heights. It has established a chief scientist as the core leadership of the organization, established the first innovation office, and passed the first scientific and innovation strategies, holding scientific innovation forums and a series of actions. At the same time, biotechnology will be used to support innovation in breeding technology, protect climate-resilient crops and the diversity of local crops, and strive to make science, technology and innovation play a more important role.