|
The COVID-19 global pandemic has exposed the fragilities of national agri-food systems by playing a major role in the latest rise in global hunger estimates.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2021 report, which will be launched at a virtual event on November 23, calls for more resilience
to shock and stresses in the way we grow, produce and distribute our food.
The world is at a critical juncture: from the economic fallout of the pandemic, which because of school closures has denied
school meals to hundreds of millions of children,
to climate variability and extremes, to the persistence of hunger and malnutrition, now is the time to build resilience.
Global food security and nutrition is
at stake.
Today,
3 billion people
are unable to
afford a healthy diet. The report shows that
an additional 1 billion would join their ranks if a shock reduced their income by one-third.
Moreover, food costs could increase for up to 845 million people if a disruption to critical
transport links were to occur.
The theme of this year’s report responds to the United Nations Food Systems Summit’s call to bring forward a series of concrete actions that people from all over the world can take
to support the
transformation of the world’s agri-food systems. More specifically, the report provides evidence and guidance on actions that can help actors in agri-food systems manage their
vulnerability to shocks and stresses, and strengthen the capacity of these systems to support livelihoods and sustainably provide continuous access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to all in the face of disruptions.
The publication also presents country-level indicators of the resilience of agri-food systems, by analysing factors such as transport networks, trade flows and the availability of
healthy and varied diets. While low-income countries face much bigger challenges, the report shows that middle-income countries are also at risk.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu will deliver opening remarks at 13:05 CET, followed
by a presentation of the report by FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero Cullen and a panel discussion with policymakers and academics.
The event will be webcast
here and can also be followed by registering
here.
|
RESOURCES FOR THE MEDIA
Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Food security and Nutrition
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2021
FOLLOW ON TWITTER
@FAO, @FAOnews, @FAOstatistics
FOR MORE INFORMATION
FAO Newsroom
+39 06 570 53625
[log in to unmask]
|