SOFI 2026: Global Hunger Falls for Third Consecutive Year but 2.7 Billion Cannot Afford a Healthy Diet
The UN's latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report reveals 645 million faced hunger in 2025, a decline of 43 million from the 2022 peak, yet progress remains fragile with Africa still home to 309 million undernourished and nearly a third of the world unable to afford nutritious food.
SOFIA 2026: Aquaculture Surpasses 100 Million Tonnes as Global Fisheries Production Hits Record 235 Million
FAO's latest State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report confirms record global production in 2024, with aquaculture topping 100 million tonnes for the first time and aquatic trade reaching $184 billion, even as per capita availability in Africa lags far behind the global average.
FAO Warns Transboundary Animal Diseases Spread Across Regions as Screwworm Reaches United States
Avian influenza, African swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, and New World screwworm are spreading across borders at unprecedented rates, threatening over one billion livelihoods and trillions in economic value, FAO warns in a June 2026 alert calling for stronger global prevention systems.
Global Report on Food Crises 2026: Two Famines Confirmed for First Time as Acute Hunger Doubles Over Decade
The tenth edition of the Global Report on Food Crises confirms that 266 million people across 47 countries faced acute food insecurity in 2025, with famines declared simultaneously in parts of Gaza and Sudan — a first in the report's history — as conflict remains the overwhelming driver of emergency-level hunger.
ECDC and EFSA Report 2,514 Avian Influenza Detections Across Europe as First Cattle Spillover Investigated in Netherlands
The joint ECDC-EFSA avian influenza overview covering December 2025 to February 2026 recorded 2,514 HPAI detections across 32 European countries, including the first potential spillover from wild birds to dairy cattle in the Netherlands, while the risk to the general public remained low.
UN Declares 'Era of Global Water Bankruptcy' as Four Billion Face Severe Scarcity and Critical Systems Cross Irreversible Thresholds
A flagship UN University report formally defines 'water bankruptcy' as a post-crisis condition where aquifers, lakes, and river basins are depleted beyond recovery, with 75% of humanity in water-insecure countries and agricultural systems increasingly dependent on vanishing groundwater reserves.
High Seas Treaty and WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement Enter Into Force, Reshaping Global Ocean Governance
Two landmark international agreements — the BBNJ High Seas Treaty and the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies — entered into force in 2025 and 2026, creating the first comprehensive legal framework for marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction and banning subsidies that drive illegal fishing and overfished stock exploitation.
IPC Confirms Famine in Sudan's El Fasher and Kadugli as 21 Million Face Acute Hunger
For the second time in under a year, the IPC Famine Review Committee has confirmed famine conditions in parts of Sudan, with El Fasher and Kadugli classified at IPC Phase 5 as 21.2 million people—45 percent of the population—face high levels of acute food insecurity.
Brazil and UK Launch Belém Declaration on Fertilisers at COP30 to Cut Emissions and Protect Food Security
On 19 November 2025, Brazil and the United Kingdom launched a joint ministerial call to action at COP30 in Belém, urging countries to enhance nutrient use efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fertiliser production while safeguarding global food security.
FAO Food Outlook Forecasts Record 3 Billion Tonne Cereal Harvest as Global Food Prices Continue Decline
In its November 2025 Food Outlook report, the FAO raised its forecast for global cereal production to a record 3.003 billion tonnes, driven by upward revisions to wheat output, while global food prices continued their downward trend for the second consecutive month.
FAO Marks 80th Anniversary as World Food Day 2025 Calls for Collective Action on Agrifood Systems
On 16 October 2025, the Food and Agriculture Organization celebrated its 80th anniversary alongside World Food Day, urging global collaboration to transform agrifood systems amid persistent hunger affecting hundreds of millions worldwide.
WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies Enters Into Force After 20 Years of Negotiations, Banning Subsidies for Illegal and Overfished Stock Fishing
On 15 September 2025, the WTO's first-ever environmental agreement became legally binding after 111 members ratified it. The deal prohibits subsidies for IUU fishing, overfished stocks, and unregulated high seas fishing, with a fish fund to support developing nations' implementation.
EU JRC Warns of Irreversible Crop Yield Losses Across South-Eastern Europe as Persistent Drought Bakes Maize, Sunflower and Soybean Fields
The European Commission's Joint Research Centre reported in August 2025 that repeated heatwaves and drought across Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary and Türkiye have caused irreversible damage to rainfed summer crops, while western Europe enjoyed favourable conditions.
Desert Locust Fears Wane Across Sahel as FAO Surveillance Averts Major Swarm Formation Despite Favourable Breeding Conditions
After spring breeding in North Africa raised alarm, FAO monitoring through summer 2025 confirmed that despite heavy seasonal rains creating ideal conditions in Mauritania, Mali, and Niger, major swarm formation did not materialise — though agencies maintain vigilance as climate variability increases locust risk.
SOFI 2025 Report Shows Global Hunger Easing for Third Year but Africa's Crisis Deepens with 307 Million Food Insecure
The 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, launched in Addis Ababa, reveals global hunger declined to 8.2% in 2024 but Africa's share continues to rise, with projections that 60% of those at risk of chronic hunger will be on the continent by 2030.
Third UN Ocean Conference Adopts Nice Ocean Action Plan as 170 Nations Pledge Action on SDG 14
Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica in Nice, UNOC3 brought together 15,000 participants and 60 heads of state, adopting a political declaration and over 800 voluntary commitments to accelerate ocean protection, sustainable fisheries, and high seas governance.
2025 Global Report on Food Crises Records 295 Million in Acute Hunger as Famine Confirmed in Sudan
The 2025 Global Report on Food Crises, released May 16 in Rome, documents 295.3 million people facing crisis-level or worse acute food insecurity across 53 countries — a tripling since 2016. The report confirms famine in parts of Sudan, the first such designation since 2020, as humanitarian funding faces unprecedented cuts.
Sudan Faces Catastrophic Food Security Crisis as IPC Projects Famine Across Darfur and Kordofan in Early 2025
By March 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification identified multiple areas across Darfur and Kordofan as facing famine or severe risk of famine, with nearly 19.5 million people experiencing acute food insecurity. The crisis, driven by civil conflict, displacement, and humanitarian access restrictions, represents one of the worst food emergencies in modern history.
India Lifts Ban on Broken Rice Exports and Removes Minimum Export Price, Reshaping Global Rice Trade in 2025
India Lifts Ban on Broken Rice Exports and Removes Minimum Export Price, Reshaping Global Rice Trade in 2025
In March 2025, India lifted the ban on 100% broken white rice exports and removed Minimum Export Price requirements, building on the September 2024 lifting of the non-basmati white rice ban. The liberalisation triggered a 25% surge in non-basmati rice exports, stabilising global rice supplies — but the government simultaneously introduced mandatory APEDA registration to monitor outbound shipments.
H5N1 Bird Flu in US Dairy Cattle: CDC Reports 70 Human Cases and 989 Affected Herds as Outbreak Persists Into 2025
By February 2025, the CDC confirmed 70 human cases of H5N1 bird flu linked to a multistate outbreak in US dairy cattle and poultry, with 989 herds across 17 states infected. Three new cases in Nevada, Ohio, and Wyoming — including two hospitalisations — highlighted the ongoing risk to agricultural workers as the virus continued spreading through American livestock.
Southern Africa's El Niño Drought Pushes 26 Million Toward Acute Hunger as Six Nations Declare Disasters
The 2023–2024 El Niño event triggered one of the driest mid-seasons in over 40 years across Southern Africa, devastating rain-fed maize production and pushing over 26 million people toward acute hunger by early 2025. Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe all declared national drought disasters as the region entered the peak lean season.
Artificial Intelligence Reshapes Precision Agriculture as Computer Vision and Predictive Analytics Reach Production Scale
In 2024, AI-driven agriculture moved from pilot projects to production-scale deployments, with computer vision systems reducing herbicide use by up to 90 per cent and predictive analytics enabling real-time yield forecasting. The convergence of drones, autonomous robotics, and smart irrigation is levelling the playing field for smaller farms.
Biofortified Crops Reach 450 Varieties Across 41 Countries as Research Shifts from Efficacy to Scale
By 2024, nearly 450 biofortified crop varieties of 12 staple crops had been released across 41 countries, with new research in Nutrition Research Reviews and Nature Food focusing on adoption barriers, school feeding integration, and the zinc-iron interaction dilemma that complicates multi-nutrient breeding.
UN Report Reveals 733 Million Faced Hunger in 2023 as Global Progress Stalls for Third Consecutive Year
The 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, launched by five UN agencies at the G20 in Brazil, confirms hunger remains stubbornly entrenched at pre-pandemic-affected levels, with Africa bearing the heaviest burden at one in five people undernourished.
El Niño-Driven Drought Devastates Southern Africa as Six Nations Declare States of Emergency
The worst drought in over a century scorched maize fields across Southern Africa in 2024, destroying nearly 70 per cent of Zambia's planted corn and pushing millions into acute food insecurity. Six countries declared national disasters as the SADC launched a $5.5 billion regional appeal.
First UN Water Conference in Nearly 50 Years Yields $77 Billion in Voluntary Commitments
The March 2023 UN Water Conference in New York — the first in almost half a century — produced a Water Action Agenda with over 700 voluntary commitments and $77.2 billion in pledged financing, but critics warn that without binding targets and accountability, the pledges may not translate into the progress on SDG 6 that 2 billion people without safe drinking water urgently need.
Horn of Africa's Worst Drought in 40 Years Pushes Over 36 Million Toward Famine
Five consecutive failed rainy seasons across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia have created the region's most severe drought in four decades, devastating pastoralist livelihoods and leaving 5.1 million children acutely malnourished as FAO and WFP mobilize a multi-billion-dollar response.
Global Fertilizer Crisis Squeezes African Farmers as Prices Double and Yields Fall
The Russia-Ukraine war and soaring natural gas prices triggered a global fertilizer shortage in 2022 that doubled input costs, forcing smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa to reduce applications and threatening yield declines for staple crops at a time of mounting food insecurity.
Black Sea Grain Initiative: The Wartime Deal That Moved 33 Million Tons of Food to 45 Countries
Brokered by the UN and Türkiye in July 2022, the Black Sea Grain Initiative reopened Ukraine's blocked ports and helped drive global food prices down 23% from their peak — before Russia's withdrawal in July 2023 raised fresh fears for food-importing nations across Africa.
Burundi Releases Eleven Climate-Smart Rice Varieties as Africa Ramps Up Drought-Resilient Breeding
In July 2022, Burundi's agricultural research institute and IRRI released eleven improved rice varieties — including three drought-tolerant lines and high-zinc nutritionally enhanced types — as part of a continent-wide push to deploy climate-resilient seeds bundled with water-saving irrigation practices.
Philippines Becomes First Country to Approve Golden Rice for Commercial Propagation
On 21 July 2021, the Philippine Department of Agriculture approved the genetically engineered beta-carotene-enriched rice for commercial planting — a milestone two decades in the making, designed to combat vitamin A deficiency affecting millions of Filipino children.
SOFI 2021: Global Hunger Rose by 118 Million in a Single Year as COVID-19 Erases Years of Progress
The joint UN flagship report revealed that between 720 and 811 million people faced hunger in 2020, with the prevalence of undernourishment climbing to 9.9 percent — wiping out gains made over the previous five years and putting the Zero Hunger target firmly out of reach.
Nutrition Scientist Shakuntala Thilsted Awarded 2021 World Food Prize for Pioneering Small Fish Aquaculture
Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted received the 2021 World Food Prize for her transformative research proving that small indigenous fish species are extraordinarily rich in micronutrients — shifting the global food security paradigm from feeding to nourishing.
COVID-19 Disrupts Global Food Supply Chains: FAO Warns Access, Not Availability, Is the Real Threat
As lockdowns swept the globe in early 2020, the FAO identified that the primary food security challenge was not a shortage of food but the disruption of access — logistical bottlenecks, labour shortages, and collapsing purchasing power threatened to push millions into hunger.
Worst Desert Locust Upsurge in 25 Years Threatens East Africa as FAO Mobilises Largest Aerial Control Campaign
Unusual cyclones and heavy rains triggered the most devastating desert locust outbreak in a quarter century across the Horn of Africa and Yemen, threatening 25 million people with acute food insecurity before a $230 million FAO-led response averted catastrophe.
Desert Locust Upsurge Engulfs the Horn of Africa in Worst Infestation in Decades
Triggered by 2018 cyclones in the Arabian Peninsula, desert locust swarms spread across the Greater Horn of Africa in late 2019, threatening food security for millions. FAO coordinated a USD 230 million response as Kenya faced its worst locust crisis in 70 years.
IPCC Land Report Warns Climate Change Threatens Global Food Security as 25% of Land Already Degraded
IPCC Land Report Warns Climate Change Threatens Global Food Security as 25% of Land Already Degraded
The IPCC's 2019 Special Report on Climate Change and Land found that agriculture and land use contribute 23% of greenhouse gas emissions, while climate change is accelerating land degradation and threatening food production. The report called for urgent shifts to sustainable land management.
FAO Reports Global Hunger Rising for Third Consecutive Year, with Africa Hit Hardest
The 2018 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report confirmed that 821 million people were undernourished in 2017 — the third straight year of increase. Africa bore the highest prevalence, with 256 million people affected, as conflict, climate shocks, and economic slowdowns reversed a decade of progress.
Cape Town Averts 'Day Zero' as Climate-Driven Drought Pushes City to the Brink
Cape Town Averts 'Day Zero' as Climate-Driven Drought Pushes City to the Brink
After three years of exceptional drought, Cape Town came within months of becoming the first major city to shut off its municipal water supply. Aggressive conservation, pressure management, and public behaviour change pulled the city back from the edge.
Fall Armyworm Spreads Across Sub-Saharan Africa, Threatening Millions of Maize-Dependent Livelihoods
By 2018, the invasive Fall Armyworm had reached almost every sub-Saharan country, with FAO estimating potential annual maize losses of 8 to 16 million tonnes. The agency shifted from eradication to long-term integrated pest management.