The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has identified sustainable agri-food system as the surest way to address global hunger issues.
On Tuesday, July 21, the FAO launched the 2026 edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report.
The report states, among other things, that an estimated 645 million people, 7.8 percent of the global population, faced hunger in 2025. This represents nearly 14 million fewer people than in 2024 and 43 million fewer than at the 2022 peak.
Food insecurity also improved substantially. In 2025, approximately 2.1 billion people experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, nearly 86 million fewer people than one year earlier. The largest gains were recorded in South America and Asia, particularly in Southern Asia.
Speaking at the event at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, the Director-General of the FAO, Qu Dongyu, said “these numbers are important because they show that hunger is not inevitable
In his address, Director-General called for urgent action to sustain and accelerate recent gains.
“With strong economic policies, social protection and sustained investments in more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agri-food systems, we can bend the hunger curve,” he added.
Key priorities the FAO said include keeping food, energy and agricultural input markets open, avoiding export restrictions, and strengthening targeted social protection programmes for vulnerable populations.
Governments and development partners are also urged to ensure farmers can access fertilizers, quality seeds, water, credit and other essential inputs before planting decisions become irreversible.
The report also recommended long-term investments across agrifood systems, particularly in irrigation, storage facilities, cold chains, transport infrastructure, early-warning systems and anticipatory action mechanisms. Such investments can reduce the cost of nutritious foods, improve resilience to shocks and make healthy diets more affordable.
“In a world of ongoing and overlapping shocks, progress cannot be taken for granted; it must be protected, accelerated and extended to everyone, everywhere to ensure the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life – leaving no one behind,” Qu said.
Story by Kofi Nartey
