Momentum towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) tied to food and agriculture remains uneven, with worsening gaps across key metrics, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The UN agency oversees 22 indicators on six SDGs including SDG 2, which aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
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Its latest assessment finds that about a quarter of indicators are “close to being achieved”, while another quarter “remains far or very far from being achieved”.
Since 2015, performance has “deteriorated” on more than three-fifths of indicators, stagnated on one, and improved or slightly improved on the remaining third.
The mixed picture comes as countries wrestle with compounding shocks, from conflict and health crises to biodiversity loss, climate impacts and geopolitical and economic tensions, all of which are reshaping agrifood systems, prices and supply security.
Food insecurity has worsened since 2015. In 2024, roughly 28% of people – nearly 2.3 billion – faced moderate or severe food insecurity.
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By GlobalDataAround 8.2% of the global population likely suffered from hunger this year.
Against SDG targets, the FAO says the world is “far from the target” and has “registered deterioration” since 2015.
Food price anomalies eased in 2023; their frequency is still roughly triple the 2015–2019 average, driven by persistent geopolitical conflicts and weather shocks, the agency said, adding that it is “very far from the target”.
José Rosero Moncayo, FAO chief statistician, said: “We need to redouble our efforts to achieve food security, improved nutrition and sustainable agriculture, while ensuring the sustainability of our natural resource base.”
Nutrition gaps persist. Between 2019 and 2023, only 65% of women of childbearing age met minimum dietary diversity standards, with the lowest rates in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South Asia.
The FAO classifies this as a “moderate distance” from the goal but worsening since 2015.
Smallholders continue to lag economically. In low- and middle-income nations, smallholder food producers receive under 50% of the income earned by larger-scale producers, with their annual farm earnings frequently falling below $1,500 (2017 constant PPP).
Progress towards productive and sustainable agriculture remains limited, though there has been “slight” improvement since 2015.
In fisheries, uptake of international tools against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is rising, but outcomes are lagging: the share of fish stocks at biologically sustainable levels fell to 62.5% in 2021, down from 90% in 1974.
Water and forests present a mixed outlook. Global water stress held steady at about 18% in 2022 but western Asia and north Africa face “severe” shortages.
Forest cover slipped from 31.9% in 2000 to 31.2% in 2020, with agriculture-driven clearing still the main driver, even as the pace of loss has slowed.
Some efficiency and conservation gains are evident.
Water-use efficiency rose 23% from 2015 to 2022, largely on the back of economic growth.
The FAO found more animal genetic resources are being conserved, yet only 4.6% of local and 17.2% of transboundary breeds have enough material to enable breed restoration after extinction.
Gender disparities remain entrenched. In about 80% of surveyed countries, fewer than half of women have secure land tenure, and men are at least twice as likely to own land.
