Data or statistical facts on the situation and perspectives of agri-food systems and the impact of policies
According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report 2023 (SOFI 2023) global hunger in 2022 affects 9.2 percent of the world population – between 691 and 783 million people – and a total of 2.4 billion people experience moderate or severe food insecurity.
More than 3.1 billion people, 42% of the world's population, could not afford a healthy diet in 2021, according to the SOFI 2023 report.
80% of deforestation, 70% of biodiversity loss and 70% of freshwater use are caused by food systems (WWF, 2022).
2.4% is the gender gap in global food insecurity in 2022, with a greater impact on women than men, although the effects of the pandemic have shown signs of easing (SOFI 2023 Report).
258 million people faced acute food insecurity in 2022, in the 10 countries most affected by fragile and crisis contexts (OECD, 2022).
Two to four times more effective than other interventions, agricultural development is a powerful tool for eradicating poverty and boosting shared prosperity, especially among the poorest (UNDP, 2024).
40% of the global workforce in primary industries (agriculture, forestry and fisheries) is represented by food value chains (UNDP, 2024).
Agriculture accounts for 4 percent of the global gross domestic producto (GDP) and in some least developing countries it can account for more than 25 percent of GDP (Blue Food Assessment, 2021).
Food value chains support 800 million livelihoods, mostly in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture (Blue Food Assessment, 2021).
Around 3.4 billion people, 45 percent of the global population, live in rural areas of developing countries, and most depend on smallholder farms for their livelihoods and sustenance (IFAD, n.d.).
