Cape Town - The world's largest economies, as both major producers and consumers, are uniquely positioned to drive the transformation towards more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, told Group of 20 agriculture ministers meeting today in South Africa.
The meeting, held in Cape Town under the theme "Data-Driven Approaches to Addressing Food Security and Promoting Inclusive Agricultural Investment and Market Access," was hosted by South African Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen. It comes amid overlapping global crises that continue to push millions into hunger and poverty.
Current agrifood systems are among the most vulnerable to climate shocks, with droughts, floods, storms, and rising temperatures undermining productivity and disrupting supply chains. FAO's Global Roadmap shows that achieving Zero Hunger while keeping within the 1.5 degrees Celsius target is possible. But it will require an estimated $1.1 trillion annually until 2030 for mitigation and resilience.
"This is an urgent call for coordinated global action," Qu told the meeting.
The Director-General highlighted four areas where the G20 can provide crucial leadership: Scaling up innovation and digitalization; increasing sustainable and resilient investment; improving data transparency and market functioning; and promoting integrated policy approaches.
"FAO remains your steadfast partner and we continue to support countries, such as through our Hand-in-Hand Initiative to match the poorest countries with investment opportunities," the Director-General said. "Let us leave this meeting with a renewed collective resolve to build the agrifood systems the world needs - systems that can nourish all people, today and tomorrow, while protecting our planet."
SOFI 2025 presentation
In Cape Town, the Director-General also presented the key findings of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2025 Report.
Prepared jointly by FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, the report delivers both sobering realities and signs of progress. In 2024, 673 million people faced chronic undernourishment - nearly one in every 12 people worldwide.
Hunger has declined modestly from recent peaks - from 8.7% in 2022 to 8.2% in 2024 - but continues to rise in Africa. If current trends persist, by 2030 more than 512 million people will still be hungry, almost 60 percent of them in Africa.
"The message of SOFI 2025 is clear: hunger is declining too slowly, food price inflation is eroding diets, and inequalities are widening. But with coordinated, evidence-based action, the G20 can bend the curve," Qu said.
