FAO: Despite Rising Food Production, Global Hunger Remains Persistent

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The United  Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FÀO) has revealed that despite rising global food production, hunger remains a persistent issue, putting the number of undernourished people at between 713 and 757 million people in 2023.

Although the majority of undernourished people live in Asia, the UN agency said the prevalence of undernourishment remains highest in Africa.
In its Statistical Yearbook 2024, which was released, Monday, the FAO reported that global agricultural value had increased by 89 per cent in real terms over the past two decades, reaching $3.8 trillion in 2022.

“Despite this growth, agriculture’s contribution to global economic output has remained relatively stable, and the proportion of the global workforce employed in agriculture has decreased, from 40 per cent in 2000 to 26 per cent in 2022.

“Food production has continued to rise, but hunger remains a persistent issue. In 2023, between 713 and 757 million people were undernourished. “Considering the mid-range (733 million), this is about 152 million more people than in 2019. The majority of the undernourished people lives in Asia, even though the prevalence of undernourishment is highest in Africa,” the report said.

According to the report, obesity rates are also rising, particularly in high-income regions, adding that over 25 per cent of adults in the Americas, Europe and Oceania are obese, reflecting the global challenge of ensuring access to healthy, nutritious food.

The global production of primary crops reached 9.6 billion tonnes in 2022, an increase of 56 per cent compared to 2000  even as staple crops such as sugar cane, maize, wheat and rice together account for nearly half of global crop production.

Meat production increased by 55 per cent from 2000 to 2022, with chicken accounting for the largest share of this rise.

In 2022, 361 million tonnes of meat were produced globally, with chicken surpassing pork as the most produced meat, the report said.

Also, the use of pesticides increased by 70 per cent between 2000 and 2022, with the Americas accounting for half of the global pesticide use in 2022.
 Inorganic fertilizers used in agriculture reached 185 million tonnes of nutrients in 2022, with 58 per cent of this amount being nitrogen.

This represented an increase of 37 per cent compared with 2000, just as the production of vegetable oils grew by 133 per cent between 2000 and 2021, largely driven by an increase in palm oil production.
 Greenhouse gas emissions from agrifood systems also rose by 10 per cent between 2000 and 2022.

 Farm-gate emissions increased by 15 per cent over the same period, with livestock contributing to around 54 per cent of these emissions.