Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Liaison Office in Japan
FAO’s new report, Food and Agriculture Perspectives, calls for broader and systemic transformation of agriculture and food systems
A new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Food and Agriculture Perspectives: Drivers and Triggers of Transformation, finds that the world’s ability to feed a rapidly growing population is under threat. It points out that without broader socio-economic and environmental changes, a sustainable agricultural and food system cannot be achieved.
The report analyzes the current and emerging “drivers” of the agricultural and food system and possible future trends. It identifies the challenges faced and the threats and problems that will affect future food consumption and agricultural and food production. He also warned that lack of vision, piecemeal approach and “quick fix” will cost everyone a high price. They also point out the urgent need for a new way of thinking that prioritizes long-term goals,
sustainability and resilience over short-term needs.
The report also identifies key “triggers” for agricultural and food system transformation to achieve food security, nutrition, natural resource conservation, ecosystem restoration and climate change mitigation. Trends such as population growth and urbanization, macroeconomic instability, poverty and inequality, geopolitical tensions and conflicts, increasing competition for natural resources, and climate change are taking a toll on socioeconomic systems and impacting the environment. They say it’s breaking the system. “Many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are not on track,” said FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu at the report’s launch event. “The SDGs will not be achieved without the right transformation of agriculture and food systems to withstand today’s global adversity, which is undermining the security of the world.”
Drivers of agricultural and food system performance
This report identifies 18 interrelated socio-economic and
environmental drivers, called drivers, how they interact with each other, and how they affect the agro-food system, including
agriculture, food processing, and food consumption. It analyzes how the various activities to be done are formed.
For example, poverty and inequality, geopolitical instability, resource scarcity and degradation, and climate change are major drivers, and how we manage them will determine the future of food. It calls for caution, using evidence that if agriculture and food systems continue unabated, we are headed for a future characterized by persistent food insecurity, resource degradation and unsustainable economic growth.
Four scenarios for future prospects
This report presents four scenarios for future agricultural and food systems with diverse outcomes for food security, nutrition and sustainability in general. A “repeated” scenario anticipates a scenario in which we continue to work our way through by responding to events and crises that have occurred. The ‘adjusted future’ scenario is one in which movement towards sustainable agriculture and food systems occurs at a slow and uncertain pace. The ‘race to the bottom’ scenario depicts a chaotic worst-case scenario. In the ‘trade-offs for sustainability’ scenario, short-term gross domestic product (GDP) growth is traded off for inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability of agricultural and food, socio-economic and environmental systems. It’s a scenario.
“Analyzing short- and long-term trends, understanding possible future scenarios, and having a strategic outlook are useful for everyone, especially governments,” said FAO Director-General Qu. By doing so, we can anticipate potential downsides and take steps to avoid them.” Triggers that cause change
The report underscores the urgency of a course correction to unlock the potential for creating a more sustainable and resilient
agricultural and food system future. To achieve this, we propose four key “transformation triggers”. Better governance, informed consumers, better distribution of income and wealth, and innovative technologies and approaches.
He also noted that low- and middle-income countries are unlikely to attain the hegemonic power and imperial status that many high-income countries have used for their own well-being and well-being, and noted that future The mode of development of the world is to solve important problems such as the institutions that provide solutions for sharing the “global commons”, the distribution of political power and wealth, and the resolution of the considerable inequalities that exist in today’s economy. Emphasize that it does.
Above all, in a scenario in which the world chooses a more sustainable future, governments, consumers, businesses and academia with different functions but interacting in the same overall direction should be “more effective and participatory.” It is premised on tackling global issues through “formal, innovative, multi-layered governance.” “To ensure access to adequate and nutritious food, decent work, income opportunities and environmental services, we need to accelerate the transformation process,” said FAO Director-General Qu. We need to be smarter about what triggers we need.”
The Role of Consumers and Investors
Consumers need to become more responsible actors because they “have the power to drive transformational processes by demanding more environmentally, socially responsible and nutritious products.” The report encourages greater investment in social outcomes and increases in social capital for a more favorable distribution of income and wealth, calling for people to be lifted not only from hunger but also from poverty, It recommends that the state pays more for this transformation.
This transformation will also be facilitated by further advances in innovative technologies and approaches. It therefore recommends that scientific research and development must be given priority and that these advances be made available to the most vulnerable.
the road ahead is not easy
However, such a comprehensive transformation comes at a price. Governments, policy makers and consumers will need to respond to resistance to paradigm shifts, address trade-offs, and balance them. Countries and societal groups that can afford the costs of the necessary changes must help those already affected by unsustainable development.
In the preface to the report, the FAO Director-General said, “It is important to prioritize immediate consumption and well-being and invest in a better future for now and for future generations, or reduce the costs of unsustainable development.” We have to make trade-offs between contrasting goals, such as deciding how wealthier societies will pay and how poorer societies will benefit.”
It’s not too late, but urgent action is needed
By 2050, 10 billion people in the world will need food. Unless major attempts are made to reverse the current trend, this will be an unprecedented challenge. The world is “extremely off track” towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those in the agricultural and food sectors. However, while there are compelling reasons to be pessimistic, it is still possible to bring about long-term sustainable change if governments, consumers, businesses, academia and the international community act now. The report presents a cautiously positive outlook.
Related Links:
・Original press release (English)
The Future of Food and Agriculture (FOFA) 2022
https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/new-un-report-warns-that-global-food-crises-likely-to-increase-in-the-future-without-wider-systemic-change/ en
・Report (English)
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0959en
・Summary (English)
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc1024en
・Dashboard (English)
https://www.fao.org/global-perspectives-studies/fofa-dtt-dashboard/en/ “Food and Agriculture Perspectives” Past Publications (English) https://www.fao.org/global-perspectives-studies/fofa
・FAO Agrifood Economics Division
https://www.fao.org/economic/agrifood-economics/en/
Details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000039.000036027.html