Zero Hunger (2)

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

• [New] By the year 2030, virtually all of the world's economically accessible rivers will be required to meet the needs of agriculture, industry and households, and to maintain lake and river levels.
• [New] While food security is not under threat in the EU, increased food demand worldwide could exert pressure on food prices in the coming decades.
• [New] To make matters worse, China has halted all purchases of agriculture products from the US, which has dramatically affected Wisconsin farmers and could lead to a jump in the rate of delinquent farm loans in 2020.
• If the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) are to be met by 2030, Africa will need the best of every form of agriculture including GE crops and crops made with CRISPR technology.
• At current rates, global warming is likely to reach at least 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2052, leading to significant risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth.
• Earlier this year, the European Commission raised the prospect of funds for agriculture, one of the industries in Ireland expected to be worst hit by a disruptive British exit.
• At the current rate of progress the MDG1 target for nutrition will only be reached in 2042 with severe consequences for human wellbeing and economic growth.
• To ensure food security, protecting agricultural genetic diversity is essential, as biodiversity loss is a significant and growing risk to the global food supply.
• Agriculture forms a total of USD5 trillion worldwide industry, which is only getting bigger: By the year 2050, caloric demand could surge by almost 70 percent, with crop demand for animal feed and human consumption rising a whopping 100 percent.
• By 2050, GDP growth rates could decline by 6 per cent due to water-related impacts on agriculture, health and incomes, with a loss of $4.5 trillion.
• Demand for water for agriculture could rise by over 30% between 2000-2030 and could double by 2050, depending on which future scenario is adopted, but will be affected by pressures from industry, domestic use, and the need to maintain environmental flows.
• Demand for water for agriculture could rise by over 30% by 2030, while total global water demand could rise by 35-60% between 2000 and 2025, and could double by 2050 owing to pressures from industry, domestic use and the need to maintain environmental flows.
• In Africa alone fall armyworm could cost smallholder farmers US $5 billion in lost maize and threaten the food security of 300 million people in 44 countries.
• Climate change is forecast to make water supply more erratic and unpredictable, costing regions such as the Middle East and Africa up to 6% of their GDP by 2050 due to water-related impacts on agriculture, health and incomes, while also disrupting continuity across global economic value chains.
• Credit rating agency Fitch has lowered India's growth forecast to 6.6% for the current fiscal from 6.8% projected earlier, as manufacturing and agriculture sectors showed signs of slowing down over the past year.
• Immediate action is required from all relevant stakeholders to prevent the risk of falling short in meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
• In 2017, the global market for artificial intelligence in agriculture was valued at around US$545 million, which is now increased and predicted to reach nearly US$2,075 million by 2024.
• If in the next 25 years, with the current trend of land degradation, agriculture will reduce 12 percent of global food production.
• Growth in the non-oil sector is expected to accelerate as policy interventions in agriculture and industry will revitalize the productive sectors.
• Rates of LBW reduction worldwide will need to more than double to reach the annual rate of reduction of 2 · 74% required to meet the ambitious global nutrition target of 30% reduction of LBW by 2025.
• Rapid population growth in poor countries will challenge efforts to meet sustainable development goals such as combating hunger and malnutrition.
• A recent boom in demand for macadamias has created new opportunities, which South Africa's agriculture industry has taken up, with plantings having tripled in the years from 2013 to 2016 and industry projections forecasting a 40 per cent increase of NIS by 2020.
• Growth in the non-oil sector is expected to accelerate as policy interventions in agriculture and industry will revitalise the productive sectors.

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Last updated: 16 September 2019