Food Systems Resilience

Food and nutrition security are prerequisites to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of poverty eradication (SDG 1), hunger eradication (SDG 2), good health and wellbeing (SDG 3), reduced inequalities (SDG 10), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), and responsible consumption and production (SDG 12). However, meeting these ambitious goals within the next 10 years, given the current global scenario, will be challenging. On one hand, the exponential growth of the world’s population, which is anticipated to reach about 10 billion in 2050, mainly living in cities and under diet transition, will necessarily result in a significant increase in food demand. On the other hand, climate change projections such as an increase in temperature and greenhouse gases, erratic rainfall patterns, and increased frequency of extreme weather events, accompanied by the reduction of arable land by as much as 50% in 2050, impose major food production challenges.