By Wiebe Draijer & Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo
The current global food system is not structured to cope with a rapidly growing population, climate shocks and the rise of both hunger and obesity. Under business-as-usual scenarios, an estimated 637 million people will still be undernourished, while health systems could face a bill of $1.2 trillion every year for treating medical conditions related to obesity. We will also have no hope of reaching the Sustainable Development Goal of net zero emissions by 2050, given that today’s agricultural supply chain, from farm to fork, accounts for around 27% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
As the heads of leading multilateral and commercial agricultural finance institutions, we are convinced that fragmentation within the current food systems represents the most significant hurdle to feeding a growing population nutritiously and sustainably. We urgently need collective action on an unprecedented scale, with innovative alliances that pool capital, resources and knowledge. This could unlock investment and generate impact leading to more sustainable, efficient, inclusive, nutritious and healthy food systems worldwide. Read more…
