The number of people facing acute food insecurity, requiring urgent life-saving food assistance and livelihood support, continues to grow at an alarming rate, according to this new joint UN report.

Food system activities are inextricably linked with climate and weather, environmental resources and human health. This article reviews the contribution of food system activities to climate change, the positive feedback on food systems and the effects of dietary change on food system outcomes.

Urbanization is transforming food systems across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia in conjunction with other dynamics such as rising average welfare. Where overall food demand is projected to increase approximately 2.5-fold in sub-Saharan Africa and 1.7-fold in South Asia, urban demand will rise two to four times more.

Vulnerable populations in urban areas globally have been among the worst hit by the global COVID-19 crisis. In South and South-East Asia, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased levels of vulnerability and food insecurity in cities through disruptions to food supply chains, increased food prices and loss of income.

This book presents a heavily disruptive, inclusive, and resilient solution to Africa’s wide-ranging food security challenges. Specifically, it assesses the benefits and costs of using the frontier agriculture technologies to create a circular food economy in Africa, particularly in Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV)-affected countries.

The state of food security and nutrition in the world, including that of the Europe and Central Asia region, was marked in 2020 by the outbreak of COVID-19 and resulting disruptions to markets, trade and food supply chains. The pandemic has had a negative effect on food security in the region.

The main shocks reported by interviewed households included dry spells, high food prices, sickness or death of household members, loss of income, pests and diseases affecting both crops and livestock, and high fuel prices.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of agri-food systems to shocks and stresses and led to increased global food insecurity and malnutrition. Action is needed to make agri-food systems more resilient, efficient, sustainable and inclusive.

In this report, food distribution is analysed within the context of food systems in Tanzania. This study looks at entry points for further studies of food system issues within the country that will affect progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2.

This publication offers a synthesis of the major factors at play in the global food and agricultural landscape.