Sustainable Development Goal 2

Sustainable Development Goal 2
Mission statement	"End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture"
Commercial?	No
Type of project	Non-Profit
Location	Global
Owner	Supported by United Nation & Owned by community
Founder	United Nations
Established	2015
Website	sdgs.un.org

Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2 or Global Goal 2) aims to achieve "zero hunger". It is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording is: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture". The Goal has five targets to be achieved by 2030. Progress will be measured by using fourteen indicators.

SDG 2 highlights the complex inter-linkages between food security, nutrition, rural transformation and sustainable agriculture. According to the United Nations, there are around 690 million people who are hungry, which accounts for 9.9 percent of the world population. Its more devastating to note that one in every nine people goes to bed hungry each night, including 20 million people currently at risk of famine in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria.

Malnutrition and extreme hunger constitute a crucial barrier to sustainable development. Both create a trap from which people cannot escape. Hungry people are less productive and easily prone to diseases. As such, they will be unable to improve their livelihood.

Under-nutrition has been on the rise since 2015, after falling for decades. This majorly results from the various stresses in food systems that include; climate shocks, the locust crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Those threats indirectly reduce the purchasing power and the capacity to produce and distribute food, which affects the most vulnerable populations and furthermore has reduced their accessibility to food. Up to 142 million people in 2020, have suffered from undernourishment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stunting and wasting children statistics are likely to worsen with the pandemic. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic "may add between 83 and 132 million people to the total number of undernourished in the world by the end of 2020 depending on the economic growth scenario".

World Food Program indicates that around 135 million people suffer from acute hunger caused by the climate change, man-made conflicts, and the economic downturns. Around 690 million people across the globe are hungry or around 8.9% of the world population. Sustainable food production system is achieved and implementing resilient agricultural practices aimed at increasing production and productivity. It also seeks to help in maintaining ecosystems and also strengthening capacity for climate change adaptation, drought, extreme weather, and other disasters.

The world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. "The signs of increasing hunger and food insecurity are a warning that there is considerable work to be done to make sure the world “leaves no one behind” on the road towards a world with zero hunger." It is unlikely there will be an end to malnutrition in Africa by 2030.

Background

Kenyan health worker weighs a young Kenyan boy to determine if he is malnourished

In September 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that included 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building on the principle of “leaving no one behind”, the new Agenda emphasizes a holistic approach to achieving sustainable development for all. In September 2019, Heads of State and Government came together during the SDG Summit to renew their commitment to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. During this event, they acknowledged that the first four years of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda included major progress, but that overall, the world is not on track to deliver the SDGs. This is when "the decade of action" and "delivery for sustainable development" was launched, demanding stakeholders to speed up the process and efforts of implementation.

SDG 2 aims to end all forms of malnutrition and hunger by 2030 and ensure that everyone has sufficient food throughout the year, especially children. Chronic malnutrition, which affects an estimated 155 million children worldwide, also stunts children's brain and physical development and puts them at further risk of death, disease, and lack of success as adults. According to recent research there could be a 14·3% increase in the prevalence of moderate or severe wasting among children younger than 5 years due to COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2017, only 26 of 202 UN member countries were on track to meet the SDG target to eliminate undernourishment and malnourishment, while 20 percent have made no progress at all and nearly 70 percent have no or insufficient data to determine their progress. "There is less than enough food produced today to feed every last one of us." According to FAO, there are almost 690 million people who remain chronically undernourished. This number has dropped by almost half in the past two decades because of rapid economic growth and increased agricultural productivity.

SDG 2 lays the foundational way to sustaining the world's population and making sure that nobody will ever suffer from hunger. It should be done through promoting sustainable agriculture with modern technologies and fair distribution systems. Innovations in agriculture are meant to ensure increase in food production and subsequent decrease food loss and food waste.

Javanese women performing manual labor during rice plantation in Indonesia

SDG 2 states that by 2030 people should achieve food security by ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition. This would be accomplished by doubling agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers (especially women and indigenous peoples), by ensuring sustainable food production systems, and by progressively improving land and soil quality. Agriculture is the single largest employer in the world, providing livelihoods for 40% of the global population. It is the largest source of income for poor rural households. Women make up about 43% of the agricultural labor force in developing countries, and over 50% in parts of Asia and Africa. However, women own only 20% of the land.

A report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) of 2013 stated that the emphasis of the SDGs should not be on ending poverty by 2030, but on eliminating hunger and under-nutrition by 2025. The assertion is based on an analysis of experiences in China, Vietnam, Brazil, and Thailand. Three pathways to achieve this were identified: 1) agriculture-led; 2) social protection- and nutrition- intervention-led; or 3) a combination of both of these approaches.

Targets, indicators and progress

Further information: List of SDG targets and indicators

The UN has defined 8 targets and 13 indicators for SDG 2. Four of them are to be achieved by the year 2030, one by the year 2020 and three have no target years. Each of the targets also has one or more indicators to measure progress. In total there are fourteen indicators for SDG 2. The six targets include ending hunger and access to food (2.1), ending all forms of malnutrition (2.2), agricultural productivity (2.3), sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices (2.4), genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals (2.5), investments, research and technology (2.a), trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets (2.b) and food commodity markets and their derivatives (2.c).

World map for Indicator 2.1.1 in 2017: Share of population who are undernourished

Target 2.1: Universal access to safe and nutritious food

The first target of SDG 2 is Target 2.1: "By 2030 end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round".

It has two indicators:

• Indicator 2.1.1: Prevalence of undernourishment.
• Indicator 2.1.2: Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES).

Food insecurity is defined by the UN FAO as the “situation when people lack secure access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life." The UN's FAO uses the prevalence of undernourishment as the main hunger indicator.

World Map for Indicator 2.2.2 - Share of children with a weight too low for their height (wasting)

In order to monitor SDG target 2.1 and measure food insecurity, the FAO got inspiration from many countries leading the way and scaled their systems to the global level. The approach that they used is based on a survey that reports specific conditions and behaviors related to constraints on access to food. The "Food Insecurity Experience Scale" (FIES) survey module is composed of eight questions, carefully selected and tested, and proven effective in measuring the severity of the food insecurity situation of respondents in different cultural, linguistic and development contexts.

It is estimated that in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic economic shocks will push between 83 and 132 million people into food insecurity.

Target 2.2: End all forms of malnutrition

The full title of Target 2.2 is: "By 2030 end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving by 2025 the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under five years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, and older persons."

It has two indicators:

• Indicator 2.2.1: Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age)".

• Indicator 2.2.2: Prevalence of malnutrition (weight for height >+2 or <-2 standard deviation from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards).

World map for indicator 2.2.1 in 2016: Share of children who are stunted

Stunted children are determined as having a height which falls below the median height-for-age of the World Health Organization’s Child Growth Standards. A child is defined as "wasted" if their weight-for-height is more than 2 standard deviations below the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards. A child is defined as "overweight" if their weight-for-height is more than 2 standard deviations above the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards.

Stunting is an indicator of severe malnutrition. The impacts of stunting on child development are considered to be irreversible beyond the first 1000 days of a child's life. Stunting can have severe impacts on both cognitive and physical development throughout a person's life. Child stunting portrays linear growth and measures long-term growth faltering. According to the 2017 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) Thematic review of SDG 2, there will be 130 million stunted children by 2025 if this trend continues. Furthermore, about 30 million will be above the global target, which is a 40% reduction in numbers of stunted children compared to a baseline of 165 million in 2012. Currently, there are "59 million children that are stunted live in Africa, 87 million in Asia, 6 million in Latin America, and the remaining 3 million in Oceania and developed countries."

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is rapidly growing particularly in low- and middle-income countries, with a small difference between the richest and poorest in most countries. It is believed that most overweight children under 5 live in low- and middle-income countries, and the increase in overweight prevalence extends to adults, with maternal overweight reaching more than 80 percent in some high-burden countries.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, wasting (low weight for height) - which is a manifestation of acute malnutrition— is spiking in 2020.

Target 2.3: Double the productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers

The full title for Target 2.3: "By 2030 double the agricultural productivity and the incomes of small-scale food producers, particularly women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets, and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment".

It has two indicators:

Agriculture value added per worker, 2017

• Indicator 2.3.1: The volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size.

• Indicator 2.3.2: Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status.

Small-scale producers have is systematically lower production than larger food producers. In most countries, small-scale food producers earn less than half those of larger food producers. It is too early to determine the progress done on this SDG. According to statistics division of the department of Economic and Social Affairs at the UN, the share of small-scale producers among all food producers in Africa, Asia and Latin America ranges from 40% to 85%.

The price of goods is an important indicator of the balance between agricultural production and market demand. It has a strong impact on food affordability and income. Food prices influence consumer affordability and the income of farmers and producers. In low-to-middle income countries in particular, most of the population is employed in agriculture.

This target connects to Sustainable Development Goal #5 (Gender Equality). According to National Geographic, the pay gap between men and women in the agriculture field averages at 20-30%. When the incomes of small-scale food producers are not affected by whether the farmer is female or where they're from, farmers will be able to increase their financial stability. Being more financially stable means doubling the productivity of food. Closing the gender gap could feed 130 million people out of the 870 million undernourished people in the world. Gender equality in agriculture is essential to helping achieve zero hunger.

Target 2.4: Sustainable food production and resilient agricultural practices

Sisal plantations in the outskirts of Morogoro, Tanzania

The full title for Target 2.4: "By 2030 ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality".

This target has one indicator:

• Indicator 2.4.1: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture".

"Sustainable agriculture is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda". This indicator is purely dedicated to addressing issues related to agriculture.

A farm was considered unsustainable if the soil is bad and the water is not well managed. However, in recent years, there has been a realization that sustainability is far beyond this. It includes economic and social dimensions as well as putting the farmer at the centre. A farm can no longer be labelled as sustainable if it is not economically well and resilient to external factors, or if the well-being of the farmers and everyone working at the farm is put at stake.

World Map Indicator 2.5.1 - Number of accessions of plant genetic resources secured in conservation facilities

Target 2.5: Maintain the genetic diversity in food production

The full title for Target 2.5: "By 2020 maintain genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants, farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at national, regional and international levels, and ensure access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge as internationally agreed."

It has two indicators:

• Indicator 2.5.1: Number of plant and animal genetic resources for food and agriculture secured in either medium or long-term conservation facilities.

• Indicator 2.5.2: Proportion of local breeds classified as being at risk, not-at-risk or at the unknown level of risk of extinction.

The FAO's Gene Bank Standards for Plant Genetic Resources is the entity that sets the benchmark for scientific and technical best practices.

Biodiversity is key to food security and nutrition, and to ensuring sustainable increases in agricultural production.

In the case of extinction, only less than 1% of local breeds across the world have enough genetic material stored that would allow us to reconstitute the breed. There has been no progress in conserving animal genetic resources or even efforts to preserve these resources. The increasingly rapid environmental and social changes are causing threats to the diversity of both plant and animal genetic resources.

This target is set for the year 2020, unlike most SDGs which have a target date of 2030.

World map for indicator 2.5.2 in 2019 - Proportion of local breeds classified as being at risk, not at risk or at unknown level of risk of extinction in 2019

FAO makes sure the progress of each indicators under Target 5.1 are being met within the stated year of actualization.

Target 2.a: Invest in rural infrastructure, agricultural research, technology and gene banks

The full title for Target 2.a: "increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development, and plant and livestock gene banks to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular in the least developed countries".

Agriculture orientation index for government expenditures, 2015

It has two indicators:

• Indicator 2.a.1: Agriculture orientation index for government expenditures.

• Indicator 2.a.2: Total official flows (official development assistance plus other official flows) to the agriculture sector.

Agriculture can be an engine for sustainable development, consequently achieving SGDs. The "Agriculture Orientation Index" (AOI) for Government Expenditures compares the central government contribution to agriculture with the sector's contribution to GDP. An AOI larger than 1 means the agriculture section receives a higher share of government spending relative to its economic value. An AOI smaller than 1 reflects a lower orientation to agriculture.

The high risk faced by agricultural producers often requires the intervention of the government when it comes to redistribution to support smallholders in distress after crop failures and livestock loss from pests, droughts, floods, infrastructure failure, or severe price changes.

To break the vicious cycle of extreme poverty, undernourishment and malnutrition, it is essential to accelerate growth in the agricultural Economic development and public investment in agriculture are highly correlated. As mentioned in the 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development thematic review of SDG 2, the parts of the world in extreme poverty and hunger have stagnated values of agricultural capital per worker and public investments in agriculture.

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development clearly identifies ODA (Official Development Assistance) and OOFs (Other official flows) as a "relevant element in the financing of sustainable development programmes." Here, "Other official flows (OOF) are transactions by the official sector with countries and territories which do not meet the conditions for eligibility as ODA, either because they are not primarily aimed at development or because they do not meet the minimum grant element requirement."

World Map Indicator 2.a.2 - Total financial assistance and flows for agriculture by recipient

The agricultural sector is facing several environmental challenges, including changing climate patterns, water shortages, treatment-resistant plagues and increased incidence of natural disasters. There is also an increasing food demand caused by population growth and changing consumer preferences. The challenges and demands could become important threats and risks for food security in many parts of the world. The COVID-19 pandemic could worsen these risks by restricting the mobility of people and products and disrupting trade and global value chains. During the lockdown, people, products and global value chains had limited mobility. This could lead to a scarcity of specific foods and food price increases.

Target 2.b.: Prevent agricultural trade restrictions, market distortions and export subsidies

The full title for Target 2.b: "Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets including by the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development Round".

Target 2.b. has two indicators:

• Indicator 2.b.1: Producer Support Estimate". The Producer Support Estimate (PSE) is "an indicator of the annual monetary value of gross transfers from consumers and taxpayers to support agricultural producers, measured at the farm gate level, arising from policy measures, regardless of their nature, objectives or impacts on farm production or income."
• Indicator 2.b.2: Agricultural export subsidies". Export subsidies "increase the share of the exporter in the world market at the cost of others, tend to depress world market prices and may make them more unstable because decisions on export subsidy levels can be changed unpredictably."

During the 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in December 2015, the World Trade Organization decided to eliminate the export subsidy for agricultural commodities, including export credit, export credit guarantees, or insurance programs for agricultural products. The Doha Round is the latest round of trade negotiations among the WTO membership. It aims to reach major reforms of the international trading system and introduce lower trade barriers and revised trade rules.

Target 2.c. Ensure stable food commodity markets and timely access to information

The full title for Target 2.c is: "adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives, and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility".

This target has one indicator: Indicator 2.c.1 is an Indicator of food price anomalies.

Food price anomalies are measured using the domestic food price volatility index. Domestic food price volatility index measures the variation in domestic food prices over time, this is measured as the weighted-average of a basket of commodities based on consumer or market prices. High values indicate a higher volatility in food prices. Extreme food price movements pose a threat to agricultural markets and to the food security and livelihoods especially of the most vulnerable people.

The G20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) offer regular updates on market prices.

Custodian agencies

Custodian agencies are in charge of monitoring the progress of the indicators:

• For all Indicators under Targets 2.1, 2.3 and 2.5, and for Indicators 2.a.1 and 2.c.1: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Indicators 2.2.1 and 2.2.2 : United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO)
• Indicator 2.2.3: World Health Organization (WHO)
• For all Indicators under Targets 2.3 and 2.5, and for Indicators 2.a.1 and 2.c.1: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Indicator 2.4.1: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Indicator 2.a.2: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Indicator 2.b.1: United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

Tools

The Global Hunger Index (GHI)

Comparing GHI Scores by Region 1990 - 2011

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool designed to measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels.

Each year, GHI scores are calculated to track progress and setbacks in fighting hunger. The GHI is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger. It provides a way to compare levels of hunger between countries and regions. It calls attention to areas of the world where hunger levels are highest and where additional efforts are needed to eliminate hunger.

The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI)

The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities. Monitoring of food prices is provided by publicly available sources including food price index (FAO-FPI) monitoring prices monthly, with trends analysed biannually by the Food Outlook publication; reporting on food import bills is provided quarterly by the Crop Prospects and Food Situation publication, and quarterly WFP Global Market Monitor reporting on price trends of staple commodities in approximately 70 countries and monthly country-specific market bulletins.

The GIEWS Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA) provides an analysis of domestic price trends of basic foods at global level and latest food market policy developments as well as early warnings on exceptionally high food prices at the country level that may negatively affect food security.

Overall progress and challenges

Kolkata Police North traffic guard distributing food among poor during Corona crisis in Kolkata, India

Despite the progress, research shows that more than 790 million people worldwide still suffer from hunger. There has been major progress in the fight against hunger over the last 15 years. In 2017, during a side event at the High-Level Political Forum under the theme of "Accelerating progress towards achieving SDG 2: Lessons from national implementation", a series of recommendations and actions were discussed. Stakeholders like the French UN mission, Action Against Hunger, Save The Children and Global Citizen were steering the conversation. It is unlikely there will be an end to malnutrition on the African continent by 2030.

To achieve progress towards SDG 2 the world needs to build political will and country ownership. It also needs to improve the narrative around nutrition to make sure that it is well understood by political leaders and address gender inequality, geographic inequality and absolute poverty. It also calls for concrete actions including working at sub-national levels, increasing nutrition funding and ensuring they target the 1st 1000 days of life and going beyond actions that address only the immediate causes of malnutrition and look at the drivers of under-nutrition, as well as at the food system as a whole.

2019 data for world hunger is shown in the WFP Hunger Map.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

SDG 2 has faced several threats towards its progress, most especially in 2019 and 2020 with the unprecedented 2019–20 locust infestation in Eastern Africa and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has noted that trends in food insecurity and disruption in food supply and income contribute to "increasing the risk of child malnutrition, as food insecurity affects diet quality, including the quality of children’s and women’s diets, and people’s health in different ways".

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown has placed a huge amount of pressure on agricultural production, disrupted global value and supply chain. Subsequently, this raises issues of malnutrition and inadequate food supply to households with the poorest of them all gravely affected. This is causing "132 million more people to suffer from undernourishment in 2020".

Links with other SDGs

The SDGs are deeply interconnected. All goals could be affected if progress on one specific goal is not achieved.

Climate change and natural disasters are affecting food security. Disaster risk management, climate change adaptation and mitigation are essential to increase harvests quality and quantity. Targets 2.4 and 2.5 are directly linked to the environment.

Reducing hunger can directly help in advancing Goals SDG 1, SDG 3 and SDG 8 by increasing rural and developing country incomes and access to nutrition. Since a significant number of farmers, especially in Africa and Asia, are women, advancing SDG 2 can also impact SDG 5, gender equality. Hunger and Agriculture are also linked to SDG 6 (when dealing with water scarcity and pollution), SDG 13 (when discussing greenhouse gas emissions) and SDG 15 (since it is linked to soil degradation).

Organizations and programmes

Food Items in World Food Programme Food Parcels

Organizations, programmes and funds that have been set up to tackle hunger and therefore also SDG 2 include:

• Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) was established as a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1945. One of FAO's strategic objectives is to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition.
• World Food Programme (WFP) Founded in 1963, WFP is the lead UN agency that responds to food emergencies and has programmes to combat hunger worldwide. Reports of the WFP of its Executive Board and on its annual performance are linked above under ECOSOC.
• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD): Founded in 1977, IFAD focuses on rural poverty reduction, working with poor rural populations in developing countries to eliminate poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.
• World Bank: Founded in 1944, the World Bank is actively involved in funding food projects and programmes.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was established in 1972 as the international arm providing guidance and governance to environmental issues. One of the topics that UNEP addresses currently is food security.

International NGOs include:

• Action Against Hunger (or Action Contre La Faim (ACF) in French) is a global humanitarian organization which originated in France and is committed to ending world hunger. The organization helps malnourished children and provides communities with access to safe water and sustainable solutions to hunger.
• Feeding America is a United States–based nonprofit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies.
• The Hunger Project (THP) is an organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. It has ongoing programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where it implements programs aimed at mobilizing rural grassroots communities to achieve sustainable progress in health, education, nutrition, and family income.