CropLife Asia supports FAO World Food Day call on “Right to Foods for a Better Life & a Better Future” / Need for greater AgTech adoption to meet SDG2 challenge highlighted

CropLife Asia supports FAO World Food Day call on “Right to Foods for a Better Life & a Better Future” / Need for greater AgTech adoption to meet SDG2 challenge highlighted

Singapore, 16 October 2024 – As the world marks World Food Day, CropLife Asia is taking the opportunity to highlight how enhancing agricultural productivity through innovative technologies and sustainable agricultural practices can help drive greater food security and accessibility to a healthy diet in Asia-Pacific. The challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger (SDG2) remains daunting in the region and around the world.

According to the United Nations (UN) 2024 State of Food Security & Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, Asia remains home to the largest number of those facing hunger globally at 384.5 million and accounts for a larger share of the number of food-insecure people in the world at 1.18 billion. Furthermore, a healthy diet remains out of reach for 2.83 billion people worldwide with 1.66 billion facing this challenge in Asia alone as highlighted in the SOFI report ¹ . The cost of a healthy diet has risen since 2017 globally with the cost being the second highest in Asia at 4.20 PPP dollars ² .

“This World Food Day, we must work together to ensure that the right to safe, nutritious and affordable food remains accessible to all,” said Dr. Siang Hee Tan, Executive Director of CropLife Asia. “With 1 out of 11 people facing hunger globally, the need to ensure food systems that are more safe, secure and sustainable is more important than ever before. Harnessing the power of advanced and innovative plant science technologies can help drive agricultural productivity while protecting the world around us – and is an increasingly critical component in realizing the promise of SDG2.”

Plant science innovation such as plant biotechnology and genome editing along with crop protection products play an important role in ensuring a stable food supply, managing and protecting natural resources as well as driving national economies. Biotech crops have increased global food, feed and fibre production by nearly 1 billion tonnes from 1996 to 2020 ₃ . These innovations also support sustainability by producing crops that address climate change impacts such as drought and flooding while utilizing nutrients more efficiently and delivering better nutrition to humans and livestock.

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