Ending global hunger need not cost the earth – if we invest now

The document highlights the exacerbation of global hunger by the COVID-19 pandemic and the critical need for increased investment in agricultural research. It advocates for a 'One Health' approach that links human, animal, and planetary health, noting that agricultural innovations can provide a 10:1 return on investment. The text emphasizes the importance of targeted interventions—financial, behavioural, and technological—and cites examples such as biofortified crops in sub-Saharan Africa and climate-smart villages in Southeast Asia to demonstrate how productivity can be increased without compromising the environment.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly worsened food insecurity, adding up to 132 million people to the number of those facing hunger this year, on top of 690 million people already undernourished globally.
• Investment in agricultural research has historically been low compared to other sectors; for instance, in 2011, total global public investment in agricultural research was approximately $42 billion, whereas the US alone spent $36 billion on health R&D.
• Agricultural innovations present a strong business case with an estimated return on investment of 10:1 according to CGIAR.
• Specific interventions can address malnutrition and climate resilience: biofortified orange-fleshed sweetpotato can tackle micronutrient deficiencies affecting 29 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, and 'climate-smart villages' in Southeast Asia help smallholder farmers increase productivity while mitigating environmental impacts.

APA

Kadiresan, K. (2020). Ending global hunger need not cost the earth – if we invest now. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/ending-global-hunger-need-not-cost-the-earth-if-we-invest-now/

Chicago

Kadiresan, Kundhavi. Ending global hunger need not cost the earth – if we invest now. World Economic Forum, 2020. https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/ending-global-hunger-need-not-cost-the-earth-if-we-invest-now/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Kadiresan |first1=Kundhavi |title=Ending global hunger need not cost the earth – if we invest now |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=15 October 2020 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/ending-global-hunger-need-not-cost-the-earth-if-we-invest-now/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{kadiresan2020ending, author = {Kadiresan, Kundhavi}, title = {{Ending global hunger need not cost the earth – if we invest now}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/ending-global-hunger-need-not-cost-the-earth-if-we-invest-now/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }