New evidence this year corroborates the rise in world hunger observed in this report last year, sending a warning that more action is needed if we aspire to end world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. Updated estimates show the number of people who suffer from hunger has been growing over the past three years, returning to prevailing levels from almost a decade ago. Although progress continues to be made in reducing child stunting, over 22 percent of children under five years of age are still affected. Other forms of malnutrition are also growing: adult obesity continues to increase in countries irrespective of their income levels, and many countries are coping with multiple forms of malnutrition at the same time – overweight and obesity, as well as anaemia in women, and child stunting and wasting.

One hundred million people worldwide earn an income from fisheries and aquaculture and many more rely on fish for a nutritious diet. The policy agenda of the sector tends to be oriented towards commercial interests. Often, food security, nutrition and livelihoods concerns are not well factored into fisheries-related policy measures due to the overall lack of knowledge about their linkages, as well as poor coordination across the respective policy domains. This fisheries and aquaculture guidance note highlights the importance of fisheries in local and global food systems and demonstrates how related policy measures can contribute to nutrition and health, particularly for the poor. It also discusses a range of issues to be taken into account when attempting to harmonize fisheries policies with food security and nutrition concerns.

Updates for many countries have made it possible to estimate hunger in the world with greater accuracy this year. In particular, newly accessible data enabled the revision of the entire series of undernourishment estimates for China back to 2000, resulting in a substantial downward shift of the series of the number of undernourished in the world. Nevertheless, the revision confirms the trend reported in past editions: the number of people affected by hunger globally has been slowly on the rise since 2014. The report also shows that the burden of malnutrition in all its forms continues to be a challenge. There has been some progress for child stunting, low birthweight and exclusive breastfeeding, but at a pace that is still too slow. Childhood overweight is not improving and adult obesity is on the rise in all regions. The report complements the usual assessment of food security and nutrition with projections of what the world may look like in 2030, if trends of the last decade continue. Projections show that the world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 and, despite some progress, most indicators are also not on track to meet global nutrition targets. The food security and nutritional status of the most vulnerable population groups is likely to deteriorate further due to the health and socio economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report puts a spotlight on diet quality as a critical link between food security and nutrition. Meeting SDG 2 targets will only be possible if people have enough food to eat and if what they are eating is nutritious and affordable. The report also introduces new analysis of the cost and affordability of healthy diets around the world, by region and in different development contexts. It presents valuations of the health and climate-change costs associated with current food consumption patterns, as well as the potential cost savings if food consumption patterns were to shift towards healthy diets that include sustainability considerations. The report then concludes with a discussion of the policies and strategies to transform food systems to ensure affordable healthy diets, as part of the required efforts to end both hunger and all forms of malnutrition.

Why is food security and nutrition (FSN) seldom a priority in national development planning? One reason is that strategies to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition are principally seen as a concern of the agricultural sector. Specific food insecurity reduction goals and targets are usually absent from most poverty reduction planning instruments. This book synthesises lessons learned from five countries - Bhutan, Cambodia, Kenya, Mozambique and United Republic of Tanzania - in providing policy assistance to better integrate FSN concerns in national policies and planning processes. Effective FSN policies should have strong links to social investment, poverty reduction measures, development policies and above all human dignity. These lessons will inform future FSN related policy assistance to member countries striving to eradicate the plight of hunger and malnutrition.

The coronavirus pandemic has upended local, national, and global food systems, and put the Sustainable Development Goals further out of reach. But lessons from the world’s response to the pandemic can help address future shocks and contribute to food system change. In the 2021 Global Food Policy Report, IFPRI researchers and other food policy experts explore the impacts of the pandemic and government policy responses, particularly for the poor and disadvantaged, and consider what this means for transforming our food systems to be healthy, resilient, efficient, sustainable, and inclusive. Chapters in the report look at balancing health and economic policies, promoting healthy diets and nutrition, strengthening social protection policies and inclusion, integrating natural resource protection into food sector policies, and enhancing the contribution of the private sector. Regional sections look at the diverse experiences around the world, and a special section on finance looks at innovative ways of funding food system transformation. Critical questions addressed include: - Who felt the greatest impact from falling incomes and food system disruptions caused by the pandemic? - How can countries find an effective balance among health, economic, and social policies in the face of crisis? - How did lockdowns affect diet quality and quantity in rural and urban areas? - Do national social protection systems such as cash transfers have the capacity to protect poor and vulnerable groups in a global crisis? - Can better integration of agricultural and ecosystem polices help prevent the next pandemic? - How did companies accelerate ongoing trends in digitalization and integration to keep food supply chains moving? - What different challenges did the pandemic spark in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and how did these regions respond?

This framework fosters the replication and scaling up of home-grown school feeding models and the mapping of opportunities for linking such programmes with relevant agricultural development and rural transformation investments.

Trade in agricultural products has expanded almost threefold in value terms over the past decade and is expected to continue to increase over the coming years. As such, it will play an increasingly important role in influencing the extent and nature of food security. While agricultural trade can have important benefits for food security and nutrition, the challenge is to ensure that its expansion works for, and not against, the elimination of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. Policy makers formulating trade policies must prioritize long-term structural transformation objectives over short-term political or commercial interests. This guidance note aims to support policy makers and agriculture stakeholders in promoting greater coherence between trade and agricultural policies and identifying the policy space within trade agreements for developing countries to address food security concerns. It also discusses the appropriateness of different trade policy measures in improving foo d security.