Agriculture development and food security

This report examines the challenges of achieving food and nutrition security and provides an update on progress in implementing sustainable agricultural policies and practices in line with the Rome Principles. Main challenges include low productivity and low investment in smallholder agriculture, worsening land degradation and water scarcity in many agricultural areas, intensifying effects of climate change on agricultural production, and resultant chronic or periodic supply shortfalls. There has been some progress since 2008 in raising agricultural investment rates in developing countries, notably in Africa, and in strengthening social protection of vulnerable groups, including through initiatives aiming not only at tackling hunger but at ensuring balanced nutrition. Still, long-term challenges to productivity and food
security from resource degradation are only beginning to be addressed, with one encouraging development the support in the Rio+20 outcome for a global goal aimed at tackling land degradation.