The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) works to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, and manage natural resources sustainably to ensure food security for all people. FAO provides tools, training, and legal advice, and promotes sustainable practices to help countries manage agriculture, forestry, and fisheries more effectively. The organization focuses on five strategic goals: ending hunger, making agriculture more sustainable, reducing rural poverty, improving food systems, and increasing resilience to threats. The FAO aims to raise the standard of living in rural populations and contribute to the global economy. FAO also gathers data on food production and consumption, which helps with early warning systems and emergency responses. By partnering with governments, the private sector, and civil society groups, the FAO works to tackle these global challenges.

According to the World Food Programme, 35 percent of all crops grown for human consumption rely on pollinators. This includes fruits, vegetables, and nuts that require birds, bees, and bats to grow. The decline in global biodiversity threatens agricultural sustainability and food security. Pollinator loss is driven by several factors, including agricultural practices such as pesticide use and monocropping, as well as urban expansion, deforestation, and the loss of natural animal habitats. Climate change further complicates this issue by altering crops’ flowering seasons. Plants may flower earlier than usual, before pollinators become active or return from migration. Without pollinator activity, crop yields will decline. This will affect food availability and farmers’ livelihoods. However, international cooperation and sustainable agricultural practices offer a path forward. Efforts such as reducing harmful pesticide use, restoring natural habitats, and sharing research and best practices can help protect pollinators while supporting long-term food security.

Agriculture and food production currently consume more than 70 percent of all available freshwater. Desertification and soil degradation make it harder to grow crops, so farmers use more water to produce the same amount of food. This threatens agricultural productivity and water resources across the globe. As the world’s population grows, humans will require more food in the next 40 years than what was produced over the past 500 years. This puts immense pressure on vital resources such as water. As desertification leads to soil degradation, crop yields decline and grazing land shrinks, leading to a loss of income for farmers and greater food insecurity. Climate change further intensifies these challenges by reducing overall water availability and increasing the frequency of drought. There are solutions available, including soil conservation techniques, crop rotation, and agroforestry. However, the FAO must work swiftly to provide the needed training, funding, and support to implement these solutions at scale around the world.