Title : Food security in the SDG era: Challenges, opportunities, and climate-smart solutions
Abstract:
Food security is increasingly becoming strained in the age of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), especially. The world population estimated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, food demand is also likely to increase by 50-60 percent, and again load a heavy burden on the already fragile agricultural systems. There is a global menace to the productivity of the agricultural system in the world caused by climate change, soil destruction, freshwater scarcity, destruction of biodiversity, and geopolitical conflicts. These nexus problems demand coordinated and progressive solutions that are in tandem with the SDG targets and long-term sustainability objectives. This paper will examine the greatest challenges to global food security and outline emerging opportunities that are in the context of climate-smart and SDG-oriented farming. The major challenges that have been faced are increasing temperatures, unpredictable rainfalls, rising occurrence of extreme weather conditions, decreased arable land because of urbanization, and soil erosion, as well as wastage of food after harvest, estimated to be between 30-40 percent of world food production. These complications not only limit food supply, but also have a negative effect on the income of farmers, stability in the food market, and the quality of food consumed by people, particularly in the vulnerable areas. To address these issues, the paper highlights some climate-sensitive opportunities that can help shift food systems to resilience and sustainability. These are up taking of sustainable and regenerative agriculture, generation of good care of soil and water resources, accurate multiplication advantages, and sound climate-hazard forecasts and early warning frameworks. Food waste reduction throughout the supply chain, promotion of value-added opportunities, and establishment of effective cold-chain and storage facilities are also critical measures to improve food availability and affordability. One of the primary focuses is on the development and introduction of early maturing, high yielding, and stress-resistant varieties of crops, which are able to resist biotic and abiotic stresses. Increasing the researcher-farmer links, extension services, and the availability of new agricultural technologies are necessary measures toward assisting smallholder farmers who are the breadwinners in the food production sectors of most developing nations. The interpretation is that it will be a multi-sectoral coordination of policies and long-term investment in climate-smart innovations to realise global food security by 2050. Through combining SDG principles and adaptive, inclusive, and resource-efficient agricultural policies, nation states will be able to create a resilient food and agricultural system that could be resource-rich enough to sustain the global food requirements in the future. An innovative, SDG-driven solution is urgent in order to provide fair access to nutritious and safe food, and to protect the global food systems against the fast-growing climatic issues.
Keywords: Food Security; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Climate-Smart Agriculture; 2050 Projections; Zero Hunger; Climate Resilience; Sustainable Agriculture; Postharvest Losses; Resource Management; Global Food Systems
