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A world without hunger is possible!

Eradicating hunger and malnutrition

A man in the market of Sokode in Togo holds an empty bowl in his hand.

The G7 group of nations has set itself the goal of freeing 500 million people from the scourge of hunger and malnutrition by 2030. Eradicating hunger and malnutrition is also one of the development goals agreed upon by the international community that make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

These goals can be achieved if all the different forces within society – actors from the worlds of politics, civil society, science and research, and the private sector – contribute and play their part.

German development cooperation is playing its part through the special initiative ONE WORLD – No Hunger. The BMZ is investing some 1.5 billion euros a year in the priority areas of food security and rural development.

The special initiative comes into play in partner countries that are especially affected by hunger and malnutrition. In the focus countries of the special initiative the average percentage of the population that is malnourished is 21 per cent.

  • There are 17 partner countries with which the BMZ has agreed upon food security and rural development as a priority area of cooperation.
  • Through its programme Food and Nutrition Security, Enhanced Resilience, the BMZ is improving the food situation and the resilience to crises and natural disasters of up to four million people in eleven countries.
  • The BMZ supports projects that improve the basis for providing people with healthy food, for example by restoring 340,000 hectares of land to fertility and securing the land rights of at least 465,000 people.
  • In 14 green innovation centres the BMZ is supporting the dissemination of innovations in agriculture and food production, and the training of small farmers, thereby helping to increase production and incomes in nearly half a million agricultural businesses.

The special initiative ONE WORLD – No Hunger is making an important contribution towards fighting the root causes of displacement. This is because investments in rural development, sustainable agriculture and food security play a crucial part in stabilising the regions in question.

Small farmers as a target group

One priority of the special initiative is strengthening smallholder agriculture. This is where the greatest potential is to be found for achieving the goal of producing enough food for a growing world population, as the majority of farms in developing countries are small farms. Most of these farms are still working with traditional methods, which is why it is still possible to achieve significant improvements in terms of harvest yields and poverty reduction.

It is important that farmers are good stewards of their soil and their water resources, so that they can keep on harvesting their crops in the long term. Sustainability is a must. Women play a key role in agricultural production and in processing the food that is grown.


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