Special initiative Transformation of Agricultural and Food Systems

We have the means to feed the world's people. The natural resources, the knowledge and the technologies that it takes are all there. What is needed is more investment – in education and training, in sustainable agriculture, in infrastructure, and in local value chains.

Wheat field in northern Mongolia

The Global Alliance for Food Security Internal link

Back in 2015, the G7 nations made a commitment to increase their funding to fight hunger. They must deliver on that promise.

In autumn 2020, the BMZ presented two studies from leading research institutions on how to end the global hunger crisis. International experts have calculated that an additional 40 billion US dollars or so a year would need to be invested if we are to end global hunger by 2030. The industrialised countries would need to contribute additional funding of 14 billion US dollars a year to make that happen.

The developing countries, too, need to do everything within their power to tackle the challenge. They have to make agriculture and food a top political priority. Then 500 million people could be lifted out of hunger by 2030.

An ambitious joint effort by industrialised, emerging and developing economies would enable us to achieve a world without hunger – Goal 2 of the 2030 Agenda – within the next ten years.

Links to the original studies

Facts and figures

Great progress has been made on fighting hunger worldwide since 1990. However, in the last few years hunger rates have been rising again.

  • Even before the COVID-19 crisis, there were nearly 700 million hungry people in the world. Now, there are over 800 million.
  • The pandemic and everything resulting from it have exacerbated the situation. Supply chains have been disrupted, and income opportunities and jobs have been lost.
  • The Russian war of aggression on Ukraine has made the situation even worse. The worst famine since the Second World War is looming. According to initial forecasts by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the war will lead to a further drastic increase in the number of people suffering from hunger.

The BMZ's Special Initiative “Transformation of Agricultural and Food Systems”

Background facts
A Nigerian rice farmer in his field

Background facts Ten ways to achieve a world without hunger Internal link

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) invests some 2 billion euros each year in global food security and rural development. In 17 of the BMZ's partner countries, these issues are priority areas of bilateral cooperation.

About one third of that funding is channelled through the Special Initiative “Transformation of Agricultural and Food Systems”, which the BMZ launched in 2014. It targets partner countries that are particularly badly affected by hunger and malnutrition. The initiative comprises about 300 projects and focuses on fostering smallholder farming in Africa.

Impacts

  • The special initiative seeks to improve nutrition for more than 7.5 million people – especially women and children – by the end of 2023.
  • It provides assistance to over two million people in adapting to climate change.
  • 1.7 million hectares of degraded land and forests are to be restored and managed in a more sustainable manner.
  • Secure land rights are to be established for at least 120,000 farming families.
  • Through 15 Green Innovation Centres, the BMZ is helping to share innovations in the food and agriculture sector, which it is hoped will improve the productivity of 1.6 million smallholder farms.
  • In five knowledge centres for organic farming in West, East, Southern, North and Central Africa, organic farming methods are collected and studied and good practice is shared with relevant networks and organisations, with strong participation by local non-governmental organisations.
  • The special initiative aims to improve the incomes of a total of 3.2 million farming households.

Questions and answers on the Special Initiative “Transformation of Agricultural and Food Systems”

Given that the world population is growing, ending hunger will mean increasing global food production by about 60 per cent by 2050 – using the same amount of land and the same amount of water we have today. That means radically adapting current farming methods as quickly as possible. Farming has to become more sustainable and less resource-intensive – among other things, by using better seeds and precision irrigation, using machinery in a locally appropriate manner, and avoiding any post-harvest losses during transportation and storage. The farming methods of the future also need to conserve biodiversity and avoid cutting down forests.

Smallholder farming is the predominant form of agriculture in developing countries and accounts for the bulk of food production for local use in those countries. If poor smallholder families are able to harvest and sell more produce, this does not only help them as a family, it also puts more food on the market and makes that food affordable – a step towards better food security in both rural and urban settings. The special initiative specifically supports women, as they play a key role for food security.

The programmes conducted as part of the Special Initiative “Transformation of Agricultural and Food Systems” are intended to make small farmers resilient to various types of crisis in the long term. The BMZ reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic by launching a range of new measures to mitigate its impact. Among other things, it has provided food, seeds and fertiliser. Activities for preventing post-harvest losses and promoting crop diversification are currently being expanded in order to make smallholder families more resilient during the pandemic. Public information campaigns have been launched to educate people on how to stay healthy, and face masks are provided to participants at training events.

An additional 150 million euros are available for special initiative measures, over and above the previous budget. The aim is to secure agricultural production, maintain agricultural trade and reduce the risks of poverty and hunger. The measures focus primarily on Africa, the Middle East and countries that are particularly affected by the current price increases for food.

Poverty, conflict and climate change are among the chief causes of hunger. And hunger and food insecurity, in their turn, may result in increased poverty. They can also cause or exacerbate unrest and conflict. Investing in rural development and food security is a key contribution to breaking this eternal vicious circle. So the Special Initiative “Transformation of Agricultural and Food Systems” is also making an important contribution towards building peace and tackling the root causes of displacement.

Close cooperation with other players is a key principle of the initiative. The BMZ works with partners from civil society, the private sector, academia, politics and faith-based organisations, and with its implementing organisations GIZ and KfW.

Important partners in Africa include the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) of the African Union and the various institutions engaged in international agricultural research.

As at: 03/01/2023