FAO chief economist: hunger is falling but too slowly; food-price spikes threaten gains

Maximo Torero, chief economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on Thursday summarized key findings from the 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, saying "hunger is declining, but too slowly." Torero said about 673 million people were undernourished in 2024, with the prevalence of undernourishment falling to roughly 8.0% from 8.7% in 2022.

Torero told attendees the report shows broad and persistent food insecurity: about 2.3 billion people lacked regular access to adequate food in 2024, and roughly 2.6 billion people could not afford a healthy diet, down from about 2.9 billion in 2020. He said an estimated 28% of the global population was moderately or severely food insecure. "In terms of the nutrition targets, all of them are off track," Torero added, noting that none of the 2030 global nutrition targets are currently on…