SDG 2 – Zero Hunger

Achieving food security – globally

The right to food is a basic human right. But hunger is still a reality in many countries, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia. According to figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the number of people going hungry decreased by 216 million from 1990 to 2015 but increased again in the following years. In 2023, around 733 million people (9% of the world’s population) were chronically undernourished, meaning that they consumed fewer calories than they need to live healthy and productive lives. In addition, there are over 2 billion people suffering from what is known as “hidden hunger”, i. e. micronutrient deficiencies when they eat too few vitamins and minerals. Particularly in children, deficiencies of essential nutrients often lead to developmental disabilities and delays in development. According to estimates, malnutrition and undernutrition is responsible for 45% of all deaths among children under five years. Acute hunger (undernutrition for a limited period), – usually caused by violent conflicts, droughts or natural disasters – affected almost 282 million people in 59 countries and territories in 2023 - 24 million more than the year before (source: World Food Programme). In addition to undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, other forms of malnutrition are increasing that also impair healthy living, such as obesity.

Although the majority of food production takes place in rural areas, that is also where the majority of people going hungry live. Small farmers often own too little land and their productivity is limited by factors such as a lack of access to the working capital needed to sufficiently feed their families. In addition, a lack of market access not only limits the opportunity to purchase food at local markets, but also minimises sales opportunities for producers, which can lead to lower incomes. Poverty and hunger are thus closely linked to each other, creating a vicious circle: poverty leads to an unbalanced diet and malnutrition, which compromises health and productivity, which in turn intensifies poverty.

The global community set out the goal of ending hunger by 2030 and achieving food security. However, UN estimates currently suggest that around 582 million people will still be suffering from chronic hunger by then, half of them in Africa. Three global development trends are increasingly jeopardising the fight against hunger: climate change, conflicts and migration, as well as the deterioration of the economic situation in many countries – not least due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and the increasing inequalities that accompany it. The Ukraine war further exacerbates the situation: Rising food prices as well as supply shortages, especially for cereals, are immediately noticeable and pose a further threat to food security, especially in many countries in the MENA region and in Sub-Saharan Africa. To achieve SDG 2 despite these factors, we need to increase our efforts.

KfW Development Bank is involved in numerous projects all over the world focusing on food security, sustainable agriculture and rural development. The focus of KfW’s commitment is on Sub-Saharan Africa. By promoting irrigation infrastructure, sustainable resource management and strengthening rural finance, local food production can be increased and incomes raised. Investments in rural infrastructure can also help reduce post-harvest losses and strengthening access to markets. In addition to these structural projects, KfW combats hunger and malnutrition in particularly vulnerable population groups through social protection projects or multisectoral aid, for example through cash transfers that can ensure access to food when prices rise. These target groups include women and children, as well as people in situations of crisis or conflict.

Rural areas are a key element in food security, both for rural and urban populations. Over 2 billion people make a living from working the land. However, smallholders are often unable to cultivate enough to feed their own families. They are unable to charge enough for their produce or live too far away from markets. Climate change has also intensified the situation here as droughts, heavy rains and soil erosion increase.

KfW Development Bank is therefore promoting sustainable agricultural development, for example with rural infrastructure measures to eliminate poverty and food insecurity. These measures include projects for efficiently irrigating farmland. Investments in water reservoirs and irrigation systems can ensure that food can still be produced, even in dry periods. KfW is also financing the construction of roads, storage facilities and market halls to facilitate access to markets and reduce post-harvest losses – a prerequisite for generating income with produce.

Long-term, sustainable food production also requires the protection and responsible use of natural ecosystems and resources. The goals are to make agricultural systems and farming families more resilient to climate change while simultaneously ensuring that agriculture and livestock farming do not further accelerate climate change, and to halt the loss of biodiversity. It has long been recognised that unsustainable agriculture and the continued encroachment of agricultural land into natural areas are the main drivers of biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions. Agroecological approaches that focus on principles like soil health, reducing external input, participation and diversification can therefore play a critical role here. Cultivating plant species that are suited to the changing climate conditions also increases climate resilience. That is why KfW Development Bank directs its investments in agriculture to making a contribution to transforming the sector and ensuring that only minimum strain is placed on water, soil and biological resources – all while increasing and ensuring productivity.

Another important contribution to securing long-term food security is strengthening agrobiodiversity, the diversity on agricultural land. This approach is being adopted in Central America, for example. In India, KfW also supports the transformation of agriculture towards natural cultivation methods that protect the soil and climate and improve food security for small farmers.

Climate change represents an additional challenge when it comes to achieving the goal of combating global hunger. Against this backdrop, it is essential that people are better prepared to deal with severe storms, droughts and floods. At the same time, promoting sustainable agriculture can contribute to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and therefore to curbing climate change. Further savings potential is offered by agricultural value chains, where innovations in the upstream and downstream sectors can improve the climate footprint of food systems.

But infrastructure measures such as those taken to combat desertification and erosion are not the only ones that can protect against the negative impacts of climate change. Insurance can also protect against climate and disaster risks and the associated negative impacts on the security of the food supply. KfW is increasingly involved in innovative insurance models for people with low incomes. One example is the ARC’s drought insurance in Africa. In an emergency, insurance payments bridge financial gaps from crop failures and income losses for farmers.

The Corona pandemic, the war in Ukraine and, more recently, the Middle East conflict have significantly exacerbated hunger through job and income losses, disruptions in the supply chains for food and agricultural inputs, and refugee movements. Food is limited in availability and becoming more and more expensive, leading some families to become unable to adequately feed themselves.

KfW is involved, among other things, in social transfers that help to bridge immediate emergencies, for example in Zambia, where poor households, especially female-led households, receive cash transfers to improve their food security and subsequently also gain economic prospects.

Sustainable agriculture plays a key role in combating hunger and malnutrition but is also critical to achieving other SDGs like ending poverty, halting biodiversity loss and climate action. KfW Development Bank has long been committed to a world without hunger. In 2023, new commitments contributing to the achievement of SDG 2 amounted to around EUR 222 million.

“Hunger is a problem that can be solved”

Interview with Marlehn Thieme, President of Welthungerhilfe, on the effects of conflict and climate change and why we should not lose sight of the goal of “Zero Hunger”.

Indische Kleinbauern tragen Lebensmittelsäcke durch ein Feld

Zero-Budget Natural Farming in Andhra Pradesh

Zero Budget Natural Farming is a farming method that believes in the natural growth of crops without adding external fertilisers or pesticides. The agroecological approach was developed in India and is supported by KfW. Women in particular benefit: They organise themselves in women's self-help groups and learn new agricultural practices that make them more resilient to climate change while increasing their food security.

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KfW's contribution to SDG 2

Food Security

Two meals a day instead of one

When a bulldozer clears cattle pastures

Agro Ecology in India

The gender dimension of hunger

Two small children in front of a building

The first 1,000 days count

Malnutrition in the first years of life has lifelong consequences. Cash transfers are intended to improve food security of mothers and newborns in Burkina Faso. An accompanying evaluation measures the impact.

Project information

Further information

Project information Food security in Mali

SDG 2 on the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) website (German only)

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SDG 2 – Zero Hunger

Achieving food security – globally

Agriculture, biodiversity and the food supply

Climate change and hunger