By Faridat Salifu
About 1.7 billion people worldwide are experiencing declining crop yields due to human-induced land degradation, according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
The report, The State of Food and Agriculture 2025 (SOFA), released Tuesday at the FAO headquarters in Rome, warns that land degradation has become a pervasive and silent crisis undermining food production, rural livelihoods, and ecosystem health across the globe.
FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, described the findings as a wake-up call, stressing that sustainable land management requires decisive action, long-term investment, and innovation.
“Land degradation is not just an environmental issue—it directly threatens food security and the well-being of millions,” he said.
The report defines land degradation as a long-term decline in the land’s ability to deliver essential ecosystem functions and services. While some degradation results from natural processes, human activities—such as deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable farming—have become the dominant causes.
According to FAO estimates, these activities have reduced crop yields by at least 10 percent in affected areas. Among the 1.7 billion people impacted, 47 million are children under five suffering from stunting linked to declining food production.
Asia is identified as the hardest-hit region, owing to its population density and accumulated degradation debt.
Despite the grim statistics, FAO says the crisis can be reversed. Restoring just 10 percent of human-induced degradation on existing croplands through sustainable practices—such as crop rotation and cover cropping—could generate enough food to feed an additional 154 million people annually.
The report urges governments to adopt integrated land-use strategies, including deforestation controls, incentive-based programs, and compliance mechanisms that link agricultural subsidies to environmental outcomes.
It also highlights the need for policies tailored to farm structures, noting that smallholders face financial constraints that limit their ability to implement large-scale sustainability practices.
More than 130 countries have pledged to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), a commitment FAO continues to support through data, policy guidance, and field initiatives.
As the custodian of the Sustainable Development Goal on Zero Hunger, FAO monitors agroecological yield gaps using its Global Agro-Ecological Zoning (GAEZ v5) system and tracks soil health through its Global Soil Organic Carbon Map (GSOC Map).
“In 2025, FAO is reaffirming its commitment to sustainable land management,” Dongyu said. “This edition of The State of Food and Agriculture provides a comprehensive evidence base to guide policy, investment, and action at all levels.”