Sustainable Development Goal 2

Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2 or Global Goal 2) is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording is "End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture." This goal aims to address and mitigate the challenges related to hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition, and the sustainability of agriculture. It is a universal and urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - to end hunger and prevent all forms of malnutrition by 2030.

Targets and Indicators

SDG 2 is supported by specific targets and indicators that guide the measurement of progress. These include:

• 2.1 - End hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food all year round.
• 2.2 - End all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under five years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, and older persons.
• 2.3 - Double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists, and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets, and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.
• 2.4 - Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
• 2.5 - By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and ensure access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed.

Challenges and Progress

Despite significant progress in some areas, the world is not on track to achieve SDG 2 by 2030. Challenges include increasing conflict, climate change, and natural disasters which disrupt food production and distribution systems, contributing to spikes in food prices and increased vulnerability of the poor to hunger. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity and malnutrition, reversing years of progress.

Implementation and Efforts

Achieving SDG 2 requires coordinated efforts at the global, regional, national, and local levels. This includes policies that support sustainable agriculture, investments in rural infrastructure, research and development of resilient crop varieties, and social protection programs to ensure vulnerable populations have access to food. International cooperation is also crucial in addressing the transboundary nature of many challenges related to hunger and agriculture.

See Also

• Sustainable Development Goals
• Food security
• Nutrition
• Sustainable agriculture
• Climate change and agriculture

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