SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 2

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

The UN explains: "It is time to rethink how we grow, share and consume our food.

If done right, agriculture, forestry and fisheries can provide nutritious food for all and generate decent incomes, while supporting people-centred rural development and protecting the environment.

Right now, our soils, freshwater, oceans, forests and biodiversity are being rapidly degraded. Climate change is putting even more pressure on the resources we depend on, increasing risks associated with disasters such as droughts and floods. Many rural women and men can no longer make ends meet on their land, forcing them to migrate to cities in search of opportunities.

A profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if we are to nourish today’s 815 million hungry and the additional 2 billion people expected by 2050.

The food and agriculture sector offers key solutions for development, and is central for hunger and poverty eradication."

The UN has defined 8 Targets and 13 Indicators for SDG 2. Targets specify the goals and Indicators represent the metrics by which the world aims to track whether these Targets are achieved. Below we quote the original text of all Targets and show the data on the agreed Indicators.

How is the world doing on this goal?

The UN has set a global target as part of the Sustainable Development Goals to “end hunger by 2030“. Currently we are far from reaching this target.

In our research on Hunger and Undernourishment we look at how many people are undernourished; where they live; childhood undernourishment; and food insecurity across the world.

The prevalence of undernourishment, as a share of the population, is the main hunger indicator used by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.

It measures the share of the population which has a caloric (dietary energy) intake which is insufficient to meet the minimum energy requirements defined as necessary for a given population.

The global map of the prevalence of undernourishment – as a percentage of the total population – is shown from 2000 onwards. Countries with a prevalence below 2.5% are not shown.

SDG INDICATOR 2.1.2

Prevalence of food insecurity

Definition: Indicator 2.1.2 is the "prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)."

Food insecurity data of the FEIS (shown here) is based on survey data which relates to the occurrence of several typical experiences and conditions associated with food insecurity.

Goal: Achieve food security by 2030. This means ending moderate and severe food insecurity for all.

SDG INDICATOR 2.2.1

Prevalence of childhood stunting

Definition: Indicator 2.2.1 is the "prevalence of stunting among children under 5 years of age."

Stunting represents severe malnutrition as is apparent when a child has too low height-for-age. A child is stunted when their height-for-age is 2 or more standard deviations below the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards.



Goal: By 2030 "end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age."

The intermediate target is a reduction in the prevalence of stunting by 40% by 2025 (from 2012 levels).

SDG INDICATOR 2.2.2

Prevalence of childhood malnutrition (wasting or overweight)

Definition: Indicator 2.2.2 is the prevalence of malnutrition among children under 5 years of age, by type (wasting and overweight).

Being underweight (wasting) or overweight are both defined as malnourished:

A child is defined as "wasted" if their weight-for-height is more than 2 standard deviations below the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards.

A child is defined as "overweight" if their weight-for-height is more than 2 standard deviations above the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards.



Goal: By 2030 "end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons."

This targets an elimination of wasting, and the prevalence of children being overweight by 2030.

SDG INDICATOR 2.3.1

Production per labour unit

Definition: Indicator 2.3.1 is the "volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size."

This is reported here in the SDG Tracker as the economic value added per agricultural worker.



Goal: By 2030 "double the average productivity of food producers."

This would require a doubling in agricultural value added per worker by 2030.

SDG INDICATOR 2.3.2

Income of small-scale food producers

Definition: Indicator 2.3.2 is the average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status.

This is reported here in the SDG Tracker as the economic value added per agricultural worker.



Goal: By 2030 "double the average productivity of food producers."

This would require a doubling in agricultural value added per worker by 2030.

SDG INDICATOR 2.4.1

Sustainable food production

Definition: Indicator 2.4.1 is the "proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture."

It is currently not clear or well-defined what constitutes productive and sustainable agricultural practice.



Goal: By 2030 "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."

SDG INDICATOR 2.5.1

Genetic resources in conservation facilities

Definition: Indicator 2.5.1 is the "number of plant and animal genetic resources for food and agriculture secured in either medium- or longterm conservation facilities."

Goal: "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."

This target is set for the year 2020, unlike most SDGs which have a target date of 2030.

SDG INDICATOR 2.5.2

Local breeds at risk of extinction

Definition: Indicator 2.5.2 is the "proportion of local breeds classified as being at risk, not at risk or at unknown level of risk of extinction."

This measure is shown as the number of local breeds in a given country at risk of extinction.

Goal: "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."

This target is set for the year 2020, unlike most SDGs which have a target date of 2030.

SDG INDICATOR 2.A.1

Agriculture orientation index

Definition: Indicator 2.A.1 "is the agriculture orientation index for government expenditures."

The agriculture orientation index (AOI) is the agriculture share of government expenditures, divided by the agriculture share of GDP.

An AOI larger than 1 means the agriculture section receives a higher share of government spending relative to its economic value.

An AOI smaller than 1 reflects a lower orientation to agriculture.

Goal: By 2030 "Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries."

SDG INDICATOR 2.A.2

Official flows to agriculture

Definition: Indicator 2.A.2 is "total official flows (official development assistance plus other official flows) to the agriculture sector."

This is given as the total development assistance for agriculture received by a given country each year.

Goal: By 2030 "Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries."

SDG INDICATOR 2.B.1

Agricultural export subsidies

Definition: Indicator 2.B.1 is the "value of agricultural export subsidies."

Goal: By 2030 "correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies."

This target requires an elimination of agricultural export subsidies by 2030.

SDG INDICATOR 2.C.1

Food price anomalies

Definition: Indicator 2.C.1 is the "indicator of food price anomalies."

Food price anomalies can be measured using the domestic food price volatility index.

Domestic food price volatility index measures the variation (volatility) in domestic food prices over time - this is measured as the weighted-average of a basket of commodities based on consumer or market prices. High values indicate a higher volatility (more variation) in food prices.

Goal: By 2030 "adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility."