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Recent crises and shocks have eroded food security in many countries. These crises take many forms. Some are global shocks, such as a sharp rise in food commodity prices in world markets. Some are local shocks—for instance, flooding from an extreme weather event, or another from the ever-increasing list of climate impacts.

Millions of people across 22 countries and territories may be pushed into acute food insecurity by May 2025, according to the latest FAO-WFP Hunger Hotspots Report. Ongoing and increasing conflict in many areas of the world, along with economic hardships and extreme weather caused by climate change and the La Niña phenomenon, are behind this significant increase in both the magnitude and the severity of acute food insecurity.

Soil degradation, mainly caused by soil erosion and nutrient depletion, is a key factor undermining agricultural productivity, food security, and livelihoods in low- and middle-income countries. Soil degradation is a key problem in Uganda, which has seen growing soil health challenges. To address this issue, IFPRI, the CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains, and Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) have initiated a new round of a long-term, gender-disaggregated soil health survey in Uganda.

The Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) has consistently served as a pivotal platform for shaping agricultural policies and practices across the continent. By convening a wide array of stakeholders, the AFSF fosters discussions that promote inclusive and sustainable food systems and address key issues such as gender equality and nutrition. This year’s AFSF Summit, held September 2-6 in Kigali, Rwanda, revolved around the theme “Innovate, Accelerate, and Scale: Delivering Food Systems Transformation in a Digital and Climate Era.”

Smallholder farmers across the globe produce over a third of the world’s food supply, yet they receive a disproportionately small share of global climate finance. A 2020 report released by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) shows that less than 2% of international climate finance, amounting to approximately $2 billion, was allocated to smallholder farmers in 2017/2018.