Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2), a cornerstone of the United Nations #39 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, is a resolute commitment to eradicate hunger, achieve food security, and promote sustainable agriculture. In a world where an estimated 690 million people still suffer from chronic hunger and nearly 2 billion experience varying levels of food insecurity, SDG 2 addresses the pressing need to revolutionize global food systems. The goal is both ambitious and imperative, recognizing that access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food is a basic human right and fundamental to achieving broader, sustainable development objectives.
At its core, SDG 2 aims to end hunger in all its forms by ensuring that everyone, particularly the most vulnerable and marginalized populations, has access to enough food throughout the year. This involves tackling malnutrition, particularly emphasizing the nutritional needs of children and pregnant or breastfeeding women. Beyond merely addressing immediate hunger, SDG 2 aspires to achieve food security. This means that all individuals should always have access to safe and nutritious food regardless of socioeconomic status or geographical location. To achieve this, the goal recognizes the necessity of improving food production, distribution systems, and equitable access to resources.
Despite the noble aspirations of SDG 2, several challenges loom large on the path to achieving food security and sustainable agriculture. Climate change emerges as a formidable
threat, disrupting traditional farming practices and altering the availability of water resources. SDG 2 recognizes the necessity of building resilience within agricultural systems to adapt to changing climatic conditions. Additionally, there are pervasive issues related to unequal access to resources, where disparities in land, water, and other essentials hinder the agricultural potential of specific regions. Addressing these disparities is a crucial aspect of SDG 2, which ensures that small- scale farmers, especially women, access resources equally. The loss of biodiversity further compounds the challenges faced by sustainable agriculture. SDG 2 promotes biodiversity conservation within agricultural landscapes, recognizing the intricate web of relationships between different species and the resilience this diversity imparts to ecosystems and agrarian systems.
