Waste less, produce more to eradicate hunger

Looking out at the modern, gleaming skyscrapers in many of Asia-Pacific's mega-cities, one could easily forget that this economic transformation masks an unmistakable reality.

While Asia-Pacific continues to record a higher economic growth rate than any other region in recent history, it remains home to nearly thirds of the world's absolute number of undernourished. In other words, more people go to bed hungry each night in this region than in all the other regions of the world combined.

Micronutrient deficiency is another major challenge for the Asia-Pacific region. While many people might not 'go hungry', many are not getting enough micronutrients, the vitamins and minerals their bodies need to keep them healthy. If micronutrient deficiencies occur during childhood it can affect a child's physical and mental growth. Stunted children can be found in many countries across the region where, in the worst cases, some30-50 percent of children are affected. This hidden hunger affects two billion people worldwide.

But there is room for optimism. According to FAO's latest estimates, the proportion of undernourished people in Asia and the Pacific has declined from around 24 percent in the early 1990's, to 13.5 percent by 2013. This means if we double our efforts it is possible to achieve the Millennium Development Goal hunger target of reducing the proportion of undernourishment by half, to 12 percent, by the target year 2015.

But we mustn't stop there. We need to use the momentum to also lift out of hunger the remaining 12 percent. How could we leave them behind? Without eradicating their hunger, it shall not be possible to achieve sustainable development or an equitable and just society. And as we have seen time and time again, because of the link between hunger and conflict, a food insecure world also means an unsecure world.

Therefore, our goal must be "Zero Hunger." As part of the United Nations' Zero Hunger Challenge, FAO is committed to helping member countries eradicate hunger by 2025.

There are various challenges that we need to address to reach our goal of zero hunger. We need to waste less and produce more, sustainably. And we need to support small-scale farming. Family farmers already supply most of the food we eat in many countries, but are among the most vulnerable themselves. Most have limited room to upscale or intensify outputs. Meantime, we also see depletion of fish stocks. So we need to put our heads together to find solutions. These are challenges we know we must face, and we are indeed facing them collectively.

There are positive signs of progress and recognition. For example, we know we can prevent food loss and food wastage-which is as high as 30 percent in Asia and the Pacific. And we must work together to help those who work to supply us with the food we need. In this, the UN-declared International Year of Family Farming, we are duty-bound to support family farms and smallholders-the backbone of food production in Asia-Pacific.