733 million facing hunger globally, warns Okonjo-Iweala
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has raised alarms over the latest global hunger figures, revealing that 733 million people are now struggling with hunger, the majority in Africa and South Asia. Speaking at the World Food Forum in Rome, hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Okonjo-Iweala attributed much of the crisis to trade restrictions and harmful subsidies distorting agricultural production.
“In 54 countries analyzed by the OECD, support for individual producers averaged $630 billion annually between 2020 and 2022. These subsidies often encourage the overuse of fossil fuels, energy, and water, creating environmentally harmful effects,” Okonjo-Iweala stated. She stressed that the current agricultural systems come with “hidden” costs to health, the environment, and society, amounting to over $10 trillion per year.
Okonjo-Iweala also warned that the world is not on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating hunger by 2030, citing climate change as a major factor aggravating food insecurity. “55 percent of the world’s food production occurs in areas facing water insecurity,” she said, adding that poor water and land management, biodiversity loss, and deforestation further complicate global food systems.
The WTO chief underscored the vital role of free and fair trade in ensuring global food security, calling for modernized trade rules and a multilateral system that supports sustainable agriculture. “A free, fair, open, and predictable trading system is critical to building an agrifood system that can deliver good food to the world today and in the future,” she emphasized.
She also highlighted the ongoing partnership between the WTO and FAO, pushing for domestic policies that reduce trade distortions while improving productivity and sustainability. “Policies that provide public goods like research, pest control, and efficient water management are crucial for farmers,” she added.
In addition to food security, Okonjo-Iweala addressed key trade negotiations at the WTO, including efforts to finalize agreements on agriculture and fisheries subsidies. She urged WTO members to remain constructive in addressing unresolved issues and to push for concrete outcomes in trade reform, particularly on overfishing subsidies and development initiatives.
As the world faces the dual crises of climate change and food insecurity, Okonjo-Iweala’s message was clear: global collaboration, underpinned by fair trade policies, is critical to overcoming these challenges.
