You can’t manage what you don’t measure. The Sustainable Development Goals — which were put in place to guide people and the planet toward a prosperous future — are no exception. That is why next week, the United Nations will convene a meeting to track progress on several of the SDGs to see how the world is faring on this ambitious journey.
Those working to tackle the many urgent challenges we face — from hunger and malnutrition to water access, climate change and migration — will know that they are all interconnected. Solutions therefore cannot address just one goal, but must look to make a difference to several at once.
Investments in agriculture — the dominant occupation for the world’s poorest people — can do just that. This sector alone accounts for 70 percent of water use. It often becomes a casualty of climate change, but is also emits significant greenhouse gases. It employs millions of women — who, if given access to the same resources as men, could feed an extra 150 million people in the world. Innovations in agriculture can help us make great strides on many goals.
Agriculture is of course at the heart of one goal in particular: SDG 2 on ending hunger. Five targets have been put in place to help advance this goal, and agricultural development professionals the world over are stepping up to the challenge of tackling them.
Here’s how we’re doing on those targets.
Genebanks are saving our food supplies
SDG 2.5 is all about protecting genetic diversity — the varied plant and animal species that exist all over the world. Without the diverse genetic traits these species hold, we would not be able to breed better crops and animals that can resist the new pests, diseases and temperatures that are coming our way. Work from CIMMYT to protect wheat and maize species, for example, has led to a major breakthrough in developing a maize variety that is resistant to maize lethal necrosis, which has been devastating yields in Mexico. Without CIMMYT’s genebank and its work to categorize the germplasm within it, a solution to this deadly disease that leaves families hungry and farmers’ pockets empty could have been many more years away.
Better soil health can help farmers achieve sustainability and resilience
SDG 2.4 encourages productive and sustainable agriculture. Good soil health is a key component of this, and helping farmers access the right kind of fertilizer for their soils and training them on proper use has been shown to not only boost yields, but also protect the environment. In Kenya, for example, soybean trials in farmers’ fields found that grain yields could be increased by 1 t/ha when fertilizer is added. Investment in fertilizer alone increased profits by $400 to $1200/ha. By helping farmers grow more on less land, we are able to limit the greenhouse gases emitted when land is cleared for agricultural use. And by boosting productivity, we are helping farmers keep surplus food and funds in reserve for emergencies, therefore building their resilience to unexpected events.
Access to finance is critical for productivity
The third target, SDG 2.3, focuses on doubling smallholder productivity and incomes. This is incredibly difficult when millions of farmers do not have the funds to invest in and grow their businesses. The Initiative for Smallholder Finance estimates that there is a $200 billion gap in financing for smallholder farmers. Innovative work is underway to bring banking to these hard-to-reach communities from nontraditional digital platforms. For example, Vodacom in Tanzania is experimenting with how to take data and create a credit scoring algorithm that will automatically enable microloans for farmers. By giving farmers a financial boost, they can invest in better seeds, fertilizer, storage and transport, all of which will help them make the leap into bigger business.
Ending malnutrition makes economic sense
For every dollar invested in ending malnutrition — the aim of SDG 2.2 — you get $16 back. According to the ONE Campaign, one of the best bets for reducing poverty (SDG1), boosting good health and well-being (SDG3), and improving economic growth (SDG8) is investing in childhood nutrition. Because when young children are well fed, they perform better in school and can lift their communities and economies in later life. This will be particularly important in Africa, where the youth population is set to skyrocket in the next decade.
Empowering women is key to ending hunger
The final SDG target is ending hunger. Encouraging women to embrace entrepreneurial ventures, such as kitchen gardens in India, is a powerful way to achieve this. The daily harvest from a kitchen garden — ranging from green leafy vegetables to tomatoes and cauliflower — significantly contributes to a family’s nutrition, decreases spending on vegetables at market, and helps empower the gardener in her household. As of October 2016, the Sustainable Guar Initiative has trained 320 women and established 277 gardens — not only making progress toward ending hunger, but also improving health and promoting gender equality in the household — ticking off two more SDGs in just one intervention.
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