Food Sovereignty Amid Overlapping Global Crises: An Action Framework for Sustainable Food Systems

Food Sovereignty Amidst Converging Global Crises: An Action Framework for Sustainable Food Systems

Subtitle: Climate Change, Conflict, and Pandemic Intertwine, Posing Systemic Challenges to the Resilience of Global Food Systems

> Lead: Global hunger levels continue to climb, with over 733 million people going hungry every day. Climate change, armed conflict, economic recession, and the long-term effects of the pandemic are converging to erode the foundations of food systems. A policy and practice review recently published in *Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems* systematically examines how crises undermine food sovereignty and proposes concrete pathways for building resilient food systems.

Main text

Global food systems are facing unprecedented compound pressures. According to the latest estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other agencies, more than 733 million people worldwide are unable to access adequate food every day. The Global Hunger Index shows that nine countries are at the most severe level of hunger, while another 34 face "serious" hunger—all of them located in the Global South. With less than five years remaining until the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal deadline to eliminate hunger, there is an alarming trend of regression.

Climate change, armed conflict, economic recession, and the aftermath of the pandemic are no longer isolated problems; rather, they interact in overlapping and persistent ways, jointly undermining the functioning of food systems. Particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, structural vulnerabilities make these regions less able to absorb shocks and recover from crises. Frequent extreme weather events, regional conflicts, and global market volatility are blurring the boundary between "normal" and "crisis" for food systems.

In this context, the concept of Food Sovereignty has become increasingly important. It refers not only to the availability of food, but also to a questioning of who controls food systems: who decides what is produced, how it is produced, where it circulates, and who benefits? In times of crisis, governance capacity and policy space are often the first to be damaged, and this concept represents a reassertion of control over the system.

A policy and practice review published in *Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems* employs a structured narrative review method, integrating peer-reviewed research, policy reports, and gray literature, to construct five interrelated pathways through which crises are transmitted:

• Access to productive resources: Reduced availability of land, water, seeds, and financing directly weakens smallholder production capacity.
• Production capacity and agroecological resilience: Monoculture and industrialized models increase sensitivity to climate shocks, while agroecology and diversified systems provide stronger buffers.
• Trade, markets, and economic accessibility: Global supply chain disruptions and price volatility intensify import dependence in resource-scarce regions, making food access more fragile.
• Consumption and nutrition: Falling incomes and rising food prices force households to choose cheap but nutritionally inadequate food, exacerbating malnutrition.
• Governance and institutional capacity: Insufficient institutional capacity and corruption hinder effective response and coordination, amplifying the impact of crises.

These pathways do not operate independently; rather, they form vicious cycles during crises. For example, climate shocks reduce yields, push up food prices, weaken purchasing power, and thereby worsen malnutrition, while also lowering labor productivity and further undermining economic resilience. In places lacking effective governance, inequitable resource distribution and ineffective emergency responses can also accelerate social instability.

Industry Impact

This compound crisis is reshaping the operational logic of the agricultural and food industries. First, production efficiency is severely constrained—the increasing frequency of extreme weather makes traditional agricultural cycles unpredictable, directly hitting output and income. Farm operation models are beginning to shift toward greater resilience, with diversified planting, agroecology, and water-saving technologies receiving more attention.

Second, the agricultural labor structure is also changing. The crisis has driven an outflow of young labor, leaving the agricultural sector facing labor shortages, which in turn further raises the application potential of technologies such as automation, precision agriculture, and agricultural robotics. Although these technologies are still mainly concentrated in developed economies, their role in alleviating labor pressure and enhancing capacity to cope with extreme climate conditions cannot be ignored.

At the supply chain level, the fragility of global food supply chains has been fully exposed. Multiple countries have raised export restrictions to secure domestic supply, which instead intensified international market price volatility. Food price pressures transmit downstream, ultimately reflected at the consumer and food retail ends. This has redirected agricultural investment—away from purely pursuing yield growth and toward investment in climate-adaptive infrastructure, soil health, and localized supply systems.

From a broader perspective, global trade patterns may also adjust accordingly. Countries that depend on food imports will place greater emphasis on strategic reserves and regional cooperation, while food-exporting countries face new policy trade-offs. Sustainable development issues are being embedded into food trade discussions, and practices such as carbon farming and regenerative agriculture are gaining favor from both policy and capital.

Future Outlook## Future Outlook

Over the next 3 to 5 years, the global food system will enter a critical period of adaptation. The role of agricultural technology (AgriTech) in enhancing food system resilience will become more prominent. Precision agriculture, agricultural AI, and data platforms are expected to help farmers manage uncertainty and resource constraints more efficiently. Smart irrigation, drone monitoring, and soil sensors have already demonstrated their potential to maintain yields under drought and extreme climate conditions.

Equally important, the rise of food technology (FoodTech) and the alternative protein industry may alleviate dependence on traditional agriculture and reduce supply chain risks. Cultivated meat, plant-based foods, and novel food processing technologies are transforming the way food value is created. However, the large-scale adoption of these technologies remains constrained by cost, regulation, and consumer acceptance.

Regenerative agriculture, as a practice that restores soil health, enhances biodiversity, and sequesters carbon, is increasingly regarded by policymakers as an important lever for long-term climate adaptation. Its core lies in transforming agriculture from a carbon emission source into a carbon sink while enhancing ecological resilience.

Capital flows are undergoing significant changes. Multilateral banks, climate funds, and private investors are beginning to incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards into investment decisions, and agricultural infrastructure and climate-adaptation projects are gaining more financing opportunities. At the same time, global food demand is growing with population growth, especially in developing countries. Future agricultural supply chains will need to meet requirements of quantity, quality, and sustainability simultaneously.

Conclusion

The global crises have exposed deep flaws in the current food system. Food sovereignty is not merely about output or trade, but about who has the power to determine how the food system operates. Under the combined pressures of climate change, conflict, and economic volatility, countries in the Global South need food systems that are both more autonomous and resilient. This requires not only agricultural technology innovation, but also governance reform, investment redirection, and international cooperation.

As this review points out, achieving the Zero Hunger goal among the Sustainable Development Goals requires all actors—wealthy nations, Global South governments, multilateral institutions, humanitarian organizations, investors, and businesses—to take on more responsibility within their spheres of influence. With less than five years remaining until 2030, taking systemic action has become an urgent global obligation.

(This article is based on a peer-reviewed policy and practice review published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. The original paper information is provided at the end of the article.)