1559. Food Systems Performance Assessment Reveals Urgent Gaps and a Path to 2050

A study published in Nature Food assessed national progress toward food systems transformation using 44 indicators from the Food Systems Countdown Initiative (FSCI). The analysis compared countries’ current status, progress since 2015, and the improvements needed by 2030 and 2050 against global targets based on the SDGs and international conventions, as well as benchmarks defined by the research team from relatively high-performing countries within each region and income group.

At current rates of progress, most countries are unlikely to meet 2030 targets or benchmarks. Major gaps remain in food insecurity, access to healthy diets, food system emissions, child labour, social protection, and governance. Regional and income-group benchmarks can provide more realistic intermediate reference points, although they do not fully capture differences in natural conditions or policy capacity.

For nutrition and food security, large gaps remain between global targets and current conditions. In Africa in particular, food insecurity, undernourishment, and the unaffordability of healthy diets remain major challenges.

For environmental, natural resource, and production indicators, interpreting the food system emissions target as countries approach net zero by 2030 leads to estimates requiring annual reductions of more than 70% in some regions, making short-term achievement extremely difficult. Japan is mentioned as an Asian country close to targets or benchmarks across multiple themes, but not as a direct assessment of individual environmental indicators. For Asia as a region, major challenges include water use for agriculture, pesticide use, and greenhouse gas emissions per unit of agricultural production including rice; in Africa, key challenges include water use for agriculture, livestock emissions, and the sustainability of fisheries resources.

While the outlook improves for some indicators by 2050, faster progress is essential. The study underscores the importance of clear targets and benchmarks for tracking transformation, prioritizing policies and investments, and strengthening accountability across food systems.

Reference
Carducci, B., Schneider Lecy, K., Nordhagen, S., Beal, T., Béné, C., Gonzalez Fischer, C., Herforth, A., Tubiello, F. N., Ambikapathi, R., Arunkumar, K., Campeau, C., Dasgupta, S., DeClerck, F., del Pino Álvarez, I., Guarín, A., McLaren, R., Vivero-Pol, J. L., et al. (2026). Food systems performance evaluated against targets and benchmarks reveals urgent gaps and a path to 2050. Nature Food, 7, 802–812. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-026-01379-0

Contributor: Miyuki IIYAMA, Strategic Coordination Office