The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
World has enough food to withstand COVID crisis, says UN agency
Lower-than-expected production levels in China following the relaxation of lockdown measures there could be an indicator that tens of millions more people will have too little to eat globally, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said on Friday, while noting that there is no shortage of basic foodstuffs.
“Today, we have 821 million people undernourished, so we are talking of an increase of around eight per cent to 10 per cent of that number if there are changes in GDP growth,” said Maximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist and Assistant-Director General for the Economic and Social Development Department.
“Our lowest scenario with two per cent GDP growth is around (a) 30 million increase, our highest scenario is 88 million people going to undernourishment.”
An early assessment of the output of China, the world’s second largest economy, indicated that “despite their coming back to work, we don’t see the level of recovery that was expected”, Mr Torero said.
“On the contrary, it is very slow. And that clearly tells us we are talking of a low level of GDP growth across the world, and that means a lower demand. And that’s something I don’t think we will be able to move.”
In previous health crises, such as the Ebola epidemic in West Africa from 2014-16, FAO reported that restrictions on movement to curb disease transmission impacted heavily on farmers and migrant workers.
Today, the UN agency explained that producers in developing countries have been threatened by measures to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, as these have affected food exports and imports.
In an appeal for the free movement of food across borders “with no restrictions”, Mr Torero said that slowing the flow of food “is the worst that could happen”.
In addition, there was no need for such embargoes, he maintained, given the surplus of staple foods – principally rice, maize and wheat - now available globally.
“There is no reason, no reason, to have a food price crisis like we had in 2007…in the staple world. You have enough food available, it is just a result of logistical problems.”
But worries remain over more fragile, high-value foodstuffs in coming months, such as fruit, meat and fish, as these require far more workers to bring to market within strict deadlines.
Here, the sector is under threat because millions of migrant farmworkers “cannot move because of borders crackdowns”, the FAO official explained, adding that as the pandemic evolves, “concerns emerge about shortages of their labour during planting and harvesting season, affecting especially labour-intensive crops such as fruits and vegetables”.
Mr Torero added: “The high-value commodities – fruits, vegetables, meats – are more labour intensive…the labour force has been affected because of the lockdowns, because of the health issues. Not only that, they are more affected by logistical issues because the commodities are perishable. And those are where we are seeing some complexities and that’s where we are saying to countries that they need to put them as a priority sector, because we need to protect the value chain so that the labour force can keep moving during the harvest, and so that the value chain continues to operate.”
One of FAO’s key concerns is the vulnerability of mainly poor, export-led economies as the pandemic grinds on; their workers are unlikely to benefit from the injection of billions of dollars into the global marketplace to support trade by richer, industrialised countries, as local currencies suffer against stronger denominations, it believes.
“The money that is being pumped into the system has several effects; one effect is devaluation; which will make things more expensive, for sure,” said Mr Torero. “But that doesn’t mean that the farmers will get bigger prices, it means that the price that the importer countries will have to pay in the local currency will be higher.”
To mitigate the pandemic’s impacts on food and agriculture, FAO’s recommendations include urging countries to meet the food needs of vulnerable populations, boost their social protection programmes, keep global food trade going, keep the domestic supply chain gears moving, and support smallholder farmers’ ability to increase food production.
Such measures are needed urgently given the already high global jobless figures, Mr Torero said, with “21 million unemployed in the US and the levels of unemployment we are observing in most developing countries which are mostly informal economies (where) they won’t get the formal support”.
He added: “The millions that are being pumped won’t be touching them. It will be very difficult, in order to touch them. If that would happen in the European countries and even in the US, the way companies can adjust is extremely flexible; labour regulations are different in Europe.”
- Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
- Wide shot: Press Room III, with four people visible in shot, including three on podium.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Mr Maximo Torero, Chief Economist and Assistant-Director General for the Economic and Social Development Department at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): “Today we have 821 million people undernourished, so we are talking of an increase of around eight per cent to 10 per cent of that number if there are changes in GDP growth; so essentially our lowest scenario with two per cent GDP growth is around 30 million increase, our highest scenario is 88 million people going to undernourishment.”
- Medium shot: UN Geneva building, flag alley.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Mr Maximo Torero, Chief Economist and Assistant-Director General for the Economic and Social Development Department at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): “The money that is being pumped into the system has several effects; one effect is devaluation; which will make things more expensive, for sure. But that doesn’t mean that the farmers will get bigger prices, it means that the price that the importer countries will have to pay in the local currency will be higher.”
- Medium shot: Place des Nations, Geneva, with UN Geneva flag alley in background.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Mr Maximo Torero, Chief Economist and Assistant-Director General for the Economic and Social Development Department at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): “There is no reason, no reason, to have a food price crisis like we had in 2007, seen of course in the staple world. You have enough food available, it is just a result of logistical problems.”
- Medium shot: zooming out, Pregny Gate, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Mr Maximo Torero, Chief Economist and Assistant-Director General for the Economic and Social Development Department at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): “On the other group of commodities, which is high-value commodities, there is a bigger problem, because staples are capital-intensive. The high-value commodities – fruits, vegetables, meats – are more labour intensive, so the labour force has been affected because of the lockdowns, because of the health issues. Not only that, they are more affected by logistical issues because the commodities are perishable. And those are where we are seeing some complexities and that’s where we are saying to countries that they need to put them as a priority sector, because we need to protect the value chain so that the labour force can keep moving during the harvest, and so that the value chain continues to operate.”
- Wide shot: Pregny Gate, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Mr Maximo Torero, Chief Economist and Assistant-Director General for the Economic and Social Development Department at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): “The levels of unemployment we are observing today; 21 million unemployed in the US and the levels of unemployment we are observing in most developing countries which are mostly informal economies, which they won’t get the formal support. So, the millions that are being pumped won’t be touching them. It will be very difficult, in order to touch them. If that would happen in the European countries and even in the US, the way companies can adjust is extremely flexible; labour regulations are different in Europe.”
- Medium wide shot: UN Palais, aerial shot, UN flag fluttering in foreground, building to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Mr Maximo Torero, Chief Economist and Assistant-Director General for the Economic and Social Development Department at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): “If you look at China today, still, despite their coming back to work, we don’t see the level of recovery that was expected. On the contrary it is very slow. And that clearly tells us we are talking of a low level of GDP growth across the world, and that means a lower demand. And that’s something I don’t think we will be able to move.”
- Medium shot: Place des Nations, Geneva, broken chair sculpture.
- Medium shot: Place des Nations, Geneva.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Displacement on the rise in Yemen as fighting continues - UNHCR
As hostilities worsen in Yemen, more people have been fleeing their homes, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis within the region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In war-torn Gaza, a growing number of women-headed households face “impossible decisions” every day, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and still-scarce resources, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar at the 63rd Human Rights Council.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today delivered an update on the global human rights situation to the 63rdsession of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.