Search

One of today's most critical challenges is ensuring sufficient and safe food production and supply for the ever-expanding global population. Recently, many countries around the world, particularly those in Africa, have been grappling with severe hunger and food insecurity, frequently exacerbated by events such as escalating global prices, persistent insecurity, and the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study undertook an extensive review of the prevalence and severity of hunger and food insecurity across diverse countries and regions. The review utilised several metrics, including Global Hunger Index (GHI) scores, Global Food Security Index (GFSI) scores, 2015–2022 data (related to two Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) targets) from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and other pertinent sources to assess the development of the current status of the countries included in this study. The 20 countries with 2023 GHI scores below five were collectively ranked from 1 to 20, signifying low hunger levels. However, the Central African Republic (CAR) received the lowest ranking, at 125 out of 125, with a score of 42.3, indicating an alarming level of hunger. Finland achieved the highest GFSI score of 83.7, with Oman showing the most notable GFSI improvement at +13.8, while Syria experienced a significant decline in the GFSI score by −10.5. Over time, many countries, particularly the developed ones, have witnessed significant improvements in their GHI and GFSI scores. Meanwhile, most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have experienced the greatest deterioration in their GFSI scores and notable increases in their GHI scores. The review documented the significant progress made by countries and regions in reducing levels of hunger and food insecurity while highlighting the substantial burden borne by sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in combating global hunger and food insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we approach the deadline for achieving the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is less than a decade away, it is crucial for researchers and research institutions at both national and international levels to conduct rigorous scientific assessments of the progress made towards these goals. The assessment is of utmost importance as it will provide valuable insights and information to political leaders and other stakeholders, guiding their actions and efforts towards successfully attaining the SDGs by the year 2030. This study aimed at providing vivid descriptions of the SDG 2 – zero hunger-related research endeavour. It employed bibliometric analysis and geographical patterns of SDG 2-related publications extracted from Scopus database from 2015 to 2023. A total of 397 documents were extracted where Sustainability journal ranked 1st among the journal outlets of zero hunger-related publications. The publication of zero hunger-related documents grew from 1.5% in 2016 to 29.7% in 2022. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Chinese Academy of Sciences were the top 2 institutions publishing zero hunger-related documents while the lead article was published by Journal of Cleaner Production with 128 citations. The funding sponsors of SDG 2-related publications were dominated by sponsors from developed countries (such as China, Belgium, United States, and United Kingdom) while no funding sponsors from developing countries were among the top 10. The United States and United Kingdom were the two most productive countries while only one African country (South Africa) made the list of top 10 countries publishing zero hunger-related documents. This study provided political leaders and key stakeholders with in-depth understanding of the SDG 2-related research activities and highlighted research funding and collaboration gaps facing the developing nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about food safety issues have put considerable pressure on pesticide producers in Europe and worldwide to reduce the levels of pesticide residues in food. The aim of this work is to assess the use of traditional pesticides and their effects, to present perspectives in this field and to identify regulatory needs for their use and implementation. The work is based on a systematic review in which the research problem was defined, primary sources were selected and critically appraised, data were collected, analysed and evaluated, and conclusions were formulated. The state of the pesticide market and the current legal requirements for risk assessment in relation to exposure to chemical substances were reviewed. Food safety issues are presented through the prism of pesticide residues in food. Their widespread use and considerable persistence have made them ubiquitous in the natural environment and their residues pose a threat to the environment and to human and animal health. It has been shown that the most important factor influencing the search for new tools to control diseases and pests of crops is the progressive development of resistance of these populations to currently used pesticides. Various alternatives to the phasing out of synthetic pesticides in the form of natural products are therefore being developed to support the development of the natural products market. Natural phytotoxins can be used as herbicides, but it is more effective to use bioherbicides as templates for synthetic herbicides. They can also be used to discover new modes of action and molecular targets for future herbicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]