Nitrogen is an essential element in the natural environment, forming critical compounds necessary for all living organisms. As it cycles through air, soil, and water, nitrogen is fundamental to ecosystem functionality. However, improper management of nitrogen in agrifood systems can degrade air, water, and soil quality, while excessive extraction from soils leads to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and exacerbation of climate change.

This FAO report provides a comprehensive overview of nitrogen’s role, and the challenges associated with its use in agrifood systems. It explores solutions for improving nitrogen management in crop and livestock systems to enhance nitrogen use efficiency while reducing pollution. Additionally, it highlights the potential of circular bioeconomy approaches to optimize nitrogen management and minimize nitrogen losses. By adopting balanced nitrogen practices, agrifood systems can be transformed to ensure food security, improved nutrition, and sustainable livelihoods for farmers while minimizing negative environmental impacts.

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The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) published the Food Systems Countdown Report 2024. This groundbreaking report is based on the peer-reviewed publication in Nature Food titled: Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030. 

Food systems are under significant pressure, grappling with widespread malnutrition, low wages and poor working conditions in food-related jobs, and the environmental toll of food production on planetary health. To address these challenges, a fundamental transformation of food systems is urgently required to better align them with social and environmental objectives.

The Food Systems Countdown Initiative is a global, interdisciplinary scientific collaboration that monitors this transformation. It regularly updates data on 50 food system indicators and conducts thematic analyses on critical food system issues. Such monitoring can help align decision-makers around key priorities, incentivise action, hold stakeholders accountable, sustain commitment by demonstrating progress, and enable course corrections.

The 2024 Countdown publications assess changes in indicator values since 2000, highlighting trends that reflect progress—or setbacks—towards desired outcomes. The findings reveal some reasons for optimism: globally, 20 of the 42 indicators with available time trends have improved on average. However, seven indicators have significantly worsened, and 15 show no notable progress, underscoring the need for accelerated efforts to achieve key global targets.

To read more, visit The Food System Countdown Initiative 2024 Publications page on the GAIN website.

FAO’s new toolkit takes teachers and students in the Mediterranean and Black Sea on a fun, educational journey to explore sustainable farmed aquatic food systems.

This publication published an educational toolkit designed to take teachers and students throughout the Mediterranean and the Black Sea on a journey to discover the aquaculture sector in their region. Divided into three units for teachers, students ages 5–12 and students ages 13–18, this educational journey highlights the environmental, social and economic benefits of farmed aquatic food systems with activities centered around fun, teamwork and critical thinking. By working through the activities in the toolkit, students will join in the Blue Transformation of aquaculture and discover their power to contribute to sustainable and resilient farmed aquatic food systems.

Check out the toolkit here.