In a powerful joint statement, 28 World Food Prize Laureates, together with world-renowned chef and humanitarian José Andrés, made an urgent call to double investment in emergency food assistance and sustainable agriculture. They declared that hunger is a collective challenge that demands engagement from every corner of society.
Issued in honour of the late Dr Norman E. Borlaug, founder of the World Food Prize, the Laureates stated that while progress has been made since the world first affirmed the human right to food more than 75 years ago, hunger continues to exact a heavy toll globally. Over 700 million people still go hungry, more than two billion lack reliable access to food, and nearly one in four children suffer from stunting.
The Laureates called on governments, international organisations and civil society to urgently strengthen support for emergency food relief, especially in conflict-affected regions such as Gaza, Sudan, Yemen and Haiti. They also urged long-term investment in agricultural innovation to help farmers produce more with fewer resources, ensuring food systems remain resilient amid climate and economic shocks.
“Let us double down—not in words, but in action,” the statement reads. “We must double emergency food assistance and double investments in sustainable agricultural development.”
Among those to endorse the statement were 2017 World Food Prize Laureate, Akinwumi Adesina, recognised for driving agricultural transformation across Africa and the 2009 World Food Prize Laureate, Gebisa Ejeta, who was honoured for his research in creating sorghum hybrids that are resistant to both severe drought and the destructive parasitic Striga weed.
The signatories also included the 2020 World Food Prize Laureate and leading soil scientist, Rattan Lal, whose work on carbon sequestration has shaped global climate-smart agriculture and Cary Fowler, joint 2024 World Food Prize Laureate and founder of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, known for championing crop diversity and global food resilience.
The Laureates and Chef Andrés are urging world leaders to take four decisive actions:
- Prevent famine by sustaining and scaling support for emergency food relief, especially in conflict zones such as Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, and Haiti.
- Confront long-term food insecurity by accelerating sustainable agricultural productivity through bold investment in transformative innovation and locally led systems.
- Promote shared prosperity by creating policies that allow science, trade, and innovation to flourish.
- Foster a culture of shared responsibility, ensuring that governments, industry, and individuals play their part in ending hunger.
By uniting humanitarian action with sustainable development, the Laureates reaffirmed their shared vision of a world where hunger is history and the right to food is realised for all.
Read the full joint statement here.
