FAO Warns of ‘Silent Crisis’ as Land Loss Threatens Billions

A woman in Bolivia prepares her land for growing crops.

Roughly 1.7 billion people are living in areas where crop yields are declining due to human-induced land degradation — “a pervasive and silent crisis that is undermining agricultural productivity and threatening ecosystem health worldwide.”

The finding comes from the latest State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), released on Monday in Rome.

“The report delivers a clear message: land degradation is not just an environmental issue — it affects agricultural productivity, rural livelihoods, and food security,” the UN agency said.

Human Activity Driving Degradation

Land is the foundation of agrifood systems, supporting over 95 per cent of food production while providing essential ecosystem services that sustain life on the planet.

Land degradation typically results from a combination of factors, FAO explained, including natural drivers such as soil erosion and salinisation. However, human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable irrigation practices are now among the leading causes.

Measuring the Impact

To measure degradation, the report compared current values of three key indicators — soil organic carbon, soil erosion, and soil moisture — against conditions that would exist without human activity under natural states.

The data was processed through a machine-learning model that integrates environmental and socio-economic drivers of change to estimate the land’s baseline condition in the absence of human activity.

The report estimates that around 1.7 billion people worldwide live in areas where crop yields are 10 per cent lower due to human-driven land degradation. They include 47 million children under the age of five who suffer from stunting.

“In absolute numbers, Asian countries are the most affected — both because of their accumulated degradation debt and their high population densities,” FAO said.

Millions Could Benefit

The report outlines actionable opportunities for integrated, sustainable land-use and management practices, supported by tailored policies.

Reversing just 10 per cent of human-induced degradation on existing croplands through crop rotations or other sustainable land management practices could produce enough food to feed an additional 154 million people each year.

“To seize these opportunities, we must act decisively. Sustainable land management requires enabling environments that support long-term investment, innovation, and stewardship,” FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu wrote in the report’s foreword.