In the past few years, experts reckon, some 800 million to 1 billion people have been staying hungry, and 2 billion are malnourished. None of them can make the most of their lives. To improve matters, humanity needs to change the way it produces and distributes food. The global system is not working well. Too many people stay too poor to buy what they need, while too much food is wasted at the same time. Huge plantations grow monoculture crops for export purposes, generating only few jobs and causing environmental harm, though the emphasis should be on boosting the productivity of smallholdings. In recent years, the interest in large-scale land deals has been growing. A healthier approach to agriculture is possible, but reform is not a trivial task.
