State of Food and Agriculture 2025

Falling crop yields because of human-induced land degradation are a pervasive and silent crisis that is undermining agricultural productivity and threatening ecosystem health world-wide, the latest State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) report Addressing land degradation across landholding scales warns. It was released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in November 2025.

Drawing on the most recent global data on farm distribution, sizes and crop production, the report outlines actionable opportunities for integrated sustainable land-use and management practices, alongside tailored policies. These measures aim to avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation while improving food production and farmers’ livelihoods.

Focus on human-induced land degradation 

Land degradation rarely stems from a single cause; it typically results from a combination of factors. These include natural drivers, such as soil erosion and salinization, and human-induced pressures, which are increasingly dominant. Activities like deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable cropping and irrigation practices are now among the leading contributors. Given its profound impact on agricultural productivity, the report focuses specifically on human-induced land degradation.

In terms of the human toll of land degradation, the report estimates that around 1.7 billion people worldwide live in areas where crop yields are 10 per cent lower due to human-induced land degradation. Of these, 47 million are children under 5 years of age who are suffering from stunting. In absolute numbers, Asian countries are the most affected – both because of their accumulated degradation debt and their high population densities.

Reversing land degradation is required

Yet, the report also offers hope. Reversing just 10 per cent of human-induced degradation on existing croplands (for example by adopting sustainable land management practices such as crop rotations and cover cropping to preserve soil health, reduce erosion, and contribute to biodiversity) could restore enough production to feed an additional 154 million people every year. These figures are not abstract, they represent real opportunities to strengthen food security, ease pressure on natural ecosystems and build more resilient agrifood systems.

To achieve this, SOFA 2025 calls for integrated land-use strategies and policy interventions – including regulatory measures like deforestation controls, incentive-based programmes and cross-compliance mechanisms that link subsidies to environmental outcomes.

Land degradation affects farms of all sizes

The report highlights that policies must be tailored to farm structure, since smallholders face distinct financial constraints compared to larger farms, which manage most land and have greater capacity for scaled implementation. Policies tailored to countries’ specific farm distribution and associated challenges and opportunities reduce land degradation by incentivising sustainable farming practices and discouraging deforestation and overgrazing.

(FAO/ile)

Read more and download the State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2025 on the FAO website