The State of Food and Agriculture 2025

Methodology

The preparation of The State of Food and Agriculture 2025 began with the formation of an advisory group representing all relevant FAO technical units as well as a panel of external experts, which assisted the research and writing team. A virtual inception workshop took place on 28 January 2025 to discuss the outline of the report. The preparation of the report was further informed by four background papers that provided novel evidence and insights based on state-of the art data and empirical analyses prepared by FAO and external experts. The first draft of the report was presented to the advisory group in advance of a workshop held both virtually and in Rome from 2 to 3 April 2025. Based on guidance emerging from the workshop, the report was reworked. The revised draft was sent for comments to the advisory group, the senior management team of FAO’s Economic and Social Development stream, and to other FAO streams and the FAO Regional Offices for Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Near East and North Africa. Comments were incorporated in the final draft, which was reviewed by the Director of FAO’s Agrifood Economics and Policy Division, the Chief Economist and the Office of the Director-General.

This flagship publication is part of The State of the World series of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Required citation:
FAO. 2025. The State of Food and Agriculture 2025 – Addressing land degradation across landholding scales. Rome.
https://doi.org/10.4060/cd7067en

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO.

ISSN 0081-4539 (print)
ISSN 1564-3352 (online)
ISBN 978-92-5-140142-2
© FAO, 2025

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RUSSIAN FEDERATION. Aerial view of cereal fields.