Around 1.7 billion people live in areas where agricultural productivity is declining due to human-induced land degradation, according to a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Released at FAO headquarters in Rome, The State of Food and Agriculture 2025 (SOFA 2025) describes land degradation as a “silent crisis” undermining crop yields, rural livelihoods, and food security worldwide.
“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.
Human-driven damage to farmland
FAO defines land degradation as a long-term decline in the land’s ability to provide essential ecosystem services. The phenomenon results from a combination of natural factors—such as soil erosion and salinization—and human activities like deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable farming and irrigation.
SOFA 2025 estimates that 1.7 billion people live in regions where crop yields are at least 10 percent lower due to human-induced degradation. Among them are 47 million children under five suffering from stunted growth. The problem is especially acute in Asia, where dense populations coincide with large areas of degraded land.
The report’s findings are based on a data-driven approach comparing soil organic carbon, soil erosion, and soil water levels to baseline conditions that would exist without human impact.
A path to recovery
Despite the bleak outlook, the FAO report highlights opportunities for recovery. Reversing just 10 percent of human-induced land degradation on existing croplands could restore enough productivity to feed 154 million more people annually.
Recommended actions include adopting sustainable farming methods—such as crop rotation, cover cropping, and soil conservation—to restore soil health, reduce erosion, and enhance biodiversity.
The FAO calls for integrated land-use policies and incentive-based programs linking agricultural subsidies to environmental performance, as well as deforestation controls and support for smallholders who often lack access to resources and technology.
More than 130 countries have pledged to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). FAO plays a key role in this global effort, providing data, policy guidance, and technical support.
Using tools like its Global Agro-Ecological Zoning (GAEZ v5) system and the Global Soil Organic Carbon Map, FAO continues to monitor global soil and crop health.
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