The 193 Member States of the United Nations reached agreement on a sustainable development agenda for the next 15 years. The new agenda to be adopted by world leaders at a summit in September contains 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a set of 169 targets that aim to end poverty and hunger in all their forms by 2030 while protecting the environment. “They address the requirements for all humanity to be able to live decent lives free from poverty, hunger and inequality, with all men and women, girls and boys being able to develop their full potential,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a news conference on Sunday. The outcome document with the title “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” concludes a negotiating process that began three years ago with the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20. The 17 SDGs will replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expire at the end of the year. Eliminating hunger is a key issue of the new post-2015 agenda. Goal 2 promises to „end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”. It contains targets on ending hunger and malnutrition by 2030, doubling the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale farmers, ensuring sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices, and maintaining the gentic diversity of seeds, plants and animals. The Swiss organisation Biovision Foundation, which was involved in the negotiations and advocated for a strong goal on food security and sustainable agriculture, welcomed the agreement. Biovision, which was founded by World Food Prize winner and IAASTD co-chair Hans Herren, particularly welcomed the fact that Goal 2 with its eight targets has remained the same throughout the negotiations. Moreover, the outcome document reaffirms the important role and inclusive nature of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and underlines that the UN member states „will devote resources to developing rural areas and sustainable agriculture and fisheries, supporting smallholder farmers, especially women farmers, herders and fishers in developing countries, particularly least developed countries.“ The outcome document of the new sustainable development agenda will be formally adopted by member states at a special UN summit from 25-27 September in New York. (ab)