Agricultural commodity prices will remain relatively stable in the coming decade, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and OECD said on Monday. According to their “Agricultural Outlook 2016-2025”, increased productivity, weakening demand growth due to overall economic slowdown, lower oil prices and abundant stocks will keep prices low. However, the two organisations underline the need to be vigilant as the probability of a major price swing remains high. In sub-Saharan Africa – the focus of this year’s Outlook – agriculture will face many challenges, such as rapid urbanisation and increased commercial interest in Africa’s resources and farmland. As the region faces rapid population growth, agriculture will continue to be the single largest source of employment for many young people. The Outlook projects that Sub-Saharan Africa’s net imports of food commodities will grow over the next decade, because demand for food is expected to grow at more than 3% over the coming decade, while total agricultural production is projected to rise by only 2.6% a year, despite improved productivity. The authors warn that undernourishment in Sub-Saharan Africa will remain high. Although the rate of undernourishment is projected to decline from an estimated 23 to 19 percent, because of rapid population growth, the region would still be home to a rising share of the world’s hungry. In ten years, Sub-Saharan Africa will account for more than one third of the global total of undernourished people, compared with just over a quarter today. According to OECD/FAO estimates, the global proportion of people who are undernourished will decrease from 11% to 8% over the next ten years, with the total numbers of undernourished declining from 788 million to less than 650 million. “This implies that without decisive steps to move away from business-as-usual, hunger would not be eradicated by 2030 as a global target,” the report concludes. In 2015, world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global agenda consisting of 17 goals designed to end poverty and hunger by 2030. Goal 2 aims at ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture. (ab)