Achieving sustainable food systems in a global crisis: Ethiopia

The report shows that it is possible to achieve sustainable food system transformation in the next decade by increasing public investment by USD 4.6 billion and targeting this spending on a more effective portfolio of interventions that achieve multiple sustainable development outcomes. Importantly, when comparing the financing gap between the long-term investment needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 and the short-term investment needed for emergency food assistance, there significant underfunding of the longer-term investment needs. The shortfall in longer-term funding increases the vulnerability of Ethiopia to shocks and crises, increasing the number of people affected by hunger and poverty. Donors should, therefore, simultaneously increase emergency food assistance while ensuring this is linked to and complemented with an increase in longer-term investments to build resilience and help militate against future shocks and crises. The findings are based on a review of academic and grey literature, donor-funded projects, micro- and macroeconomic modelling, and engagement and consultations with key stakeholders in Ethiopia. This report is part of a project that explores the interaction between achieving hunger, poverty reduction, and healthy diets while addressing climate change within the evolving food systems in three countries: Ethiopia, Malawi, and Nigeria.