Roughly 1.7 billion people worldwide are residing in regions where crop yields are falling by at least 10 % as a result of human-induced land degradation, according to the latest edition of the The State of Food and Agriculture 2025 (SOFA 2025) published by the FAO.
The report, released at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, emphasizes that land degradation defined as the long-term decline in the land’s capacity to deliver vital ecosystem services is not simply an environmental concern but is directly undermining agricultural productivity, rural livelihoods and food security.
It highlights that Asia is disproportionately impacted, due to dense populations and high levels of accumulated land-degradation debt. The data suggests that millions of children under five in affected zones are also experiencing stunting because of the combined effects of low yields and degraded ecosystems.
The analysis draws on a novel “debt-based” modelling approach it compares current indicators of soil organic carbon, erosion and water content with hypothetical natural states—to estimate what land productivity would be without human interference. This model enables FAO to map ‘hotspots’ of vulnerability and delineate where declines in crop output coincide with poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
Despite the warning tone, the report also offers actionable hope: it estimates that if only 10 % of degraded cropland were restored through practices such as cover cropping, crop rotations and improved soil stewardship, enough food could be produced to feed an additional 154 million people each year.
To turn this potential into reality, the FAO urges integrated land-use strategies and policy frameworks including deforestation controls, subsidies tied to environmental outcomes, and incentives for smallholders who face the greatest barriers to transitioning toward sustainable management.
As SOFA 2025 concludes, the message is clear: land degradation is eroding the foundation of food systems and ecosystems globally but with timely intervention, technological innovation and policy commitment, the trend can be reversed.