Global leaders attending the SB62 Climate Summit in Bonn are under growing pressure to reconfigure agricultural subsidies in favour of crop production, as leading food systems advocates and UN agencies warn that current policies are driving hunger, poor diets, and environmental degradation.
Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and World Food Programme (WFP) joined climate campaigners in demanding urgent tax subsidies for seeds, fertilisers, and agricultural equipment–especially in low-income nations where food insecurity is rising.
Speaking in Bonn, Enric Noguera of the Plant-Based Treaty campaign and Jeroom Remmers of the True Animal Protein Price Coalition (TAPP) argued for a seismic shift in public spending away from livestock-based subsidies and toward crop inputs.
“We must redirect subsidies away from animal agriculture and towards crop inputs–seeds, fertiliser, machinery–to boost productivity and food security globally,” Remmers said.
Noguera reinforced the urgency, calling food system reform “non-negotiable,” and essential not only for ending hunger but for ensuring climate resilience and health.
These calls echo longstanding concerns from UN institutions. FAO’s State of Food Security reports from 2020-21 flagged skyrocketing hunger and the unaffordability of healthy diets, urging governments to shift subsidies toward fruits, vegetables, and staple crops.
In 2023, FAO, WHO, and WFP jointly called for a repurposing of harmful agricultural subsidies to protect vulnerable communities and stabilize markets.
The WHO’s 2024 hunger report went further, describing subsidy reallocation as a “key policy lever” for financing healthier diets.
A May 2025 cost-climate-nutrition model showed that with adequate input support, a sustainable low-carbon diet could be achieved at just $6.95 per day while emitting only 0.67kg CO₂e.
Uganda featured prominently at the summit, with its Ministry of Health citing stagnating crop yields and malnutrition among children under five–currently at 29%.
Officials stated that, based on FAO guidance, tax exemptions on fertilisers, seeds, and irrigation tools could increase yields by 20% and reduce stunting by 5 percentage points within two years.
“The evidence is overwhelming,” said a Ministry representative. “Tax subsidies on crop inputs are no longer a luxury but a necessity.”
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The scale of the global problem is immense. In 2020, nearly 2 billion people lacked regular access to nutritious food, according to WHO and FAO.
Without intervention, poor diets could cost the global economy $1.3 trillion annually by 2030.
Compounding the crisis is the distortion of global agricultural subsidies. Over 70% currently favour meat, dairy, sugar, and rice–while nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables receive a fraction of the support.
Environmentalists, economists, and policymakers at SB62 urged a fundamental rethink: redirect public finance to lower greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, reduce chemical fertiliser use, and accelerate progress toward Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 13 (Climate Action).
For this shift to succeed, experts recommend empowering smallholder farmers–especially women and rural communities–through targeted credit, technical assistance, and subsidised crop inputs.
They also called for outcome monitoring using WHO and FAO tools to track dietary diversity, productivity, and resilience.
As the summit concluded, Remmers summarised the call to action: “It’s about using public finance to build climate-resilient, nutrient-rich food systems.”
Noguera added, “Without subsidy reform, ambitious climate and health goals remain out of reach.”
With support from UN agencies and national governments like Uganda, global leaders now face a critical choice: repurpose agricultural subsidies to protect people and planet–or continue fuelling a cycle of malnutrition, market instability, and ecological breakdown.
