FAO: Disasters cost $3.26 trillion to global agriculture - digital technologies are changing the game

Disasters have caused approximately 3.26 trillion dollars in losses to global agriculture over the past 33 years – an average of 99 billion dollars per year, or about 4 percent of the global agricultural gross domestic product (GDP), according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The report, "The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security 2025," highlights how digital technologies are transforming the way farmers, governments, and communities monitor risks, anticipate impacts, and protect their livelihoods. The report provides the most comprehensive global assessment to date of how disasters – from droughts and floods to pests and marine heatwaves – disrupt food production, livelihoods, and nutrition. It shows how digital innovations are changing agrifood systems from reactive crisis management to proactive, data-driven resilience building. Between 1991 and 2023, disasters have destroyed 4.6 billion tons of cereals, 2.8 ...