The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says that disasters have inflicted an estimated $3.26 trillion in agricultural losses worldwide over the past 33 years – an average of $99 billion annually, roughly 4 percent of global agricultural GDP.

FAO discloses this in its new report released in November 2025, tagged ,’ The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security 2025.’

The report highlights how digital technologies are transforming how farmers, governments and communities can monitor risks, anticipate impacts, and protect livelihoods.

The report provides the most comprehensive global assessment to date of how disasters – from droughts and floods to pests and marine heatwaves – are disrupting food production, livelihoods and nutrition.

It also demonstrates how digital innovations are shifting agrifood systems from reactive crisis management to proactive data-driven resilience-building.

“Digital technologies are already revolutionizing how we monitor risks, deliver early warnings and support farmers’ decision-making.

From the 9.1 million farmers now accessing parametric insurance through digital platforms to the communities using our early warning systems to evacuate 90 percent of at-risk populations before disasters strike, we are witnessing a fundamental shift from reactive response to proactive risk reduction.” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in the foreword to the report.

Heavy toll on global food security

Between 1991 and 2023, disasters wiped out 4.6 billion tonnes of cereals, 2.8 billion tonnes of fruits and vegetables, and 900 million tonnes of meat and dairy.

These losses translate to a daily per capita reduction of 320 kilocalories – 13–16 percent of average energy needs.

Asia accounts for the largest share of global losses of 47 percent, totaling $1.53 trillion, reflecting both the scale of agricultural production and the region’s high exposure to floods, storms and droughts.

The Americas represent 22 percent of global losses or $713 billion, driven by recurrent droughts, hurricanes, and extreme temperature events that heavily impact large commodity crop systems.

Africa, while recording lower absolute losses of $611 billion, suffers the highest proportional impacts, losing 7.4 percent of agricultural GDP to disasters – the largest relative burden of any region.

In economies where agriculture accounts for a significant share of employment and income, these losses have had severe consequences for food security and rural stability.Small Island Developing States (SIDS) remain among the world’s most vulnerable to disasters such as cyclones, floods, and sea-level rise.

Despite relatively small agricultural output, disaster-related losses represent a disproportionately high share of agricultural GDP.

The report also finds that marine heatwaves caused $6.6 billion in losses between 1985 and 2022, affecting 15 percent of global fisheries. Yet, losses in fisheries and aquaculture remain largely invisible in disaster assessments, despite supporting the livelihoods of 500 million people.

LAGOS State Government has announced plans to channel the proceeds from its recent bond issuance, totalling N244.82 billion, into critical infrastructure development.

The funds will be invested in key sectors, including transportation, housing, environmental sustainability, healthcare, and education, with the aim of driving sustainable and inclusive growth in the state.

The state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who spoke at the state’s Ministry of Finance and Debt Management Office bond-signing ceremony held over the weekend, reaffirmed the state’s commitment to responsible financial stewardship and thanked the investors for the confidence they continue to show in Lagos State.

He noted that the event marked the final stage in the documentation for both the state’s green bond and its conventional bond under the Lagos State N1 trillion Debt and Hybrid Instruments Issuance Programme.

Sanwo-Olu said that the state’s bond-market trajectory had been characterised by steady breakthroughs since his administration assumed office.

He recalled that the first bond issued in 2020, valued at roughly between N100 billion and N110 billion, set a new benchmark at the time, and each subsequent issuance has exceeded the record set before it.

(From the Guardian)

The Dangote Sugar Refinery, a subsidiary of the Dangote Group, is expanding its sugar business by investing an additional $700 million.

The CEO of Dangote Sugar Refinery, Ravindra Singhvi, told journalists in Lagos during the 2025 Lagos International Trade Fair, that the money is going into land development, equipment, infrastructure, training, and community engagement, to build a supply chain that can produce enough raw sugar locally to meet domestic demand and support future manufacturing expansion.

The sugar packs, according to him, will come in 100g, 250g, 500g and 1kg sizes, broadening access to households and small businesses.

Fatima Aliko-Dangote, the conglomerate’s Group Executive Director of Commercial Operations, added that the company’s wider goal remains the same – to strengthen Nigeria’s industrial base and keep more of the value chain within the country.

According to her, industrial expansion offers the strongest path to job creation and can help support smaller businesses that rely on local manufacturing.