RAIZ Call to action
RAIZ - Resilient Agriculture Investment for net Zero land degradation is a global effort to map and mobilize funding for the restoration of degraded farmlands worldwide. Aligned with the shared global goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), RAIZ focuses on restoring degraded agricultural lands to achieve multiple co-benefits, including reducing emissions, strengthening food security, preventing deforestation and conserving biodiversity.
According to the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, between 638 and 720 million people faced hunger in 2024, and around 2.3 billion people, about 28 percent of the global population, experienced moderate to severe food insecurity. Restoring and sustainably managing farmland has emerged as a shared priority in response to the complex challenges threatening food production and poverty eradication, challenges emphasized in Article 2 of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. This approach can deliver multiple benefits for people and the planet.
RAIZ is hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (MAPA) under the FAO FAST Partnership with the collaboration of the UNCCD G20 Global Land Initiative and the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) in partnership with the Action Agenda for Regenerative Landscapes. The initiative is supported by technical partners such as the Green Climate Fund, the World Bank, CGIAR, iCS and Agroicone among others.
Degraded agricultural land
Approximately 1 billion hectares of agricultural land are degraded (FAO,2023). Around half derive from cropland and grassland respectively (Ziadat, 2025). In Africa alone, 221 million hectares are affected, while in Brazil, an estimated 109.7 million hectares of pastures are degraded. Latin America and Asia are the most affected with around a quarter of farmland highly or moderately degraded.
Despite the scale of the challenge, capital is not flowing at the level required to restore degraded farmlands. Addressing this gap demands collective action, a global 'mutirão', to scale up emerging financing models capable of addressing the problem. This aligns with the COP30 Presidency’s call to accelerate the implementation of climate solutions in line with the Paris Agreement.
Land degradation data dashboard
The land degradation data dashboard facilitates global access to information on degraded land.
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