Indicator 2.4.1 - Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture
The area under productive and sustainable agriculture captures the three dimensions of sustainable production: environmental, economic and social. The measurement instrument - farm surveys - will give countries the flexibility to identify priorities and challenges within the three dimensions of sustainability. Land under productive and sustainable agriculture will be those farms and associated agricultural land area that satisfy the sustainability criteria of the sub-indicators selected across all three dimensions. This indicator will measure progress towards SDG Target 2.4.
Target 2.4
By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
The page you are currently on is dedicated to the official SDG Indicator 2.4.1 "Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture". Data on this indicator is currently scarce, for this reason the UN Statistical Commission has approved the use of a proxy indicator as a “practical interim solution” while FAO continues to work with countries “to strengthen capacity-building activities for the official indicator”. For information on the SDG Indicator 2.4.1 Proxy "Progress towards productive and sustainable agriculture", please visit this page >
Indicator 2.4.1: Progress Assessment
Impact
This indicator measures progress in achieving more productive and sustainable agriculture. It is made up of relevant sub-indicators that will provide governments with strategic information for evidence based policies.
Key results
Sustainable agriculture is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda and first fundamental step to securing zero hunger. While many of the SDGs address issues related to agriculture, SDG indicator 2.4.1 is fully dedicated to it.
There has been considerable discussion over the past thirty years on how to define “sustainable agriculture”. As agriculture contributes to development – as an economic activity, as a source of livelihood and as provider and user of environmental services – the 2030 Agenda suggests that all sectors, including agriculture, be considered from three dimensions of sustainability: economic, social and environmental.
SDG indicator 2.4.1, defined as the “proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture,” is no different. In the past, it had been defined primarily along environmental criteria. If the soil was bad, or if water was not managed well, then a farm might have been considered unsustainable. In recent years, however, there has been a realization that being sustainable reaches much further, to include economic and social dimensions, and putting farmers in the center. If a farm is not economically sound or not resilient to external shocks, or if the well-being of those working on a farm are not considered, then a farm cannot be sustainable.
This indicator was developed through a multi-stakeholder process involving statisticians and technical experts from countries, international organizations, national statistical offices, civil society and the private sector. It brings together themes on productivity, profitability, resilience, land and water, decent work and well-being in order to capture the multidimensional nature of sustainable agriculture.
They are being pilot tested in selected countries from different regions.
Elearning
SDG Indicator 2.4.1 - Sustainable Agriculture
01/10/2021
This course has been developed to support countries in the analysis and reporting for Indicator 2.4.1 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (Proportion...
Multimedia
SDG 2 – Indicator of agricultural sustainability
01/01/2019
An overview of SDG indicator 2.4.1, measuring sustainability of agriculture.
Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators (2022)
01/09/2022
Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators offers detailed analyses and trends on selected indicators for which...
Capacity development
Virtual Event
2024 Virtual Trainings on SDG Indicator 2.4.1 “Proportion of Agricultural Area under Productive and Sustainable Agriculture”
11/06/2024 - 04/10/2024
From June to October 2024, FAO will organize a series of virtual training workshops on SDG indicator 2.4.1 “Proportion of Agricultural Area under...
Virtual Event
Lecture "Measuring and Monitoring Sustainable Agriculture"
15/05/2024
Lecture within the framework of the Diploma in Sustainability in the Food Industry (University of Buenos Aires)
Technical workshop on measuring and reporting SDG Indicator 2.4.1 in Burundi
06/11/2023 - 09/11/2023
FAO is organizing a technical workshop on measuring and reporting SDG Indicator 2.4.1 "Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable...
Hybrid Event
Training on the SDG Indicator 2.4.1 questionnaire in Burundi
09/08/2023 - 11/08/2023
Burundi received technical support from FAO regarding SDG Indicator 2.4.1. Training on the collecting tools was arranged for 27 staff members from August...
Training on SDG indicator 2.4.1 (Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture), Samoa
19/05/2023 - 29/05/2023
Samoa has been selected as one of the beneficiary countries under the Flexible Multi-Partner Mechanism (FMM) project. In this context, the SDG 2.4.1...
Virtual Event
"Measuring and Monitoring Sustainable Agriculture", Lecture within the framework of the Diploma in Sustainability in the Food Industry (University of Buenos Aires)
10/05/2023
FAO is the custodian agency for SDG Indicator 2.4.1 "Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture". This...
Virtual Event
[FAO x UNSD Brown Bag webinar] A Shiny Application to Track the Progress on Food and Agriculture-related SDG Indicators
04/05/2023
FAO has recently launched the FAO...
Virtual Event
2022 Virtual Trainings on SDG Indicator 2.4.1 “Proportion of Agricultural Area under Productive and Sustainable Agriculture”
09/05/2022 - 13/10/2022
From May to October 2022, FAO has organized a series of virtual training workshops on
Virtual Event
Virtual Training on SDG Indicator 2.4.1. “Proportion of Agricultural Area under Productive and Sustainable Agriculture”, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)
07/07/2021 - 10/07/2021
The overall objective of this virtual training was to provide officials from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) capacity development...
Virtual Event
Virtual Trainings on SDG Indicator 2.4.1. “Proportion of Agricultural Area under Productive and Sustainable Agriculture” (April-November 2021)
01/04/2021 - 05/11/2021
The overall objective of these virtual trainings were to provide (government officials responsible for monitoring SDG indicator 2.4.1) capacity development...
Virtual Event
Virtual Training on SDG Indicator 2.4.1. “Proportion of Agricultural Area under Productive and Sustainable Agriculture”
08/09/2020 - 15/10/2020
Chiba (Japan)
Regional Workshop on Farm Survey Based SDG Indicators (2.3.1, 2.3.2, 2.4.1, 5.a.1 and 12.3.1a)
21/10/2019 - 24/10/2019
The overall goal of the regional workshop was to provide government officials responsible for SDG monitoring with capacity development in methodology,...
Cairo (Egypt)
Regional Workshop on Farm Survey Based SDG Indicators (2.3.1, 2.3.2, 2.4.1, 5.a.1 and 12.3.1a)
07/10/2019 - 10/10/2019
The overall goal of the regional workshop was to provide government officials responsible for SDG monitoring with capacity development in methodology,...
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)
Regional Workshop for Africa on SDG Indicator 2.4.1
28/05/2019 - 30/05/2019
From 28 to 30 May 2018, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organized a training for African countries on SDG Indicator...
Roma (Italy)
FAO Expert Meeting for SDG Indicator 2.4.1
03/04/2017 - 05/04/2017
The goal of this workshop was to bring together technical experts and statisticians to help with the methodology work for SDG Indicator 2.4.1 "Agricultural...
Methodology
Tier: II
(AR)
Related publications
- The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture
- A Literature Review on Frameworks and Methods for Measuring and Monitoring Sustainable Agriculture
- Measuring Progress towards Productive and Sustainable Agriculture
- Sustainable food and agriculture
- Building a common vision for sustainable food and agriculture