World Produces Enough Food. Why Are Millions Still Hungry? Asks Bhutanese PM

COLOMBO (News 1st): Despite unprecedented advances in science, technology and agricultural production, the world continues to face a troubling contradiction: millions of people still go hungry while food systems increasingly place pressure on the environment and those who produce the world's food.

That was the central message delivered by Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay at the Global Conscious Food Systems Summit 2026, where he called for a fundamental rethink of how nations approach food production, sustainability and human well-being.

Addressing global leaders, policymakers and experts, Prime Minister Tobgay said humanity today possesses more knowledge, technological capability and productive capacity than at any point in history.

According to him, global food production has reached unprecedented levels, making it possible to move food across continents and reach markets around the world. Yet hundreds of millions of people continue to experience hunger, while access to healthy diets remains beyond the reach of many families.

The Bhutanese leader highlighted what he described as a series of contradictions within modern food systems.

"We produce more food than ever before, and yet hundreds of millions of people still go hungry," he said.

He noted that while agricultural productivity has increased dramatically over recent decades, many countries continue to degrade the very natural resources upon which future food production depends, including fertile soil, clean water and biodiversity.

Prime Minister Tobgay also pointed to another challenge that he described as one of the greatest contradictions in the global food economy.

Despite being responsible for feeding the world's population, many farmers and food producers continue to struggle to earn a decent living.

"Something does not add up," he said.

While acknowledging the importance of continuing to improve agricultural productivity through better science, technology, infrastructure, finance and market access, Tobgay argued that the global conversation must move beyond output alone.

He urged policymakers and institutions to consider a more fundamental question: what food systems are ultimately designed to achieve.

According to the Prime Minister, every technology, investment, policy and market decision reflects deeper choices about priorities and values.

He stressed that food systems are not shaped solely by knowledge and capability, but also by the principles that guide decision-making.

"This is where consciousness enters the conversation," he said.

Tobgay argued that the debate should not only focus on what humanity is capable of producing, but also on how food is produced, who benefits from existing systems, what costs are incurred and what kind of future is being created for coming generations.

The Prime Minister said truly conscious food systems cannot be defined simply by higher productivity or environmental sustainability in isolation.

Instead, they must recognise the interconnected nature of development challenges.

According to him, productivity and sustainability are inseparable. Innovation and tradition are linked. Prosperity and responsibility are connected.

He warned that decisions taken in one part of the food system often create consequences that extend far beyond their immediate location or purpose.

"A conscious food system cannot simply be more productive. Nor can it simply be greener," he said.

Rather, he argued that governments, businesses and communities must adopt a broader perspective that recognises the complexity and interdependence of food, agriculture, environment, livelihoods and economic development.

Prime Minister Tobgay delivered a message that resonated throughout the summit.

"In other words, we must learn to see the whole."

His remarks come at a time when countries around the world are grappling with rising food insecurity, climate-related disruptions, resource pressures and growing concerns about the long-term sustainability of global food systems.

By placing values, responsibility and human well-being at the centre of the discussion, the Bhutanese Prime Minister called for a future in which food systems are not measured solely by the volume they produce, but by the lives they improve, the environments they protect and the future they help create.