SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) chief on Sunday called for urgent action to tackle challenges facing food security in Africa at a food security session here.

Noting there is a very real possibility that the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 2 to achieve zero hunger will not be achieved by 2030, Qu Dongyu, director-general of FAO, said "We only have 10 years to run."

"Africa is our future ... with the population and the natural resources, you have much more potentials compared to Asia," said the UN official.

Meanwhile, Qu said that the increase of hunger in Africa and the Near East is a significant setback, adding that "it is a serious challenge."

Out of the 2 billion people suffering from food insecurity globally, about 676 million are from Africa, according to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 report released in July by UN agencies.

The food security session is part of the 3rd edition of Egypt's annual World Youth Forum opened Saturday in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh. The event aims to tackle a number of topics such as industrial revolution, food security, environmental challenges, etc.