Validity
Among the selected 141 articles, 28 (19.86%) were published in the Journal of Cleaner Production , 20 (14.18%) were published in Food Policy , and 5 (3.55%) were published in Quality-Access to Success . The rest of the journal names are visualized in Figure 2 .
The most popular journals publishing the 141 included articles. Others denotes journals that were cited once or twice.
After the 141 articles have been extracted, they were analyzed and summarized individually by listing all the discussed food security drivers, as well as the recommended policies for the improvement of food security and sustainable food production. Then, we synthesized the extracted information from all sources in order to identify the gaps, list the similarities between all the resources, and extract significant insights regarding the main drivers of food security and the recommended policies [ 26 ].
Analysis of the retrieved literature revealed 34 different drivers of food security, as visualized in Figure 3 . Detailed information, along with a full citation list for all the drivers, is provided in Appendix A .
Summary of the major drivers of food security.
Most papers discussed food loss and waste (FLW) and emphasized its impact on food security [ 6 , 19 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 ]. Around one-third of the food produced globally (1.3 million tons) is wasted or lost [ 96 ]. Basher, Raboy [ 43 ] has argued that, if we could save just one-fourth of the wasted food, it would be enough to feed all the world’s undernourished people, contributing positively to FS. The previous finding supports our research findings that FLW is the primary driver of FS. To reduce FLW, Halloran, Clement [ 6 ] has argued that effective communication, more efficient food packaging, and a better consumer understanding of food packaging could lead to solutions. To decrease food loss, Garcia-Herrero, Hoehn [ 62 ] has suggested improving food labelling, enhancing consumer planning, and developing technological advances in packaging and shelf life for perishable products. Morone, Falcone [ 83 ] has suggested the repetition of large-scale research to help define a set of policies encouraging the transition to a new model for consumption that promotes sustainably procured food and dramatically reduces the amount of waste (more details are provided in Section 3.2 ).
Additionally, several authors have considered food security policy (FSP) as a driver of food security in its different forms [ 56 , 63 , 65 , 69 , 70 , 74 , 79 , 85 , 94 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 ]. The primary goal of establishing food security policies that consider the factors influencing individuals and groups is to reduce poverty and eliminate hunger. One example is safety-net programs or public food assistance programs (FAPs). The main goal of providing safety-net programs is to increase food consumption among poor people and improve food security [ 102 ].
Many papers have discussed the importance of technological advancement as an enabler of food security [ 56 , 57 , 58 , 63 , 69 , 71 , 74 , 77 , 85 , 90 , 94 , 95 , 109 , 116 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 ]. The use of technology to promote behavioral changes has increasingly become a vital instrument to reduce food waste and indirectly improve food security [ 130 ]. Mobile applications offer households helpful guidance on increasing shelf life and experimenting with dishes using leftovers [ 58 ]. Shukla, Singh [ 130 ] has elaborated that, at present, farmers have access to mobile applications that provide them with reasonably and timely priced information.
Some authors have discussed sustainable agricultural development and practices as enablers of food security [ 56 , 57 , 59 , 64 , 71 , 73 , 94 , 97 , 105 , 109 , 111 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 124 , 130 , 132 , 134 , 136 , 137 , 139 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 ]. Some authors have discussed local production enhancement as a driver of food security to enhance the self-reliance of countries [ 57 , 69 , 85 , 87 , 89 , 94 , 98 , 103 , 105 , 109 , 112 , 117 , 120 , 134 , 137 , 144 , 148 , 149 ]. For example, Ahmed, Begum [ 98 ] has emphasized how, following the GCC ban, Qatar took several successful steps to foster local production, support domestic businesses, and promote the consumption of locally produced food by its citizens. Some authors have argued that building the capacities of small farmers is essential to achieving FS. Education policies are critical for educating farmers, building their capacities, and increasing their human capital; moreover, educational programs should also include food preparation and health education programs in order to ensure the safety of consumed food [ 101 ].
The government’s role in managing a country’s agriculture can also be seen as a driver of food security [ 67 , 75 , 84 , 86 , 100 , 109 , 116 , 117 , 119 , 121 , 137 , 138 , 147 , 150 , 151 , 152 ], as it is responsible for various aspects such as designing, testing, and implementing the right policies to ensure the welfare of its citizens, while providing the necessary assistance to small-scale farmers and ensuring their safety and security in all aspects of life. Governments in developing nations must focus on R&D, agriculture infrastructure (e.g., technologies for irrigation and soil preservation), expansion services, early warning systems, or subsidized farm income in order to alter the production function of the population [ 101 ].
Many authors have discussed the importance of food safety policies as an enabler of food security [ 61 , 64 , 69 , 103 , 105 , 111 , 112 , 129 , 149 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 ]. Food safety policies include food and water safety at several points throughout the supply chain where food-borne diseases might develop [ 69 ]. Environmental policies are also seen as a fundamental enabler of food security [ 59 , 73 , 121 , 124 , 130 , 135 , 139 , 147 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 ]. Regardless of the various approaches discussed by the authors, they all agreed that environmental protection would help to ensure food availability for current and future generations. According to some authors, trade policies [ 69 , 94 , 95 , 103 , 111 , 112 , 114 , 123 , 129 , 141 , 146 , 161 , 164 ] and import policies [ 69 , 95 , 100 , 103 , 120 , 124 , 126 , 129 , 146 ] are enablers of food security. Regulating international trade can help to ensure food security. Lowering trade barriers, for example, has been proposed as a way to mitigate the adverse effects of market regulation caused by climate change [ 141 ].
Many authors have recognized policies that promote consumer education on sustainable consumption and increase consumer awareness and knowledge of the environmental impact of their purchases as a driver of food security [ 52 , 60 , 67 , 69 , 86 , 133 , 144 , 151 , 163 , 165 , 166 , 167 ]. Others have stressed proper communication among all stakeholders as a driver of food security [ 6 , 56 , 68 , 69 , 84 , 92 , 129 , 130 , 156 , 157 , 168 ]. Some authors have considered risk management as an enabler of food security [ 94 , 117 , 118 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 145 , 154 , 155 , 157 ]. For example, the aims of building a disaster risk reduction framework in the Pacific include boosting resilience, protecting investments (e.g., in infrastructure, operations, and FS), and decreasing poverty and hunger [ 169 ].
Some authors have proposed the effective gleaning process as a driver of food security [ 70 , 72 , 74 , 80 , 84 , 92 , 142 , 170 ]. Gleaning is the collection of the remaining crops in agricultural fields after their commercial harvest, or just in crop fields where their harvest is not cost-effective. Some old cultures have fostered gleaning as an early form of social assistance [ 80 ]. Some authors have considered the management of government food reserves to be a food security driver [ 64 , 104 , 112 , 117 , 118 , 124 , 136 ]. Despite the high cost of storing food, any country must maintain adequate food reserves to serve the country in case of a crisis scenario [ 171 ]. Some authors have considered integrative policies (i.e., food–water–energy, food–energy, or water–food) as a driver of food security due to their impact on environmental improvement through natural resource handling efficiency [ 56 , 73 , 133 , 139 , 172 , 173 ]. Some authors have considered establishing dietary standard policies as an enabler of food security [ 69 , 151 , 163 , 174 ]. The government should impose policies on healthy food consumption to prevent obesity, such as prohibiting trans-fats. Moreover, they should restrict trans-fat usage in food outlets, establish institutional food standards, implement menu labelling regulations for chain restaurants, and ensure that disadvantaged people have better access to healthy meals [ 151 ].
Authors have highlighted various additional arguments or policies that are considered drivers for FS such as establishing public programs to influence diets in a healthy manner, reducing yield volatility [ 85 , 94 , 105 , 119 , 124 , 126 , 175 ], the country’s natural resources [ 85 , 105 , 119 , 124 , 137 , 145 , 162 , 163 , 176 ], geopolitical and political stability [ 69 , 98 , 104 , 117 , 123 , 124 , 142 ], agricultural infrastructure [ 64 , 114 , 116 , 118 , 142 , 146 , 175 ], food distribution infrastructure [ 71 , 75 , 76 , 112 , 177 , 178 ], economic integration [ 109 , 112 , 123 , 179 , 180 ], collaboration among all supply chain stakeholders [ 75 , 130 , 134 , 157 ], proper measurement of food security dimensions [ 123 , 181 , 182 , 183 ], urban agriculture policies [ 56 , 147 , 148 ], adjustments in dietary structure [ 59 , 86 , 163 ], establishing employment programs for poor household representatives [ 110 , 152 ], customer engagement in designing public policies [ 158 ], and trust in public institutions [ 166 ].
Analysis of the 141 retrieved papers revealed 17 major recommended policies, as visualized in Figure 4 . We also determined sub-policies under each category which were grouped based on common characteristics, relevance, and how they were categorized in the papers. The complete list of sub-policy categories and related references is provided in Appendix B .
The main 17 recommended policies and statistics.
Most authors recommended establishing FSP, in general, as a primary solution for food insecurity in developing and developed countries [ 56 , 57 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 69 , 81 , 85 , 87 , 89 , 91 , 94 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 126 , 127 , 130 , 131 , 133 , 134 , 137 , 142 , 144 , 145 , 148 , 149 , 151 , 152 , 175 , 177 , 180 , 182 , 184 , 185 ]. Many authors have suggested food consumption policies that offer safety-net programs or public food assistance programs (FAPs) such as food price subsidies, cash-based programs, structural pricing adjustments, or micro-credits as enablers of FS. The main goal of providing safety-net programs is to increase food consumption among poor people and improve food security [ 102 ]. Given the solid bidirectional causal link between poverty and malnutrition, FAPs have been recognized as critical components of the overall poverty reduction strategy. Food aid policies and initiatives can fill the gaps left by the for-profit food system and the informal (non-profit) social safety nets, ensuring food security for disadvantaged individuals, families, and communities [ 108 ]. Several authors have recommended establishing policies to enhance the performance and asset bases of small-scale farmers, such as loans, subsidies, access to information, and knowledge-sharing, to address food insecurity. Governments should adopt direct interventions such as structural price adjustments and targeted food subsidies to enhance the food access of farmers by lowering market prices and stabilizing consumption during high food price inflation [ 116 ]. Others have recommended establishing government input subsidy programs (input subsidy policies) that provide farmers with subsidies for investment into high-yielding technology (e.g., automation, fertilizers, high-yield seed). They all claimed this as an effective policy instrument for agricultural development, but each focused on a different mechanism. Shukla, Singh [ 130 ], for example, has discussed public distribution programs; Sinyolo [ 131 ] has emphasized policies aimed at increasing the amount of land planted with enhanced maize varieties among smallholder farmers; Wiebelt, Breisinger [ 124 ] has suggested investments in water-saving technologies, while Tokhayeva, Almukhambetova [ 137 ] have proposed the development of an agricultural innovation system. Others have recommended rural development policies to reduce yield volatility and improve the agricultural infrastructure (e.g., irrigation and water-saving technologies). Governments in developing nations must focus on R&D, agricultural infrastructure (technologies for irrigation and soil preservation), expansion services, and early warning systems [ 101 ]. Technological advancement, in general, is seen as a vital element in reducing yield volatility [ 85 ]. Capacity-building policies (e.g., educational, training, and technical support) have received considerable attention in the literature as a fundamental component of urban farming initiatives, and as attempts to promote self-reliance and networking. Capacity building in many areas connected to urban agriculture is essential for equipping residents with knowledge and expertise [ 148 ]. To enhance FS, some researchers have suggested policies supporting locally produced food, diversified agricultural production policies, policies that impact farm-level commodity pricing, food stock policies, establishing policies to increase the income of farmers, buffer stock policies, and resource allocation policies (for a complete list of references, see Appendix B ).
Many authors have proposed different policy recommendations to reduce food waste and, thus, food insecurity [ 6 , 19 , 51 , 52 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 103 , 130 , 138 , 144 , 150 , 160 , 167 , 168 , 170 , 177 ]. Many have agreed on the importance of policies that promote information and education campaigns that spread awareness at household and public levels by improving meal planning and management in consumers. However, each author suggested a different approach. For example, Schanes, Dobernig [ 58 ] have discussed face-to-face door-stepping campaigns (online and in traditional newspaper leaflets), word-of-mouth, and television shows or movies. However, Septianto, Kemper [ 66 ] have highlighted the importance of social marketing campaign design and framing (having vs. not having) in conveying the intended message to consumers. Tucho and Okoth [ 73 ] have asserted the advantages of producing bio-wastes and bio-fertilizers from food waste and human excreta (in a food–energy–sanitation nexus approach), and also advocated for educating families on how to do so at the household level. Xu, Zhang [ 86 ] has argued that governments should help society to develop a logical perspective on food consumption and aggressively promote the habit of eating simple meals, particularly in social catering. Von Kameke and Fischer [ 52 ] and Zorpas, Lasaridi [ 60 ] have emphasized the importance of teaching customers about efficient meal planning to reduce food waste. Von Kameke and Fischer [ 52 ] have proposed using the Nudging tool rather than campaigning. Xu, Zhang [ 86 ] have suggested initiating suitable policy instruments to nudge individuals to adopt sustainable consumption habits, with important implications for decreasing food waste and increasing food security in China. Smart (innovative) food packaging and labelling policies have received significant attention in the literature, as they are critical in reducing food waste and, thus, improving FS. The nature, size, and labelling of the packaging impact the lifetime of the food. Smart packaging innovations and new technologies are steadily penetrating markets, thus increasing the shelf-life of foods through enhanced protection, communication, convenience, and control [ 58 ].
Food banks, food sharing, and food rescue policies have also received significant attention in the global literature, as they help reduce food waste and improve FS. Food banking is a critical long-term rescue policy for re-distributing surplus food to those in need and reducing poverty and food insecurity [ 80 , 92 ]. Several authors have recommended positive sanctions such as financial rewards, tax credits, federal and state funding, vouchers, or reduced taxes to decrease food waste and improve FS. Positive sanctions consist mainly of financial incentives to encourage restaurants and grocery retailers to donate their leftover food [ 60 ]. Addressing liability concerns might be one incentive, as the research participants have highlighted this as a universal barrier and that this issue, in particular, must be handled [ 51 ]. Negative sanction policies have received considerable attention in the literature as a tool for reducing food waste and improving FS. These include fines and fees imposed on companies and individuals accountable for food waste [ 58 ]. Taxes and fines are a potential way to manage and motivate restaurants and retailers to donate their leftover food to charities and community centers [ 65 ].
The establishment of policies that regulate the sharing of information and knowledge among supply chain stakeholders has received some attention in the literature in terms of reducing food waste and improving food security. Comprehensive food waste legislation has been discussed as a potential enabler of food security. A possible regulatory tool would be to revise and remove unnecessary food safety requirements that result in excessive food waste levels [ 58 ]. According to Halloran, Clement [ 6 ], food waste increased due to European food safety regulations and standardization. Food waste recycling policies have been used as a method to reduce food waste. Food waste can be utilized for value generation at any point of the food supply chain process through efficient techniques, then reincorporated into the cycle [ 77 ]. Food waste has a long history as a source of ecologically friendly animal feed [ 61 ].
A few authors have highlighted the impact of technological advancement (e.g., mobile applications) as a strategy to reduce food waste. Some authors have proposed implementing gleaning operation policies that provide tax incentives and government assistance to gleaners in order to decrease food waste. Some authors have proposed implementing peak storage reduction policies, such as stock-holding incentives. Nudging tools (which nudge people toward forming sustainable consumption behaviors) have been mentioned by a few authors.
Food safety policies received significant attention in the retrieved literature [ 61 , 64 , 69 , 70 , 103 , 105 , 111 , 112 , 120 , 125 , 129 , 130 , 137 , 138 , 149 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 ]; however, they have been discussed in various different forms. Few authors have discussed food quality and food hygiene compliance certifications. Compliance with sanitary standards is required to maintain the best practices for preventing food-borne diseases and food security threats [ 155 ]. Other authors have discussed the importance of food safety standards. Meanwhile, few authors have emphasized the importance of food safety throughout the supply chain, but each proposed a different strategy to achieve it. For example, some authors have suggested using an effective IT system [ 130 ], RFID [ 138 ], or developing food safety training policies [ 155 ].
Many authors have advocated for the implementation of trade policies to address food insecurity in developing and developed countries [ 94 , 95 , 101 , 103 , 111 , 112 , 119 , 123 , 129 , 136 , 141 , 146 , 148 , 149 , 152 , 157 , 161 , 164 , 178 , 180 ], but in different contexts. For example, some have suggested establishing infrastructure development policies that target agricultural logistic infrastructure, or improving the speed and quality of shipping logistics. In contrast, some authors have agreed on the importance of state trading and private trade-supporting policies. Others have suggested the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, while a few authors recommended reliable marine connection and transportation logistics policies.
Environmental policies are a fundamental enabler of food security [ 59 , 73 , 94 , 120 , 121 , 124 , 130 , 135 , 139 , 141 , 145 , 147 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 166 ]. However, authors have focused on many different aspects of these policies. Some authors, for example, have emphasized the importance of establishing policies to mitigate the effects of climate change. Others were too specific, suggesting greenhouse gas reduction policies, and proposed penalizing non-compliance. Due to the strong links between climate change, poverty, and food insecurity, some authors have proposed establishing coordinating policies among the three. Other authors have stressed the consideration of policies that encourage the optimization of fertilizer use.
Many authors have considered food import policies as a solution to food insecurity [ 94 , 95 , 100 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 109 , 112 , 116 , 117 , 119 , 120 , 124 , 126 , 134 , 146 ]; however, most authors provided different opinions regarding the most effective policy to implement. For example, some authors have stressed the importance of policies that provide direct government financial assistance to local agriculture, or the importance of policies that sustain local agricultural product prices compared to imported products. Some have recommended providing temporary tax benefits for agricultural investment, while others recommended import ban (substitution) policies. A few authors have recommended direct budget subsidies, subsidized loan interest rates, and strategies for the diversification of imported food origin.
Many authors have discussed the importance of establishing a common agricultural policy (CAP) to address sustainable agriculture [ 56 , 57 , 64 , 89 , 109 , 111 , 118 , 119 , 132 , 142 , 143 , 149 , 161 , 172 , 184 , 186 ]. Others have stressed the importance of food surplus policies in enhancing a country’s food security status [ 51 , 58 , 70 , 72 , 75 , 76 , 79 , 82 , 84 , 90 , 91 ]. Some authors have suggested strategies to regulate a company’s liability regarding the donation of surplus food. A few authors have proposed food policies that subsidize the purchase of surplus food—also known as “ugly food”—by controlling for prices and surplus item characteristics. Some authors have suggested establishing food loss policies. However, few authors have specified the need for policies promoting food loss quantification.
Many authors have discussed the policies that promote traceability across the whole supply chain as an enabler for food security [ 56 , 69 , 103 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 137 , 138 , 168 , 178 ]. However, the different authors discussed different technologies such as investment into information technology such as RFID, effective IT systems, ICT systems, and blockchain technology. Government policies should promote investments into traceability systems that focus on rapid withdrawal in unsafe food scenarios such as product recall regulations, fines imposed on hazardous product distributors, and food-borne food risk monitoring [ 129 ]. Many authors have discussed various risk management strategies to improve a country’s food security [ 94 , 117 , 118 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 145 , 154 , 155 , 157 ]. However, each considered a different approach to overcome the risk. Specifically, they have discussed food scandal policies, the COVID-19 pandemic, programmed risk identification, proactive policy measures to handle flood crises, early warning systems for natural disasters, or risk management throughout the food supply chain. Some authors have highlighted water quality policies such as efficient water-use policies, improving water resources policies, using water-efficient crops, investments into water-saving technologies, and food and water safety throughout the supply chain.
Some authors have discussed the management of government food reserves as an enabler of food security [ 64 , 104 , 112 , 117 , 118 , 124 , 136 ], and others have discussed integrative and coherent policies between food, water, and energy (as a nexus) [ 56 , 73 , 133 , 139 , 172 , 173 ]. Meanwhile, other authors have discussed policies that promote consumer education on sustainable consumption, improving consumer status awareness and knowledge regarding the ecological impact of their purchases [ 60 , 69 , 133 , 144 , 163 , 165 ]. Few authors have addressed the importance of dietary standard policies [ 69 , 151 , 163 , 174 ], urban agriculture policies [ 56 , 147 , 148 ], and food-aid policies [ 118 , 150 ].
Some policies were suggested in one paper only such as devising the right population policy in China [ 85 ], flexible retail modernization policies [ 158 ], policies that facilitate short-term migration [ 187 ], policies to stimulate equitable economic growth through manufacturing and services [ 95 ], and sound research governance policies [ 140 ].
In this section, we discuss the polices and drivers in the greater areas, then compare them based on specific contexts. This approach serves to provide better understanding, thus informing decision-makers about the importance of choosing the right policies through considering many food security dimensions. By looking deeply at the extracted food security drivers and policies and the way in which they can be applied to each country’s context, we take an example from the MENA region. The MENA region includes a diverse range of nations, including low-income and less-developed (e.g., Sudan, Syria, and Yemen), low–middle-income (e.g., Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Morocco, and Tunisia), upper middle-income (e.g., Jordan, Lebanon, and Libya), and high-income (e.g., the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia) countries [ 126 ]. As food availability is a serious problem in the MENA region low-income countries (Syria and Yemen), due to war and violent conflicts [ 188 ], policies aimed at increasing food availability continue to pique the interest of policy-makers. In these countries, where citizens are incapable of fulfilling their basic food needs [ 189 ], the existence of food security policies in different forms is crucial for achieving food security [ 53 , 97 , 98 , 124 , 184 ], more than FLW policies. Policy-makers should focus on ensuring the availability of either locally produced or imported food, which requires appropriate trade policies to deal with food shortages and improve the availability dimension in these countries. Trade policies should focus on creating infrastructure development policies that target agricultural logistic infrastructure, improve the speed and quality of shipping logistics, and establish reliable marine connections and transportation logistics policies that remove tariff and non-tariff barriers.
Policy-makers should establish import policies that sustain local agricultural product prices compared to imported products, provide direct government financial assistance to local agriculture, and provide temporary tax benefits for agricultural investment.
Additionally, the governments should improve food access in the MENA region low-income countries by reducing or stabilizing consumer and producer food prices. To enhance food access, FSPs (e.g., education policies in general and capacity-building policies) may help to improve individual human capital. Governments also must provide supplemental feeding programs, typically targeting vulnerable groups in need of special diets, such as pregnant women and children [ 101 ].
Moreover, the government should improve credit access through the following means: policies that enhance the performance and asset base of small-scale farmers; the existence of policies that impact farm-level commodity pricing, thus retaining farmers and increasing local production; the existence of government input subsidy programs for individuals, and the existence of policies supporting locally produced food. These are all possible policies to improve the MENA region FS. Governments and global health organizations should promote food utilization in MENA low-income countries through the development of policies that monitor overall food quality, such as access to clean water and micronutrient fortification, or through individual educational programs on safe food preparation [ 155 ]. Finally, enhancing food quality can optimize the individual nutrient absorption [ 101 ].
In contrast, discussions of food security in the MENA region high-income countries have indicated that food availability, access, and utilization are generally higher and not a problem. However, food stability is low, which requires the attention of policy-makers to improve FS. Food stability impacts the other food security pillars (access, availability, and utilization). Moreover, it requires the economic, political, and social sustainability of food systems, which are vulnerable to environmental conditions, land distribution, available resources, conflicts, and political situations [ 190 ]. Food stability necessitates increased efforts and expenditures to achieve food security in the sustainable development goals, especially in light of increased academic and governmental interest in incorporating sustainability values into policies.
As food waste is prevalent in these countries, FLW policies are more critical than FSP, which is in alignment with our findings regarding food security drivers. FLW makes it difficult for the poor in developing countries to access food by significantly depleting natural resources such as land, water, and fossil fuels while raising the greenhouse gas emissions related to food production [ 115 ]. Addressing food loss and waste in these countries can hugely influence the reduction of wasted food and indirectly enhance food security. The number of food-insecure individuals may be reduced in developing regions by up to 63 million by reducing food loss, which will directly reduce the over-consumption of cultivated areas, water, and greenhouse gas emissions related to food production [ 115 ]. According to Abiad and Meho [ 189 ], food waste produced at the household level differs across MENA-region countries. For example, it ranges from 68 to 150 kg/individual/year in Oman, 62–76 kg/individual/year in Iraq, 194–230 kg/individual/year in Palestine, and 177–400 kg/individual/year in the UAE. It is critical to take more aggressive but scientifically sound initiatives to minimize FLW, which will require the participation of everyone involved in the food supply chain such as policy-makers, food producers and suppliers, and the final consumers [ 191 , 192 ]. Food waste reflects an inefficient usage of valuable agricultural input resources and contributes to unnecessary environmental depletion [ 191 , 193 ]. Furthermore, food loss is widely recognized as a major obstacle to environmental sustainability and food security in developing nations [ 194 ]. Preventing FLW can result in a much more environmentally sustainable agricultural production and consumption process by increasing the efficiency and productivity of resources, especially water, cropland, and nutrients [ 115 , 191 , 192 , 195 ]. Preventing FLW is crucial in areas where water scarcity is a prevalent concern, as irrigated agriculture makes up a sizeable portion of total food production, and yield potential may not be fully achieved under nutrient or water shortages [ 191 , 196 , 197 ]. According to the study of Chen, Chaudhary [ 197 ], food waste per capita in high-income countries is enough to feed one individual a healthy balanced diet for 18 days. Chen, Chaudhary [ 197 ] also found that high-income countries have embedded environmental effects that are ten times greater than those of low-income countries, and they tend to waste six times more food by weight than low-income countries. Consequently, implementing proper FLW policies in high-income countries can help to alleviate the food insecurity problem while maintaining the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of future food production.
Implementing effective food storage techniques and capacities is considered a key component of a comprehensive national food security plan to promote both food utilization and food stability; furthermore, proper food storage at the household level maintains food products for a more prolonged period [ 198 ]. Encouragement of economic integration between MENA region countries is very applicable considering the heterogeneity of these countries. For example, countries with limited arable land and high income, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, can invest in countries with a lower middle income, such as Egypt, and use its land to benefit both countries. On the other hand, Boratynska and Huseynov [ 101 ] have proposed food technology innovation as a sustainable driver of food security and a promising solution to the problem of food insecurity in developing countries. Due to the higher food production demand to support the expanding urban population while having limited water and land availability, higher investments in technology and innovation are needed to ensure that food systems are more resilient [ 190 ]. Boratynska and Huseynov [ 101 ] have argued that, in general, using innovative technologies to produce healthy food products is frequently a concern. However, improving the probability that innovative food technology will enable the production of a diverse range of food products with enhanced texture and flavor while also providing a variety of health advantages to the final consumer is essential. Jalava, Guillaume [ 193 ] have argued that, along with reducing FLW, shifting people’s diets from animal- to plant-based foods can help to slow environmental degradation.
The MENA region example described above can be adapted to different regions based on their food security situation, and relevant policies can be devised to improve food security more sustainably.
Food security is a complicated and multi-faceted issue that cannot be restricted to a single variable, necessitating the deeper integration of many disciplinary viewpoints. It is essential to admit the complexity of designing the right policy to improve food security that matches each country’s context [ 46 ] while considering the three pillars of sustainability. Furthermore, it is of utmost importance to implement climate-friendly agricultural production methods to combat food insecurity and climate change [ 12 ]. Mapping the determinants of food security contributes to better understanding of the issue and aids in developing appropriate food security policies to enhance environmental, social, and economic sustainability.
This research contributes to the body of knowledge by summarizing the main recommended policies and drivers of food security detailed in 141 research articles, following a systematic literature review methodology. We identified 34 food security drivers and outlined 17 recommended policies to improve food security and contribute to sustainable food production. Regarding the drivers, one of the foremost priorities to drive food security is reducing FLW globally, followed by food security policies, technological advancement, sustainable agricultural development, and so on (see Appendix A ). Regarding the recommended policies, most studies have detailed the contents and impacts of food security policies, food waste policies, food safety policies, trade policies, environmental policies, import policies, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), food surplus policies, and so on (see Appendix B ).
We assessed the obtained results in comparison to the latest version of the GFSI. Using the GFSI (2021) indicators as a proxy resulted in the identification of gaps and specific policy implications of the results. The idea was to identify which of the policies and drivers have been already implemented and which have not (or, at least, have not been very successfully implemented). We used the GFSI as it is a very well-established benchmarking tool used globally by 113 countries to measure the food security level. We examined the indicators mentioned under each of the four dimensions of food security, and listed associations with the identified policies and drivers found in the literature. Accordingly, we suggest the addition of two dimensions to the current index:
The first dimension relates to measuring the sustainability dimensions that each participating country adopts in its food production process. We noticed that many authors stressed the importance of the existence of clear environmental policies that drive long-term food security. However, the current GFSI lacks indicators measuring this dimension. The reviewed literature suggested environmental indicators considering optimized fertilizer use, carbon taxes, aquaculture environment, bio-energy, green and blue infrastructure, gas emissions reduction policies, policies to reduce the impacts of climate change, and heavy metal soil contamination monitoring.
The second dimension is related to consumer voice representation within the GFSI. The reviewed literature suggested implementing policy measures that promote consumer education on sustainable consumption and improve the consumer status, consciousness, and knowledge regarding the ecological impact of their purchases. Any sustainability initiative should be supported and implemented by the final consumer.
Additional gaps in the policies and drivers of food security were identified and allocated under the relevant indicators in the GFSI based on the four dimensions of food security. Under the affordability dimension, we found a lack of policies in the reviewed literature addressing the Inequality-adjusted income index. Regarding the Change in average food costs indicator, we observed that the policies that exist in the literature concern the farmer level only (e.g., policies that impact farm-level commodity pricing and policies supporting locally produced food), and not all of the citizens at the national level. Additionally, policies that promote traceability across the whole supply chain were missing. There were no policies in the reviewed literature under the food quality and safety dimension representing the following: the dietary diversity indicator; micronutrient availability (e.g., dietary availability of vitamin A, iron, and zinc); regulation of the protein quality indicator; the food safety indicator (specifically the two sub-indicators of food safety mechanisms and access to drinking water), and illustration of the national nutrition plan or strategy indicator. Therefore, future research should pay more attention to and emphasize the importance of such policies, particularly in developed countries seeking to improve their food security status and score high on the GFSI.
Moreover, the reviewed literature suggested “developing food safety training policies” to improve food safety and FS; however, no indicators or sub-indicators within the GFSI represent such training policies. The GFSI developers should pay more attention to safety training practices and include them in the index’s future development. Under the availability dimension, the reviewed literature suggested establishing a food loss policy that promotes the quantification of food loss under the food loss indicator. This indicator should be enhanced through well-articulated policies that address the problem of food loss and attempt to mitigate its impact. However, while there were various policies concerning food waste or surplus, there were no indicators within the GFSI that represented food loss. As food loss and waste was identified as the primary driver of food security in this study, we recommend expanding the GFSI to include food loss quantification and reduction policies under the availability dimension. Finally, under the political commitment to adaptation dimension, some policies were identified in the reviewed literature in two sub-indicators: early warning measures/climate-smart agriculture (e.g., proactive policy measures to handle flood crises, programmed risk identification, and early warning systems for natural disasters) and disaster risk management (e.g., food scandals, COVID-19, and risk management throughout the food supply chain). However, under the other two relevant sub-indicators—commitment to managing exposure and national agricultural adaptation policy—there were no identified policies.
The key contributions of this study to the existing literature are threefold. First, we identified the (34) main food security drivers and the (17) most-recommended policies to improve food security and enhance the future food production sustainability. Several studies have partially covered this area, but none have employed a systematic literature review of 141 papers covering such an scope in this topic. The gravity of food security worldwide is well established; hence the contribution of this work. Second, we provide a reflection of policies/drivers on the latest version of the GFSI, resulting in more tangible policy implications (see Section 5.1 ). Third, through a systematic literature review, we identified elements not listed under the GFSI that could be considered in its future revision. Examples include environmental policies/indicators such as optimized fertilizer use, carbon taxes, aquaculture environment, bio-energy, green and blue infrastructure, gas emission reduction, policies to reduce the impact of climate change, and heavy metal soil contamination monitoring; consumer representation, as the reviewed literature suggested policy measures that promote consumer education on sustainable consumption, as well as improving consumer status, consciousness, and knowledge regarding the ecological impact of their purchases; and traceability throughout the entire supply chain.
In this study, we identified the major drivers and the recommended policies to improve food security and enhance the future food production sustainability based on the reviewed literature. However, we recommend conducting a Delphi research study in consultation with policy-makers and industry experts. A Delphi study can be used to validate the findings of this systematic literature review based on a specific country’s context. This research was conducted using only 141 articles from two databases; therefore, we suggest replicating this research using different databases, which will allow for the inclusion of more related papers. Moreover, this research included only peer-reviewed articles, which may be considered, based on the guidelines of Keele [ 185 ], as a source of publication bias. Future research may consider including gray literature and conference proceedings. This research did not include the three sustainability pillars within its research string; therefore, we recommend considering the inclusion of the three pillars in future research. Future research should also investigate the use of alternative protein food technology innovation, such as plant-based protein, cultured meat, and insect-based protein, as a sustainable solution to the food security problem. Additionally, understanding the factors influencing acceptance of various technologies by the final consumer is particularly important given some regional characteristics such as harsh arid environments and the scarcity of arable land, freshwater, and natural resources.
Food loss and waste | 47/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Food waste management | 29/47 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Food waste policies | 23/47 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ]. |
Food loss reduction policies | 10/47 | [ , , , , , , , , , ]. |
Food surplus policies | 11/47 | [ , , , , , , , , , , ]. |
Food waste quantification | 11/47 | [ , , , , , , , , , , ] |
food loss quantification | 5/47 | [ , , , , ] |
Food security policies | 37/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Environmental policies | 13/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Public food assistance programs and policies | 24/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Risk management | 10/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , ] |
Food scandals policies | 2/10 | [ , ] |
Early warning systems for natural disasters | 3/10 | [ , , ] |
Risk management throughout the food supply chain | 3/10 | [ , , ] |
Proactive policy measures to handle the flood crises | 2/10 | [ , ] |
Providing food aids (micronutrient supplementation) during disasters | 1/10 | [ ] |
COVID-19 pandemic | 1/10 | [ ] |
The programmed risk identification | 1/10 | [ ] |
Import policies | 9/141 | [ , , , , , , , , ] |
Trade policies | 13/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Economic integration | 5/141 | [ , , , , ] |
Agricultural sustainable development and practices | 27/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Technology advancement | 36/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Sustainable technology advancement | 27/36 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
High-yield seed varieties | 8/36 | [ , , , , , , , ] |
Investment in R&D (e.g., precision farming) | 4/36 | [ , , , ] |
Information technology and IT advancement | 3/36 | [ , , ] |
The use of mobile applications | 3/36 | [ , , ] |
The use of nanotechnology in agriculture | 2/36 | [ , ] |
The use of biotechnology in agriculture | 2/36 | [ , ] |
The use of genetically modified (GM) crop. | 2/36 | [ , ] |
Local production enhancement | 18/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Farm production diversity | 9/141 | [ , , , , , , , , ] |
Building farmers capacities (small scale farmers) | 18/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Employment programs for poor households’ representatives | 2/141 | [ , ] |
Public programs to influence diets in a healthy manner | 9/141 | [ , , , , , , , , ] |
Geopolitical and political stability | 7/141 | [ , , , , , , ] |
Food safety and food safety policies | 16/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Reduction of yield volatility | 7/141 | [ , , , , , , ] |
Agriculture infrastructure | 7/141 | [ , , , , , , ] |
The integrative policies (nexus) | 6/141 | [ , , , , , ] |
The proper measurement of food security dimensions | 4/141 | [ , , , ] |
The country’s natural resources (cultivated agriculture area) | 9/141 | [ , , , , , , , , ] |
The proper communication among all stakeholders | 11/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Management of government food reserves | 7/141 | [ , , , , , , ] |
Collaboration among all supply chain stakeholders | 4/141 | [ , , , ] |
Promotion of the consumer’s education about sustainable consumption and healthy diet | 12/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Effective gleaning process (increasing the food bank’s processing resources) | 8/141 | [ , , , , , , , ] |
Food distribution infrastructure | 6/141 | [ , , , , , ] |
Adjustment in the diet structure | 3/141 | [ , , ] |
Dietary standard policies | 4/141 | [ , , , ] |
Urban agriculture policies | 3/141 | [ , , ] |
The government role | 16/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Government capital investment in agriculture | 7/16 | [ , , , , , , ] |
Government and public administration’s commitment in enhancing the operational process of food distribution | 3/16 | [ , , ] |
Government regulation for food businesses and households that produce food waste | 2/16 | [ , ] |
Government support for the research that enhances the country food security level | 1/16 | [ ] |
Government vision and commitment to adopt RFID technology | 1/16 | [ ] |
Government commitment in policy development to prevent obesity | 1/16 | [ ] |
Government knowledge of the correlation between market price and sustain the food prices during crises | 1/16 | [ ] |
Customer engagement in designing the public policies | 1/141 | [ ] |
Trust in the public institutions | 1/141 | [ ] |
Food security policies | 59/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Food consumption polices that offer safety net | 24/59 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Policies to enhance small-scale farmer performance and assets base such as loans, subsidies, access to information and knowledge sharing | 16/59 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Government input subsidy programs (input subsidy policy) that provide farmers with subsidies to investment in high-yielding technology (e.g., automation, fertilizers, high-yield seed) | 14/59 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Rural development policies to reduce yield volatility and improve the agriculture infrastructure (e.g., irrigation and water-saving technologies) | 14/59 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Capacity building policies (educational, training and technical support) | 14/59 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Policies supporting locally produced food | 12/59 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Education policies in general | 8/59 | [ , , , , , , , ] |
Diversified agriculture production policies | 6/59 | [ , , , , , ] |
Policies that impact the farm-level commodity pricing | 5/59 | [ , , , , ] |
Food stock policies which help in predicting global food production information | 4/59 | [ , , , ] |
Establishing policies to increase farmer income | 4/59 | [ , , , ] |
Buffer stock policies | 1/59 | [ ] |
Resource allocation policies (income taxes) | 1/59 | [ ] |
Trade policies | 20/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Establishing infrastructure development policies that target agriculture logistic infrastructure and improve the speed and quality of shipping logistics | 8/20 | [ , , , , , , , ] |
State trading and private trade supporting policies | 7/20 | [ , , , , , , ] |
Removal of tariff and non-tariff barrier | 7/20 | [ , , , , , , ] |
Trade infrastructure development policies | 4/20 | [ , , , ] |
Reliable marine connection and transportation logistics policies | 2/20 | [ , ] |
Food waste polices | 49/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Information and education campaigns that spread awareness at households and public level | 21/49 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Food waste reduction policies | 17/49 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Smart (innovative) food packaging and labelling policies | 9/50 | [ , , , , , , , , ] |
Food banks, food sharing or food rescue policies | 8/49 | [ , , , , , , , ] |
Positive sanctions such as financial rewards, Tax credits, federal and state funding, vouchers, fewer taxes | 8/49 | [ , , , , , , , ] |
Information and knowledge sharing among supply chain stakeholders | 6/49 | [ , , , , , ] |
Comprehensive food waste legislation | 6/49 | [ , , , , , ] |
Negative sanction policies by imposing fines and taxes such as disposal taxes | 6/49 | [ , , , , , ] |
Food waste recycling polices | 5/49 | [ , , , , ] |
Technology advancement (mobile applications) | 2/49 | [ , ] |
Gleaning operations policies (provide tax incentives and governmental support) | 2/49 | [ , ] |
Nudging tool (nudge people in forming sustainable consumption behaviour) | 2/49 | [ , ] |
Policies for peak storage reduction such as incentives for stock holding | 2/49 | [ , ] |
Food waste management policy | 1/49 | [ ] |
Food upcycling with regards to market segmentation based on age | 1/49 | [ ] |
Food loss policy | 10/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , ] |
Policies promoting the quantification of food loss | 3/10 | [ , , ] |
Food surplus policies | 11/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Policies to regulate company’s liability of donating surplus food | 5/11 | [ , , , , ] |
Food policies that subsidize purchases of surplus food “ugly food” by controlling for prices and the attributes of surplus items | 2/11 | [ , ] |
Food safety policies | 22/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Food safety standards | 7/22 | [ , , , , , , ] |
Safety throughout the food supply chain | 3/22 | [ , , ] |
Developing food safety training policies | 1/22 | [ ] |
Mandatory state registration for major types of food additives | 1/22 | [ ] |
Food quality and food hygiene compliance certifications | 5/22 | [ , , , , ] |
The integrative and coherent policies between food, water, and energy system nexus. | 4/141 | [ , , , ] |
Water–food (WF) nexus approach. | 1/141 | [ ] |
Food–energy–sanitation nexus approach | 1/141 | [ ] |
Water quality policies | 8/141 | [ , , , , , , , ] |
Common agricultural policy (CAP) that addresses sustainable agriculture | 16/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Green and blue infrastructure (GBI) policies | 1/16 | [ ] |
Common agricultural policy (CAP) hinders the sustainable intensification | 1/141 | [ ] |
The policies that promote consumer education on sustainable consumption and improving consumer status consciousness and knowledge of their purchases ecological impact | 6/141 | [ , , , , , ] |
Environmental policies | 18/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Gas emission policies, such as greenhouse gas reduction policies | 2/141 | [ , ] |
Policies to reduce climate change impact | 4/141 | [ , , , ] |
The coordination of policies between climate change, poverty and food insecurity due to their strong interlinking | 4/141 | [ , , , ] |
Efficiency in agriculture water use, irrigation systems | 3/141 | [ , , ] |
The investments in water-saving technologies | 2/141 | [ , ] |
Policies to minimize the impacts of anthropogenic activities on urban soils and enhance the urban agriculture practices | 2/141 | [ , ] |
Soil contamination of heavy metals (cadmium) | 1/141 | [ ] |
Optimization of the fertilizer use policy | 6/141 | [ , , , , , ] |
Carbon tax policy (promotes green economy) | 2/141 | [ , ] |
Aquaculture environmental policies | 1/141 | [ ] |
Bio-energy policies | 2/141 | [ , ] |
Management of government food reserves | 7/141 | [ , , , , , , ] |
Policies that promote traceability across the whole supply chain | 10/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , ] |
Import policies | 16/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ] |
Direct governmental financial assistance to local agricultural assistance | 8/16 | [ , , , , , , , ] |
Sustaining local agricultural product prices compared to the imported products | 7/16 | [ , , , , , , ] |
Providing temporary tax benefits for agriculture investment | 4/16 | [ , , , ] |
Import ban (substitution) policies | 4/16 | [ , , , ] |
Direct budget subsidies | 2/16 | [ , ] |
Subsidizing loan interest rates | 2/16 | [ , ] |
Diversification of imported food origins strategy | 1/16 | [ ] |
Risk management policies | 10/141 | [ , , , , , , , , , ] |
Food scandals | 2/10 | [ , ] |
COVID-19 | 1/10 | [ ] |
Programmed risk identification | 1/10 | [ ] |
Proactive policy measures to handle the flood crises | 2/10 | [ , ] |
Early warning systems for natural disasters | 3/10 | [ , , ] |
Risk management throughout the food supply chain | 3/10 | [ , , ] |
Dietary standard policies | 4/141 | [ , , , ] |
Urban agriculture policies | 3/141 | [ , , ] |
Food aid policies | 2/141 | [ , ] |
Policies discussed by one author only | ||
Devising the right population policy in China | 1/141 | [ ] |
Flexible retail modernization policies | 1/141 | [ ] |
Policies that facilitate short-term migration | 1/141 | [ ] |
Policy to stimulate equitable economic growth through manufacturing and services | 1/141 | [ ] |
Sound research governance policies: to address the expected and unexpected complications of new technologies (nanotechnology) | 1/141 | [ ] |
This research was funded by the UAE Ministry of Education, Resilient Agrifood Dynamism through evidence-based policies-READY project, grant number 1733833.
Conceptualization, S.W., F.A., B.S. and I.M.; methodology, S.W., F.A., B.S. and I.M.; validation, S.W., F.A., B.S. and I.M.; formal analysis, S.W.; investigation, S.W., F.A., B.S. and I.M.; resources, I.M. and B.S.; data curation, S.W.; writing—original draft preparation, S.W.; writing—review and editing, F.A.; visualization, S.W.; supervision, F.A., B.S. and I.M.; project administration, B.S. and I.M.; funding acquisition, B.S. and I.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Conflicts of interest.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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No less than 18 crisis locations already suffering from dire food insecurity could see a “firestorm of hunger” unless aid reaches them urgently, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.
Although many “hunger hotspots” are in Africa, fears of famine persist in Gaza and Sudan, where conflict continues to rage, fuelling the regional risk of new hunger emergencies , warned the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ) and the World Food Programme ( WFP ).
“ Once a famine is declared, it is too late – many people will have already starved to death ,” said Cindy McCain, WFP Executive Director. “In Somalia in 2011, half of the 250,000 people who died of hunger perished before famine was officially declared. The world failed to heed the warnings at the time and the repercussions were catastrophic. We must learn the lesson and act now to stop these hotspots from igniting a firestorm of hunger.”
The UN-agency partnered early warning report which covers 17 countries and the drought-hit cluster of Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe – warns that Mali, Palestine, Sudan and South Sudan remain at the highest alert level and require the most urgent attention. Haiti was also added to that list amid escalating violence and threats to food security.
The devastating hunger crises underway in South Sudan is so bad that the number of people facing starvation and death there is projected to almost double between April and July 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.
“Tight domestic food supplies and sharp currency depreciation are driving food prices to soar, compounded by likely floods and recurrent waves of subnational conflict, the report explained, in reference to South Sudan. “A projected further rise of returnees and refugees from the Sudan is likely to increase acute food insecurity among both new arrivals and host communities.”
Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen are also hotspots of “very high concern”, the report noted.
“A large number of people” in these countries face critical acute food insecurity, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to further intensify life-threatening conditions in the coming months.
Since October 2023, the Central African Republic, Lebanon, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Zambia joined Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, Somalia and Zimbabwe on the list of hunger hotspots, where acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in coming months.
Although conflict remains one of the main drivers of food insecurity, the joint early warning report from WFP and FAO emphasized that climate shocks are responsible too, not least the “still lingering” El Niño.
Although that weather phenomenon is now coming to an end, “it is evident that its impact was severe and widespread”, the report’s authors insisted, pointing to devastating drought in southern Africa and extensive floods in east Africa.
Turning to the potential impact and “ looming threat” of La Niña between August and February 2025, the UN agencies’ assessment is that it is expected to “significantly” influence rainfall. This could lead to a climate shift with “major implications” in several countries including flooding in South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Chad, Mali and Nigeria, as well as Sudan.
Both weather phenomenons could bring further climate extremes “that could upend lives and livelihoods”, the UN-partnered report warned, in support of calls for immediate humanitarian action delivered at scale “to prevent further starvation and death”.
BMC Public Health volume 23 , Article number: 338 ( 2023 ) Cite this article
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Food insecurity adversely affects human health, which means food security and nutrition are crucial to improving people’s health outcomes. Both food insecurity and health outcomes are the policy and agenda of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there is a lack of macro-level empirical studies (Macro-level study means studies at the broadest level using variables that represent a given country or the whole population of a country or economy as a whole. For example, if the urban population (% of the total population) of XYZ country is 30%, it is used as a proxy variable to represent represent country's urbanization level. Empirical study implies studies that employ the econometrics method, which is the application of math and statistics.) concerning the relationship between food insecurity and health outcomes in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries though the region is highly affected by food insecurity and its related health problems. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impact of food insecurity on life expectancy and infant mortality in SSA countries.
The study was conducted for the whole population of 31 sampled SSA countries selected based on data availability. The study uses secondary data collected online from the databases of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and the World Bank (WB). The study uses yearly balanced data from 2001 to 2018. This study employs a multicountry panel data analysis and several estimation techniques; it employs Driscoll-Kraay standard errors (DKSE), a generalized method of momentum (GMM), fixed effects (FE), and the Granger causality test.
A 1% increment in people’s prevalence for undernourishment reduces their life expectancy by 0.00348 percentage points (PPs). However, life expectancy rises by 0.00317 PPs with every 1% increase in average dietary energy supply. A 1% rise in the prevalence of undernourishment increases infant mortality by 0.0119 PPs. However, a 1% increment in average dietary energy supply reduces infant mortality by 0.0139 PPs.
Food insecurity harms the health status of SSA countries, but food security impacts in the reverse direction. This implies that to meet SDG 3.2, SSA should ensure food security.
Peer Review reports
Food security is essential to people’s health and well-being [ 1 ]. Further, the World Health Organization (WHO) argues that health is wealth and poor health is an integral part of poverty; governments should actively seek to preserve their people’s lives and reduce the incidence of unnecessary mortality and avoidable illnesses [ 2 ]. However, lack of food is one of the factors which affect health outcomes. Concerning this, the Food Research and Action Center noted that the social determinants of health, such as poverty and food insecurity, are associated with some of the most severe and costly health problems in a nation [ 3 ].
According to the FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Programme (WFP), food insecurity is defined as "A situation that exists when people lack secure access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life" ([ 4 ]; p50). It is generally believed that food security and nutrition are crucial to improving human health and development. Studies show that millions of people live in food insecurity, which is one of the main risks to human health. Around one in four people globally (1.9 billion people) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2017 and the greatest numbers were in SSA and South Asia. Around 9.2% of the world's population was severely food insecure in 2018. Food insecurity is highest in SSA countries, where nearly one-third are defined as severely insecure [ 5 ]. Similarly, 11% (820 million) of the world's population was undernourished in 2018, and SSA countries still share a substantial amount [ 5 ]. Even though globally the number of people affected by hunger has been decreasing since 1990, in recent years (especially since 2015) the number of people living in food insecurity has increased. It will be a huge challenge to achieve the SDGs of zero hunger by 2030 [ 6 ]. FAO et al. [ 7 ] projected that one in four individuals in SSA were undernourished in 2017. Moreover, FAO et al. [ 8 ] found that, between 2014 and 2018, the prevalence of undernourishment worsened. Twenty percent of the continent's population, or 256 million people, are undernourished today, of which 239 million are in SSA. Hidden hunger is also one of the most severe types of malnutrition (micronutrient deficiencies). One in three persons suffers from inadequacies related to hidden hunger, which impacts two billion people worldwide [ 9 ]. Similarly, SSA has a high prevalence of hidden hunger [ 10 , 11 ].
An important consequence of food insecurity is that around 9 million people die yearly worldwide due to hunger and hunger-related diseases. This is more than from Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), malaria, and tuberculosis combined [ 6 ]. Even though the hunger crisis affects many people of all genders and ages, children are particularly affected in Africa. There are too many malnourished children in Africa, and malnutrition is a major factor in the high infant mortality rates and causes physical and mental development delays and disorders in SSA [ 12 ]. According to UN statistics, chronic malnutrition globally accounts for 165 million stunted or underweight children. Around 75% of these kids are from SSA and South Asia. Forty percent of children in SSA are impacted. In SSA, about 3.2 million children under the age of five dies yearly, which is about half of all deaths in this age group worldwide. Malnutrition is responsible for almost one child under the age of five dying every two minutes worldwide. The child mortality rate in the SSA is among the highest in the world, about one in nine children pass away before the age of five [ 12 ].
In addition to the direct impact of food insecurity on health outcomes, it also indirectly contributes to disordered eating patterns, higher or lower blood cholesterol levels, lower serum albumin, lower hemoglobin, vitamin A levels, and poor physical and mental health [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Iodine, iron, and zinc deficiency are the most often identified micronutrient deficiencies across all age groups. A deficiency in vitamin A affects an estimated 190 million pre-schoolers and 19 million pregnant women [ 16 ]. Even though it is frequently noted that hidden hunger mostly affects pregnant women, children, and teenagers, it further affects people’s health at all stages of life [ 17 ].
With the above information, researchers and policymakers should focus on the issue of food insecurity and health status. The SDGs that were developed in 2015 intend to end hunger in 2030 as one of its primary targets. However, a growing number of people live with hunger and food insecurity, leading to millions of deaths. Hence, this study questioned what is the impact of food insecurity on people's health outcomes in SSA countries. In addition, despite the evidence implicating food insecurity and poor health status, there is a lack of macro-level empirical studies concerning the impact of food insecurity on people’s health status in SSA countries, which leads to a knowledge (literature) gap. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impact of food insecurity on life expectancy and infant mortality in SSA countries for the period ranging from 2001–2018 using panel mean regression approaches.
Structural factors, such as climate, socio-economic, social, and local food availability, affect people’s food security. People’s health condition is impacted by food insecurity through nutritional, mental health, and behavioral channels [ 18 ]. Under the nutritional channel, food insecurity has an impact on total caloric intake, diet quality, and nutritional status [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Hunger and undernutrition may develop when food supplies are scarce, and these conditions may potentially lead to wasting, stunting, and immunological deficiencies [ 22 ]. However, food insecurity also negatively influences health due to its effects on obesity, women's disordered eating patterns [ 23 ], and poor diet quality [ 24 ].
Under the mental health channel, Whitaker et al. [ 25 ] noted that food insecurity is related to poor mental health conditions (stress, sadness, and anxiety), which have also been linked to obesity and cardiovascular risk [ 26 ]. The effects of food insecurity on mental health can worsen the health of people who are already sick as well as lead to disease acquisition [ 18 ]. Similarly, the behavioral channel argues that there is a connection between food insecurity and health practices that impact disease management, prevention, and treatment. For example, lack of access to household food might force people to make bad decisions that may raise their risk of sickness, such as relying too heavily on cheap, calorically dense, nutrient-poor meals or participating in risky sexual conduct. In addition, food insecurity and other competing demands for survival are linked to poorer access and adherence to general medical treatment in low-income individuals once they become sick [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]
Food insecurity increases the likelihood of exposure to HIV and worsens the health of HIV-positive individuals [ 18 ]. Weiser et al. [ 31 ] found that food insecurity increases the likelihood of unsafe sexual activities, aggravating the spread of HIV. It can also raise the possibility of transmission through unsafe newborn feeding practices and worsening maternal health [ 32 ]. In addition, food insecurity has been linked to decreased antiretroviral adherence, declines in physical health status, worse immunologic status [ 33 ], decreased viral suppression [ 34 , 35 ], increased incidence of serious illness [ 36 ], and increased mortality [ 37 ] among people living with HIV.
With the above theoretical relationship between target variables and since this study focuses on the impact of food insecurity on health outcomes, and not on the causes, it adopted the conceptual framework of Weiser et al. [ 18 ] and constructed Fig. 1 .
A conceptual framework of food insecurity and health. Source: Modified and constructed by the author using Weiser et al. [ 18 ] conceptual framework. Permission was granted by Taylor & Francis to use their original Figs. (2.2, 2.3, and 2.4); to develop the above figure. Permission number: 1072954
Several findings associate food insecurity with poorer health, worse disease management, and a higher risk of premature mortality even though they used microdata. For instance, Stuff et al. [ 38 ] found that food insecurity is related to poor self-reported health status, obesity [ 39 ], abnormal blood lipids [ 40 ], a rise in diabetes [ 24 , 40 ], increased gestational diabetes[ 41 ], increased perceived stress, depression and anxiety among women [ 25 , 42 ], Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) acquisition risk [ 43 , 44 , 45 ], childhood stunting [ 46 ], poor health [ 47 ], mental health and behavioral problem [ 25 , 48 , 49 ].
The above highlight micro-level empirical studies, and since the scope of this study is macro-level, Table 1 provides only the existing macro-level empirical findings related to the current study.
Empirical findings in Table 1 are a few, implying a limited number of macro-level level empirical findings. Even the existing macro-level studies have several limitations. For instance, most studies either employed conventional estimation techniques or overlooked basic econometric tests; thus, their results and policy implications may mislead policy implementers. Except for Hameed et al. [ 53 ], most studies’ data are either outdated or unbalanced; hence, their results and policy implications may not be valuable in the dynamic world and may not be accurate like balanced data. Besides, some studies used limited (one) sampled countries; however, few sampled countries and observations do not get the asymptotic properties of an estimator [ 56 ]. Therefore, this study tries to fill the existing gaps by employing robust estimation techniques with initial diagnostic and post-estimation tests, basic panel econometric tests and robustness checks, updated data, a large number of samples.
According to Smith and Meade [ 57 ], the highest rates of both food insecurity and severe food insecurity were found in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2017 (55 and 28%, respectively), followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (32 and 12%, respectively) and South Asia (30 and 13%). Similarly, SSA countries have worst health outcomes compared to other regions. For instance, in 2020, the region had the lowest life expectancy [ 58 ] and highest infant mortality [ 59 ]. Having the above information, this study's target population are SSA countries chosen purposively. However, even though SSA comprises 49 of Africa's 55 countries that are entirely or partially south of the Sahara Desert. This study is conducted for a sample of 31 SSA countries (Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Chad, Congo Rep., Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Togo). The sampled countries are selected based on data accessibility for each variable included in the empirical models from 2001 to 2018. Since SSA countries suffer from food insecurity and related health problems, this study believes the sampled countries are appropriate and represent the region. Moreover, since this study included a large sample size, it improves the estimator’s precision.
This study uses secondary data collected in December 2020 online from the databases of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank (WB) (see Table 2 ). In addition, the study uses yearly balanced data from 2001 to 2018, which is appropriate because it captures the Millennium Development Goals, SDGs, and other economic conditions, such as the rise of SSA countries’ economies and the global financial crisis of the 2000s. Therefore, this study considers various global development programs and events. Generally, the scope of this study (sampled countries and time) is sufficient to represent SSA countries. In other words, the study has n*T = 558 observations, which fulfills the large sample size criteria recommended by Kennedy [ 56 ].
Model specification is vital to conduct basic panel data econometric tests and estimate the relationship of target variables. Besides social factors, the study includes economic factors determining people's health status. Moreover, it uses two proxies indicators to measure both food insecurity and health status; hence, it specifies the general model as follows:
The study uses four models to analyze the impact of food insecurity on health outcomes.
where LNLEXP and LNINFMOR (dependent variables) refer to the natural logarithm of life expectancy at birth and infant mortality used as proxy variables for health outcomes. Similarly, PRUND and AVRDES are the prevalence of undernourishment and average dietary energy supply adequacy – proxy and predictor variables for food insecurity.
Moreover, to regulate countries’ socio-economic conditions and to account for time-varying bias that can contribute to changes in the dependent variable, the study included control variables, such as GDPPC, GOVEXP, MNSCHOOL, and URBAN. GDPPC is GDP per capita, GOVEXP refers to domestic general government health expenditure, MNSCHOOL is mean years of schooling and URBAN refers to urbanization. Further, n it , v it , ε it , and μ it are the stochastic error terms at period t. The parameters \({\alpha }_{0}, { \beta }_{0}, { \theta }_{0},{ \delta }_{0}\) refer to intercept terms and \({\alpha }_{1}-{\alpha }_{5}, {\beta }_{1}-{\beta }_{5}, { \theta }_{1}-{\theta }_{5}, and {\delta }_{1}-{\delta }_{5}\) are the long-run estimation coefficients. Since health outcomes and food insecurity have two indicators used as proxy variables, this study estimates different alternative models and robustness checks of the main results. Furthermore, the above models did not address heterogeneity problems; hence, this study considers unobserved heterogeneity by introducing cross-section and time heterogeneity in the models. This is accomplished by assuming a two-way error component for the disturbances with:
From Eq. 2 , the unobservable individual (cross-section) and unobservable time heterogeneities are described by \({\delta }_{i} and {\tau }_{t}\) (within components), respectively. Nonetheless, the remaining random error term is \({\gamma }_{it}\) (panel or between components). Therefore, the error terms in model 1A-1D will be substituted by the right-hand side elements of Eq. 2 .
Depending on the presumptions of whether the error elements are fixed or random, the FE and RE models are the two kinds of models that will be evaluated. Equation ( 2 ) yields a two-way FE error component model, or just a FE model if the assumptions are that \({\delta }_{i} and {\tau }_{t}\) are fixed parameters to be estimated and that the random error component, \({\gamma }_{it}\) , is uniformly and independently distributed with zero mean and constant variance (homoscedasticity).
Equation ( 2 ), on the other hand, provides a two-way RE error component model or a RE model if we suppose \({\delta }_{i} and {\tau }_{t}\) are random, just like the random error term, or \({\delta }_{i},{\tau }_{t}, and {\gamma }_{it}\) are all uniformly and independently distributed with zero mean and constant variance, or they are all independent of each other and independent variables [ 60 ].
Rather than considering both error components, \({\delta }_{i}, and {\tau }_{t}\) , we can examine only one of them at a time (fixed or random), yielding a one-way error component model, FE or RE. The stochastic error term \({\varpi }_{it}\) in Eq. 2 will then be:
This study conducted descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and initial diagnosis tests (cross-sectional and time-specific fixed effect, outliers and influential observations, multicollinearity, normality, heteroscedasticity, and serial correlation test). Moreover, it provides basic panel econometric tests and panel data estimation techniques. For consistency, statistical software (STATA) version 15 was used for all analyses.
Descriptive statistics is essential to know the behavior of the variables in the model. Therefore, it captures information, such as the mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum, skewness, and kurtosis. Similarly, the study conducted Pearson correlation analysis to assess the degree of relationship between the variables.
Cross-sectional and time-specific fixed effect.
One can anticipate differences arising over time or within the cross-sectional units, given that the panel data set comprises repeated observations over the same units gathered over many periods. Therefore, before estimation, this study considered unexplained heterogeneity in the models. One fundamental limitation of cross-section, panel, and time series data regression is that they do not account for country and time heterogeneity [ 60 ]. These unobserved differences across nations and over time are crucial in how the error term is represented and the model is evaluated. These unobserved heterogeneities, however, may be represented by including both country and time dummies in the regression. However, if the parameters exceed the number of observations, the estimate will fail [ 60 ]. However, in this study, the models can be estimated. If we include both country and time dummies, we may assume that the slope coefficients are constant, but the intercept varies across countries and time, yielding the two-way error components model. As a result, this study examines the null hypothesis that intercepts differ across nations and time in general.
In regression analysis, outliers and influential observations may provide biased findings. Therefore, the Cooks D outlier and influential observation test was used in the study to handle outliers and influencing observations. To evaluate whether these outliers have a stronger impact on the model to be estimated, each observation in this test was reviewed and compared with Cook’s D statistic [ 61 ]. Cook distance evaluates the extent to which observation impacts the entire model or the projected values. Hence, this study tested the existence of outliers.
Before the final regression result, the data used for the variables were tested for normality, heteroscedasticity, multicollinearity, and serial correlation to examine the characteristics of the sample.
Regression models should be checked for nonnormal error terms because a lack of Gaussianity (normal distribution) can occasionally compromise the accuracy of estimation and testing techniques. Additionally, the validity of inference techniques, specification tests, and forecasting critically depends on the normalcy assumption [ 62 ]. Similarly, multicollinearity in error terms leads to a dataset being highly sensitive to a minor change, instability in the regression model, and skewed and unreliable results. Therefore, this study conducted the normality using Alejo et al. [ 62 ] proposed command and multicollinearity (using VIF) tests.
Most conventional panel data estimation methods rely on homoscedastic individual error variance and constant serial correlation. Since the error component is typically connected to the variance that is not constant during the observation and is serially linked across periods, these theoretical presumptions have lately reduced the applicability of various panel data models. Serial correlation and heteroskedasticity are two estimate issues frequently connected to cross-sectional and time series data, respectively. Similarly, panel data is not free from these issues because it includes cross-sections and time series, making the estimated parameters ineffective, and rendering conclusions drawn from the estimation incorrect [ 63 ]. Therefore, this study used the Wooldridge [ 63 ] test for serial correlation in linear panel models as well as the modified Wald test for heteroskedasticity.
The basic panel data econometric tests are prerequisites for estimating the panel data. The three main basic panel data tests are cross-sectional dependence, unit root, and cointegration.
A growing body of the panel data literature concludes that panel data models are likely to exhibit substantial CD in the errors resulting from frequent shocks, unobserved components, spatial dependence, and idiosyncratic pairwise dependence. Even though the impact of CD in estimation depends on several factors, relative to the static model, the effect of CD in dynamic panel estimators is more severe [ 64 ]. Moreover, Pesaran [ 65 ] notes that recessions and economic or financial crises potentially affect all countries, even though they might start from just one or two countries. These occurrences inevitably introduce cross-sectional interdependencies across the cross-sectional unit, their regressors, and the error terms. Hence, overlooking the CD in panel data leads to biased estimates and spurious results [ 64 , 66 ]. Further, the CD test determines the type of panel unit root and cointegration tests we should apply. Therefore, examining the CD is vital in panel data econometrics.
In the literature, there are several tests for CD, such as the Breusch and Pagan [ 67 ] Lagrange multiplier (LM) test, Pesaran [ 68 ] scaled LM test, Pesaran [ 68 ] CD test, and Baltagi et al. [ 69 ] bias-corrected scaled LM test (for more detail, see Tugcu and Tiwari [ 70 ]). Besides, Friedman [ 71 ] and Frees [ 72 , 73 ] also have other types of CD tests (for more detail, see De Hoyos and Sarafidis [ 64 ]). This study employs Frees [ 72 ] and Pesaran [ 68 ] among the existing CD tests. This is because, unlike the Breusch and Pagan [ 67 ] test, these tests do not require infinite T and fixed N, and are rather applicable for both a large N and T. Additionally, Free’s CD test can overcome the irregular signs associated with correlation. However, it also employs Friedman [ 71 ] CD for mixed results of the above tests.
The panel unit root and cointegration tests are common steps following the CD test. Generally, there are two types of panel unit root tests: (1) the first-generation panel unit root tests, such as Im et al. [ 74 ], Maddala and Wu [ 75 ], Choi [ 76 ], Levin et al. [ 77 ], Breitung [ 78 ] and Hadri [ 79 ], and (2) the second-generation panel unit root tests, such as [ 66 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 ].
The first-generation panel unit root tests have been criticized because they assume cross-sectional independence [ 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 ]. This hypothesis is somewhat restrictive and unrealistic, as macroeconomic time series exhibit significant cross-sectional correlation among countries in a panel [ 92 ], and co-movements of economies are often observed in the majority of macroeconomic applications of unit root tests [ 91 ]. The cross-sectional correlation of errors in panel data applications in economics is likely to be the rule rather than the exception [ 93 ]. Moreover, applying first-generation unit root tests under CD models can generate substantial size distortions [ 90 ], resulting in the null hypothesis of nonstationary being quickly rejected [ 66 , 94 ]. As a result, second-generation panel unit root tests have been proposed to take CD into account. Therefore, among the existing second-generation tests, this study employs Pesaran’s [ 66 ] cross-sectionally augmented panel unit root test (CIPS) for models 1A–1C . The rationale for this is that, unlike other unit root tests that allow CD, such as Bai and Ng [ 80 ], Moon and Perron [ 87 ], and Phillips and Sul [ 84 ], Pesaran’s [ 66 ] test is simple and clear. Besides, Pesaran [ 66 ] is robust when time-series’ heteroscedasticity is observed in the unobserved common factor [ 95 ]. Even though theoretically, Moon and Perron [ 87 ], Choi [ 96 ] and Pesaran [ 66 ] require large N and T, Pesaran [ 66 ] is uniquely robust in small sample sizes [ 97 ]. Therefore, this study employs the CIPS test to take into account CD, and heteroskedasticity in the unobserved common factor and both large and small sample countries. However, since there is no CD in model 1D , this study employs the first-generation unit root tests called Levin, Lin, and Chu (LLC), Im, Pesaran, Shin (IPS) and Fisher augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) for model 1D .
The most common panel cointegration tests when there is CD are Westerlund [ 98 ], Westerlund and Edgerton [ 99 ], Westerlund and Edgerton [ 100 ], Groen and Kleibergen [ 101 ], Westerlund’s [ 102 ] Durbin-Hausman test, Gengenbach et al. [ 103 ] and Banerjee and Carrion-i-Silvestre [ 104 ]. However, except for a few, most tests are not coded in Statistical Software (STATA) and are affected by insufficient observations. The current study primarily uses Westerlund [ 98 ] and Banerjee and Carrion-i-Silvestre [ 104 ] for models 1A–1C . However, to decide uncertain results, it also uses McCoskey and Kao [ 105 ] cointegration tests for model 1C . The rationale for using Westerlund’s [ 98 ] cointegration test is that most panel cointegration has failed to reject the null hypothesis of no cointegration due to the failure of common-factor restriction [ 106 ]. However, Westerlund [ 98 ] does not require any common factor restriction [ 107 ] and allows for a large degree of heterogeneity (e.g., individual-specific short-run dynamics, intercepts, linear trends, and slope parameters) [ 92 , 107 , 108 ]. Besides, its command is coded and readily available in STATA. However, it suffers from insufficient observations, especially when the number of independent variables increases. The present study employs the Banerjee and Carrion-i-Silvestre [ 104 ] and McCoskey and Kao [ 105 ] cointegration tests to overcome this limitation. The two Engle-Granger-based cointegration tests applicable when there is no CD and are widely used and available in STATA are Pedroni [ 109 , 110 ] and Kao [ 111 ]. However, the Pedroni test has two benefits over Kao: it assumes cross-sectional dependency and considers heterogeneity by employing specific parameters [ 112 ]. Hence, this study uses the Pedroni cointegration test for model 1D .
The panel data analysis can be conducted using different estimation techniques and is mainly determined by the results of basic panel econometric tests. Thus, this study mainly employs the Driscoll-Kraay [ 113 ] standard error (DKSE) (for models 1A and 1B ), FE (for model 1C ), and two-step GMM (for model 1D ) estimation techniques to examine the impact of food insecurity on health outcomes. It also employs the Granger causality test. However, for robustness checks, it uses fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), panel-corrected standard error (PCSE), and feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) methods (for models 1A and 1B ). Moreover, it uses a random effect (RE) for model 1C and panel dynamic fixed effect (DFE) techniques for model 1D .
Even though several panel estimation techniques allow CD, most of them – such as cross-section augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL), cross-section augmented distributed lag (CS-DL), common correlated effects pooled (CCEP), and common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) estimators – require a large number of observations over groups and periods. Similarly, the continuously updated fully modified (CUP-FM) and continuously updated bias-corrected (CUP-BC) estimators are not coded in STATA. Others, like the PCSE, FGLS, and seemingly unrelated regression (SUR), are feasible for T (the number of time series) > N (the number of cross-sectional units) [ 114 , 115 ]. However, a DKSE estimate is feasible for N > T [ 114 ]. Therefore, depending on the CD, cointegration test, availability in STATA, and comparing N against T, this study mainly employs the DKSE regression for models 1A and 1B , FE model for model 1C , and GMM for model 1C .
Finally, to check the robustness of the main result, this study employs FMOLS, FGLS, and PCSE estimation techniques for models 1A and 1B . Furthermore, even though the Hausman test confirms that the FE is more efficient, the study employs the RE for model 1C . This is because Firebaugh et al. [ 116 ] note that the RE and FE models perform best in panel data. Besides, unlike FE, RE assumes that individual differences are random. In addition, this study uses panel DFE for model 1D (selected based on the Hausman test). Finally, the robustness check is also conducted using an alternative model (i.e., when a dependent variable is without a natural log and Granger causality test).
Table 3 shows the overall mean of LNLEXP of the region is 4.063 years which indicates that the region can achieve only 57.43 (using ln(x) = 4.063 = loge (x) = e 4.063 , where e = 2.718) years of life expectancy. This is very low compared to other regions. Besides, the ranges in the value of LNLEXP are between 3.698 and 4.345 or (40–76 years), implying high variation. Similarly, the mean value of LNINFMOR is 3.969; implying SSA countries recorded 52 infants death per 1000. Moreover, the range of LNINFMOR is between 2.525 and 4.919 or (12 – 135 infant death per 1000), implying high variation within the region. The mean value of people’s prevalence for undernourishment is 21.26; indicating 21% of the population is undernourished. However, the mean value of AVRDES is 107.826, which is greater than 100, implying that the calorie supply is adequate for all consumers if the food is distributed according to the requirements of individuals. When we observe the skewness and kurtosis of the variables of the models, except for LNLEXP and LNINFMOR, all variables are positively skewed. In addition, all variables have positive kurtosis with values between 2.202 and 6.092.
Table 3 also shows the degree of relationship between variables, such that most values are below the threshold or rule of thumb (0.7) for a greater association [ 117 ]. However, the association between LNINFMOR and LNLEXP, as well as between PRUNP and AVRDES, is over the threshold and seems to have a multicollinearity issue. Nevertheless, these variables did not exist together in the models, indicating the absence of a multicollinearity problem.
Table 4 shows whether the cross-sectional specific and time-specific FE in extended models ( model 1A-1D plus Eq. 2 ) are valid. The result reveals that the null hypothesis of the captured unobserved heterogeneity is homogenous across the countries, and time is rejected at 1%, implying the extended models are correctly specified. Besides, to check the robustness of the two-way error component model relative to the pooled OLS estimator, this study conducted an additional poolability test. The result shows the null hypothesis that intercepts homogeneity (pooling) is rejected at a 1% level; thus, the FE model is most applicable, but the pooled OLS is biased.
Cooks D is an indicator of high leverage and residuals. The impact is high when D exceeds 4/N, (N = number of observations). A D > 1 implies a significant outlier problem. The Cooks D result of this study confirms the absence of outliers' problem (see supplementary file 1 ).
The results in Table 5 indicate that the probability value of the joint test for normality on e and u are above 0.01, implying that the residuals are normally distributed. The heteroscedasticity results show that the probability value of the chi-square statistic is less than 0.01 in all models. Therefore, the null hypothesis of constant variance can be rejected at a 1% level of significance. In other words, the modified Wald test result for Groupwise heteroskedasticity presented in Table 5 , rejects the null hypothesis of Groupwise homoskedasticity observed by the probability value of 0.0000, which implies the presence of heteroscedasticity in the residuals. Similarly, all models suffer from serial correlation since the probability value of 0.0000 rejects the null hypothesis of no first-order serial correlation, indicating the presence of autocorrelation in all panel models. Finally, the multicollinearity test reveals that the models have no multicollinearity problem since the Variance inflation Factors (VIF) values are below 5.
Results in Table 6 strongly reject the null hypothesis of cross-sectional independence for models 1A – 1C . However, for model 1D , the study found mixed results (i.e., Pesaran [ 68 ] fails to reject the null hypothesis of no CD while Frees [ 72 ] strongly rejects it). Thus, to decide, this study employs the Friedman [ 71 ] CD test. The result fails to reject the null hypothesis of cross-sectional independence, implying that two out of three tests fail to reject the null hypothesis of cross-sectional independence in model 1D . Therefore, unlike others, there is no CD in model 1D (see Table 6 ).
Table 7 shows that all variables are highly (at 1% level) significant either at level (I(0)) or first difference (I(1)), which implies all variables are stationary. In other words, the result fails to reject the null hypothesis of unit root (non-stationary) for all variables at a 1%-significance level, either at levels or the first differences. Thus, we might expect a long-run connection between these variables collectively.
The results in Table 8 show that both the Westerlund [ 98 ] and Banerjee and Carrion-i-Silvestre [ 104 ] cointegration tests strongly reject the null hypothesis of no-cointegration in models 1A and 1B . However, model 1C provides a mixed result, i.e. the Banerjee and Carrion-i-Silvestre [ 104 ] test rejects the null hypothesis of no cointegration, yet the reverse is true for the Westerlund [ 98 ] test. Therefore, this study conducted further cointegration tests for model 1C . Even though Westerlund and Edgerton [ 99 ] suffer from insufficient observation, it is based on the McCoskey and Kao [ 105 ] LM test [ 118 ]. Thus, we can use a residual-based cointegration test in the heterogeneous panel framework proposed by McCoskey and Kao [ 105 ]. However, an efficient estimation technique of cointegrated variables is required, and hence the FMOLS and DOLS estimators are recommended. The residuals derived from the FMOLS and DOLS will be tested for stationarity with the null hypothesis of no cointegration amongst the regressors. Since the McCoskey and Kao [ 105 ] test involves averaging the individual LM statistics across the cross-sections, for testing the residuals FMOLS and DOLS stationarity, McCoskey, and Kao [ 105 ] test is in the spirit of IPS (Im et al. [ 74 ]) [ 119 ].
Though FMOLS and DOLS are recommended for the residuals cointegration test, DOLS is better than FMOLS (for more detail, see Kao and Chiang [ 120 ]); therefore, this study uses a residual test derived from DOLS. The result fails to reject the null hypothesis of no cointegration. Two (Banerjee and Carrion-i-Silvestre [ 104 ] and McCoskey and Kao [ 105 ]) out of three tests fail to reject the null hypothesis of no cointegration; hence, we can conclude that there is no long-run relationship among the variables in model 1C .
Unlike other models, since there is CD in model 1D , this study employs the Pedroni [ 109 ] and Kao [ 111 ] cointegration tests for model 1D . The result strongly rejects the null hypothesis of no cointegration, which is similar to models 1A and 1B , that a long-run relationship exists among the variables in model 1D (see Table 5 ).
Table 9 provides long-run regression results of all models employing appropriate estimation techniques such as DKSE, FE, and two-step GMM, along with the Granger causality test. However, the DKSE regression can be estimated in three ways: FE with DKSE, RE with DKSE, and pooled Ordinary Least Squares/Weighted Least Squares (pooled OLS/WLS) regression with DKSE. Hence, we must choose the most efficient model using Hausman and Breusch-Pagan LM for RE tests (see supplementary file 2 ). As a result, this study employed FE with DKSE for models 1A and 1B . Further, due to Hausman's result, absence of cointegration and to deal with heterogeneity and spatial dependence in the dynamic panel, this study employs FE for the model1C (see the supplementary file 2). However, due to the absence of CD, the presence of cointegration, and N > T, this study uses GMM for model 1D . Moreover, according to Roodman [ 121 ], the GMM approach can solve heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation problems. Furthermore, even though two-step GMM produces only short-run results, it is possible to generate long-run coefficients from short-run results [ 122 , 123 ].
The DKSE result of model 1A shows that a 1% increment in people's prevalence for undernourishment reduces their life expectancy by 0.00348 PPs (1 year or 366 days). However, in model 1C, a 1% rise in the prevalence of undernourishment increases infant mortality by 0.0119 PPs (1 year or 369 days). The DKSE estimations in model 1B reveal that people’s life expectancy rises by 0.00317 PPs with every 1% increase in average dietary energy supply. However, the GMM result for model 1D confirms that a 1% incrementin average dietary energy supply reduces infant mortality by 0.0139 PPs. Moreover, this study conducted a panel Granger causality test to confirm whether or not food insecurity has a potential causality to health outcomes. The result demonstrates that the null hypothesis of change in people’s prevalence for undernourishment and average dietary energy supply does not homogeneously cause health outcomes is rejected at 1% significance, implying a change in food insecurity does Granger-cause health outcomes of SSA countries (see Table 9 ).
In addition to the main results, Table 9 also reports some post-estimation statistics to ascertain the consistency of the estimated results. Hence, in the case of DKSE and FE models, the validity of the models is determined by the values of R 2 and the F statistics. For instance, R 2 quantifies the proportion of the variance in the dependent variable explained by the independent variables, representing the model’s quality. The results in Table 9 demonstrate that the explanatory variables explain more than 62% of the variance on the dependent variable. Cohen [ 125 ] classifies the R 2 value of 2% as a moderate influence in social and behavioral sciences, while 13 and 26% are considered medium and large effects, respectively. Therefore, the explanatory variables substantially impact this study's models. Similarly, the F statistics explain all independent variables jointly explain the dependent one. For the two-step system GMM, the result fails to reject the null hypothesis of no first (AR(1)) and second-order (AR(2)) serial correlation, indicating that there is no first and second-order serial correlation. In addition, the Hansen [ 126 ] and Sargan [ 127 ] tests fail to reject the null hypothesis of the overall validity of the instruments used, which implies too many instruments do not weaken the model.
The author believes the above findings may not be enough for policy recommendations unless robustness checks are undertaken. Hence, the study estimated all models without the natural logarithm of the dependent variables (see Table 10 ). The model 1A result reveals, similar to the above results, individuals’ prevalence for undernourishment significantly reduces their life expectancy in SSA countries. That means a 1% increase in the people's prevalence of undernourishment reduces their life expectancy by 0.1924 PPs. Moreover, in model 1B , life expectancy rises by 0.1763 PPs with every 1% increase in average dietary energy supply. In model 1C , the rise in infants’ prevalence for undernourishment has a positive and significant effect on their mortality rate in SSA countries. The FE result implies that a 1% rise in infants’ prevalence for undernourishment increases their mortality rate by 0.9785 PPs. The GMM result in model 1D indicates that improvement in average dietary energy supply significantly reduces infant mortality. Further, the Granger causality result confirms that the null hypothesis of change in the prevalence of undernourishment and average dietary energy supply does not homogeneously cause health outcomes and is rejected at a 1% level of significance. This implies a change in food insecurity does Granger-cause health outcomes in SSA countries (see Table 10 ).
The study also conducted further robustness checks using the same dependent variables (as Table 9 ) but different estimation techniques. The results confirm that people’s prevalence of undernourishment has a negative and significant effect on their life expectancy, but improvement in average dietary energy supply significantly increases life expectancy in SSA countries. However, the incidence of undernourishment in infants contributes to their mortality; however, progress in average dietary energy supply for infants significantly reduces their mortality (see Table 11 ).
The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of food insecurity on the health outcomes of SSA countries. Accordingly, the DKSE result of model 1A confirms that the rise in people’s prevalence for undernourishment significantly reduces their life expectancy in SSA countries. However, the FE result shows that an increment in the prevalence of undernourishment has a positive and significant impact on infant mortality in model 1C . This indicates that the percentage of the population whose food intake is insufficient to meet dietary energy requirements is high, which leads to reduce life expectancy but increases infant mortality in SSA countries. The reason for this result is linked to the insufficient food supply in SSA due to low production and yields, primitive tools, lack of supporting smallholder farms and investment in infrastructure, and government policies. Besides, even though the food is available, it is not distributed fairly according to the requirements of individuals. Moreover, inadequate access to food, poor nutrition, and chronic illnesses are caused by a lack of well-balanced diets. In addition, many of these countries are impacted by poverty, making it difficult for citizens to afford nutritious food. All these issues combine to create an environment where individuals are more likely to suffer malnutrition-related illnesses, resulting in a lower life expectancy rate. The DKSE estimation result in model 1B reveals that improvement in average dietary energy supply positively impacts people's life expectancy in SSA countries. However, the improvement in average dietary energy supply reduces infant mortality.
Based on the above results, we can conclude that food insecurity harms SSA nations' health outcomes. This is because the prevalence of undernourishment leads to increased infant mortality by reducing the vulnerability, severity, and duration of infectious diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, and measles. Similarly, the prevalence of undernourishment can reduce life expectancy by increasing the vulnerability, severity, and duration of infectious diseases. However, food security improves health outcomes – the rise in average dietary energy supply reduces infant mortality and increases the life expectancy of individuals.
Several facts and theories support the above findings. For instance, similar to the theoretical and conceptual framework section, food insecurity in SSA countries can affect health outcomes in nutritional, mental health, and behavioral channels. According to FAO et al. [ 128 ], the prevalence of undernourishment increased in Africa from 17.6% of the population in 2014 to 19.1% in 2019. This figure is more than twice the global average and the highest of all regions of the world. Similarly, SSA is the world region most at risk of food insecurity [ 129 ]. According to Global Nutrition [ 130 ] report, anemia affects an estimated 39.325% of women of reproductive age. Some 13.825% of infants have a low weight at birth in the SSA region. Excluding middle African countries (due to lack of data), the estimated average prevalence of infants aged 0 to 5 months who are exclusively breastfed is 35.73%, which is lower than the global average of 44.0%. Moreover, SSA Africa still experiences a malnutrition burden among children aged under five years. The average prevalence of overweight is 8.15%, which is higher than the global average of 5.7%. The prevalence of stunting is 30.825%—higher than the worldwide average of 22%. Conversely, the SSA countries’ prevalence of wasting is 5.375%, which is higher than most regions such as Central Asia, Eastern Asia, Western Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America. The SSA region's adult population also faces a malnutrition burden: an average of 9.375% of adult (aged 18 and over) women live with diabetes, compared to 8.25% of men. Meanwhile, 20.675% of women and 7.85% of men live with obesity.
According to Saltzman et al. [ 17 ], micronutrient deficiencies can affect people’s health throughout their life cycle. For instance, at the baby age, it causes (low birth weight, higher mortality rate, and impaired mental development), child (stunting, reduced mental capacity, frequent infections, reduced learning capacity, higher mortality rate), adolescent (stunting, reduced mental capacity, fatigue, and increased vulnerability to infection), pregnant women (increased mortality and perinatal complications), adult (reduced productivity, poor socio-economic status, malnutrition, and increased risk of chronic disease), elderly (increased morbidity (including osteoporosis and mental impairment), and higher mortality rate).
Though this study attempts to fill the existing gaps, it also has limitations. It examined the impact of food insecurity on infant mortality; however, their association is reflected indirectly through other health outcomes. Hence, future studies can extend this study by examining the indirect effect of food insecurity on infant mortality, which helps to look at in-depth relationships between the variables. Moreover, this study employed infant mortality whose age is below one year; hence, future studies can broaden the scope by decomposing infant mortality into (neonatal and postnatal) and under-five mortality.
Millions of people are dying every year due to hunger and hunger-related diseases worldwide, especially in SSA countries. Currently, the link between food insecurity and health status is on researchers' and policymakers' agendas. However, macro-level findings in this area for most concerned countries like SSA have been given only limited attention. Therefore, this study examined the impact of food insecurity on life expectancy and infant mortality rates. The study mainly employs DKSE, FE, two-step GMM, and Granger causality approaches, along with other estimation techniques for robustness checks for the years between 2001 and 2018. The result confirms that food insecurity harms health outcomes, while food security improves the health status of SSA nations'. That means that a rise in undernourishment increases the infant mortality rate and reduces life expectancy. However, an improvement in the average dietary energy supply reduces infant mortality and increases life expectancy. Therefore, SSA countries need to guarantee their food accessibility both in quality and quantity, which improves health status. Both development experts and political leaders agree that Africa has the potential for agricultural outputs, can feed the continent, and improve socio-economic growth. Besides, more than half of the world's unused arable land is found in Africa. Therefore, effective utilization of natural resources is essential to achieve food security. Moreover, since the majority of the food in SSA is produced by smallholder farmers [ 131 ] while they are the most vulnerable to food insecurity and poverty [ 132 , 133 ]; hence, special focus and support should be given to smallholder farmers that enhance food self-sufficiency. Further, improvement in investment in agricultural research; improvement in markets, infrastructures, and institutions; good macroeconomic policies and political stability; and developing sub-regional strategies based on their agroecological zone are crucial to overcoming food insecurity and improving health status. Finally, filling a stomach is not sufficient; hence, a person's diet needs to be comprehensive and secure, balanced (including all necessary nutrients), and available and accessible. Therefore, SSA countries should ensure availability, accessibility, usability, and sustainability to achieve food and nutrition security.
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available in supplementary materials.
Augmented Dickey–Fuller
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
Average Dietary Energy Supply
Common Correlated Effects Mean Group
Common Correlated Effects Pooled
Cross-Sectional Dependence
Cross-Sectionally Augmented Panel Unit Root Test
Cross-Section Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag
Cross-Section Augmented Distributed Lag
Continuously Updated Bias-Corrected
Continuously Updated Full Modified
Dynamic Fixed Effect
Driscoll-Kraay Standard Errors
Dynamic Ordinary Least Square
Error Correction Model
Food and Agricultural Organization
Fixed Effect
Feasible Generalised Least Squares
Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita
Generalised Method of Momentum
Domestic General Government Health Expenditure
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Integration at First Difference
International Fund for Agricultural Development
Infant Mortality Rate
Im, Pesaran, Shin
Lag of Infant Mortality Rate
Lag of Natural Logarithm of Infant Mortality Rate
Life Expectancy at Birth
Levin, Lin, and Chu
Lagrange Multiplier
Natural Logarithm of Infant Mortality Rate
Natural Logarithm of Life Expectancy at Birth
Mean Years of Schooling
Ordinary Least Squares
Panel-Corrected Standard Error
Pooled Mean Group
Prevalence of Undernourishment
Random Effect
Sustainable Development Goals
Sub-Saharan African
Statistical Software
Seemingly Unrelated Regression
Urbanisation
World Food Programme
World Health Organization
Weighted Least Squares
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Food Security in India Essay: Food security means availability of adequate food grains to meet the domestic demand along with availability at the individual level, to sufficient quantities of food at affordable prices.
Despite rapid economic growth in recent years, low access to food by people living below the poverty line remains a crisis in India. Right to food is a fundamental right. Yet food security remains a farfetched dream in our country.
You can also find more Essay Writing articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.
We provide children and students with essay samples on a long essay of 500 words and a short essay of 150 words on the topic “Food Security In India” for reference.
Long Essay on Food Security in India is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.
Food security is a factor that ensures the public to have access to sufficient, sanitary and nutritious food to suffice their nutritional needs and food preference for them to live a healthy and active life. Food Security has three chief and closely related workings, which are the– availability of food, access to food, and absorption of food.
Even with India’s fast-growing economy throughout the past few years, food security among the below poverty line population still is a far-off dream in our nation. It is estimated that around 50% of children and infants are malnourished and about half of the pregnant women population are anaemic.
In 2016’s Global Hunger Index, India has been ranked 97th in 118 countries. In the history of this country, it has suffered from14 famines, the Bengal Famine in 1943 being the worst. Food availability here has been largely dependent on the monsoon season. Environmental situations like floods, droughts, depletion in soil fertility, erosion and waterlogging have created obstacles in the normal running of the agricultural activities. With increasing population, agricultural areas are getting occupied for accommodation areas, roads, factories and other activities.
In the past, multiple efforts were executed to attain food security by massively increasing food grain production. The Green Revolution during Indira Gandhi’s governance was a step towards achieving Food Security. Ultimately revolutionary self-sufficiency in food was achieved with the Green Revolution during the late 1960s and 1970s in India.
Over the years, the White Revolution and structural transformation in agro-industry have helped to make sure food security to a large degree. During the 1960s, the Government of India launched the Public Distribution System (PDS), to ensure physical and economic availability of food to all sectors of the society, principally for the poor.
In 1995, the “Mid Day Meal Scheme” was launched. This was a scheme to feed underprivileged school children. The “Antyoday Ann Yojana” scheme was launched in 2000 for the most economically background people; National Food Security Act 2013 etc. to supply food and nutritional security to every segment of the country.
But with the power of progressing science and innovation in today’s world India hopes to increase the rate of food production in the agricultural as well as the livestock area including pisciculture. Advance biotechnology used in agriculture to improve soil production by employing various environmental friendly tools for insect and pest management. These measures are to ensure national and household nutritional and food security, by reducing poverty at a rapid rate, and to achieve accelerated growth in the agricultural sector.
The supply chain between the farmers and the consumers should be shortened, and farmer-friendly marketing processes are to be introduced.Such efforts would bring about positive developments and prosperity for everyone living in India. In a big country like India with a rapidly growing population, a large chunk of it is malnourished and under-weight; thus, it’s necessary to attain food security. Therefore a second revolution is extremely necessary to bring about stability in the Food Security in this nation.
Short Essay on Food Security in India is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Food security is a factor that ensures sufficient food supply to people, particularly those who are deprived of basic nutrition. Food security is a major concern in India. Ironically, the vision for food security in a primarily agricultural country seems distant from reality. There are nearly 19.5 crore undernourished people in India, according to the UN, which is equivalent to a quarter of the world’s hunger burden. Also, around 43% of children in this country are chronically malnourished.
India ranks 74 out of 113 major countries in food security index. Though the available nutritional standard is 100% of the requirement, India lags far behind in terms of quality protein intake at 20% which needs to be tackled by making available protein-rich food products at affordable prices. India needs to work on methods to improve the accessibility and affordability of protein-rich food products using the latest environmentally friendly technology without the need for additional land and water to make this nation 100% food secure.
Question 1. What do you mean by food security in India?
Answer: According to the World Health Organization, food security is when people at all times have physical and economic access to adequate and nutritious food for a healthy and active life.
Question 2. Does India have food security?
Answer: Data reports show that is the country with the largest population of food-insecure people. By 2019, 6.2+ crore people were living with food insecurity than the number in 2014.
Question 3. What are the five components of food security?
Answer: 5 components of food security:
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STORY: WFP / GAZA FOOD DISTRIBUTION TRT:3:06 SOURCE: WFP RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WFP ON SCREEN LANGUAGE: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 31 MAY 2024 AND 13 JUNE 2024, GAZA
13 JUNE 2024, DEIR EL BALAH
1. Wide shot, driving on the street and destruction WFP operations are being severely impacted by the escalation of fighting in the south and centre of Gaza, the limited flow of humanitarian assistance and the breakdown of law and order in the south. 2. Various shots, WFP Food Distribution In central and southern Gaza, limited distributions of food parcels containing are taking place providing families with reduced rations. We have been able to resume food distribution due to new food parcels received through the port and more recently Karam Abu Salem/Kerem Shalom.
31 MAY 2024, GAZA CITY
3. Various shots, destruction, Displaced People There has been improvement in assistance to northern Gaza. WFP has been delivering supplies through Western Erez crossing. We hope we can continue using this route in a safe, sustained, and scaled-up manner.Problems remain with access to clean water, healthcare, fuel needed for bakeries, generators to pump water and for trucking, and medical supplies – garbage collection, sewage not being pumped, tons of rubble blocking movements in Gaza City and the north. All these factors are essential to achieve a stable food security situation. 4. Various shots, market While basic commodities are available in markets in southern and central Gaza – despite being unaffordable for many people – the lack of commercial goods entering through northern crossings means markets in northern Gaza are either empty or food is sold at astronomical prices. 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samiha Skaik: “Vegetables are available in the market, but they are all sold at very high prices. For me, a widow, I have no income and I cannot feed my children.”
13 JUNE 2024, JABALIA
6.Wide shot, UNWRA School Sheltering Displaced People 150 people are crowded in this damaged school building.
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Um Mohammed: “Everything is destroyed completely. We find nothing to eat. We find no bed to sleep in.” 7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Um Imad: “It’s been 250 days of war but it feels like 250 years to us. We wake up and go to sleep hearing the sounds of bombings and airstrikes. We cant find food or anything else.”
13 JUNE 2024, GAZA CITY
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Carl Skau, WFP Deputy Executive Director: “This is also where we had famine-like conditions only about a month ago. But in the past month, during May, we have been able to move in with a lot of food.//Now our concerns are really in the south where the progress that we had made is being reversed. But beyond that, of course, people need more than food to survive and the people that I have been speaking with here in Gaza City tell me that they need sanitation, they need basic health care and frankly they need some level of dignity. Everyone I speak to want a ceasefire. They want this war to end.”
31 MAY 2024, JABALIA
9. Various shots, bread bakery All bakeries in Rafah have shut down. Only 9 out of the 17 bakeries that WFP supports are operating: 6 in Deir El Balah, 3 in Gaza City and north Gaza. WFP continues helping bakeries by providing wheat flour and other resources. Bakery operations risk closing if fuel and resources are not provided regularly.
The World Food Programme (WFP) operations are being severely impacted by the escalation of fighting in the south and centre of Gaza, the limited flow of humanitarian assistance and the breakdown of law and order in the south. Humanitarian space needs to be protected to ensure safe, unhindered access to people in need.
In the last week, WFP warehouses have been caught in the crossfire twice. WFP and other aid agencies have been struggling to access humanitarian aid from Karam Abu Salem/ Kerem Shalom due to active conflict, damaged roads, unexploded ordnance, fuel shortages, delays at checkpoints and Israeli restrictions.
WFP’s main warehouse in Rafah, currently in a warzone, has been emptied. Most partners and other humanitarian agencies have been displaced.
Since May 20, aid coming through Karam Abu Salem/ Kerem Shalom crossing has increased slightly, but it needs to expand significantly.
Fuel remains a major concern. Consistent fuel supply needed for trucks, hospitals, sewage pumping systems, desalination systems.
Southern Gaza could see the same extreme hunger that was seen before in the north. The military incursion into Rafah is having a devastating impact.
There has been an exodus of nearly one million people from Rafah. People are now forced to live in areas with insufficient clean water, medical supplies, fuel, and limited food assistance.
More aid needs to enter via south -- people need dietary diversity, access to healthcare, and water. A multi-sectoral and strategically balanced response required.
Northern Gaza has seen an improvement, but that improvement must be supported with more supplies of commercial fresh food that people can afford. Despite the arrival of some commercial, people cannot afford high prices.
Telecommunications remains key challenge. Palestinian networks in south running out of fuel for their generators.
Despite the multiple challenges, in May WFP managed to provide assistance to more than 1 million people in Gaza, with reduced rations due access constraints and dwindling food stocks. To roll back six months of near starvation conditions requires a multi-sectoral response that addresses the short, medium and long-term needs.
WFP is on the ground, working with partners to deliver - In the north, WFP is distributing food parcels, wheat flour, hot meals, and supporting bakeries. - In central areas, WFP is prioritizing hot meals to reach more people with fewer resources and are gradually providing parcels to families again. - In the south (Rafah), WFP is distributing very limited food and hot meals in areas that are accessible, with the limited stocks coming in from Karam Abu Salem.
Two bakeries operating in Gaza City; one just opened in Jabalia, providing essential bread in north. Of 17 bakeries WFP operates in Gaza, only nine are operating.
WFP is shifting from providing canned foods, biscuits and ready-to-eat meals to giving people the purchasing power to choose the food their families want, invest in local markets, infrastructure and food systems, to have a tangible impact on peoples’ health and nutrition.
Global governance, importance and aids by global governance, works cited.
Food is one of the fundamental needs of human. Food security is the ability to access food by those who need it. Every household is termed as secured food wise if it has access to safe and enough food hence freedom from hunger. The World Food Organization describes this security as access to nutritious, safe and sufficient food to cater for the basic human desires.
The rapid increase of population all over the world is the major result for food insecurity (Harman 18). To ensure the situation does not run out of hand, the global body Food and Agricultural Organization has been at the forefront since time immemorial to cater for issues related to this basic human need. Central to this organization is governance. This can ensure that even if there is increased population, there can be enough resources or produce to cater for the increase and even shortages.
Food security has become a complex task to achieve with the development of globalization. Initially the main focus of the governing body was on agriculture. This ensured carefully monitoring of production and even the surplus that are stored. Today, different issues of concern have cropped up. These are in terms of food processing, food distribution and food consumption. Governance of food security has become challenging with the forms of contradictory policies that exist.
Most third world countries have weak connections with the global governance (Harman 18). These countries are always the worst hit groups when there is hunger breakout. On the other hand America and most of its environs have high influence in the global governance. Their exports have greatly increased while other third world countries exports have reduced. These countries used to export in a massive way but have since declined in production.
These countries are not promising at all. Therefore they have less influence of the global investment kitties. One will find that those countries that are stable in terms of agricultural production and are also doing great in the processing have much attraction to investment and are therefore considered a priority by the governing bodies
Several methods have been employed to cater for increasing cases of food insecurity. One of these methods is research. The cases of reduced land for tenure have been the main cause of low agricultural production. Currently, researchers have introduced novel ways of producing crops.
This has been aided greatly by biotechnology. This new research concept has enabled the production of crops that can resist adverse conditions. In addition, other crops can also do well in green houses. Unfortunately, other countries cannot afford this. Although global governance has given out these good options, some countries cannot afford. This is because their government cannot afford the finances in one way or another (Harman 18). This paints a bad picture of the governance while it is evident that it is not their fault.
Other forms of governance that would improve food security include Rule of law, internal peace, improvement of infrastructure from rural areas and support from the government for research. These proposals are best when employed on the ground. Developed countries have already put these practices in place and are ahead. There have been problems caused by global warming and other related disaster but this has been solved by having alternative methods. This does not mean that the conventional methods have been neglected.
Adoption measures have been for the purpose of bridging the gap between production and consumption. There is need for all countries to be stakeholders of global food programmes and government. This will ensure that there is a legitimate process for handling problems and also providing solutions for future activities. Unfortunately, the developing countries do not take part in the same footing. This therefore calls for a better government that will have honor for legitimate, political and democratic process.
This is an economy which comprises all the economies of the world. The issue of globalization brought a great revolution in the economy of the world. This revolution comprised of merging of trade markets, free trade in international stock markets and many more. Initially, this impacted nations in a positive way (Harman 18). There was expansion of markets and industries, creation of employment opportunities for both the young and old the people and a paradigm shift from job search to creation of jobs. More so was the issue of innovation that brought about great investment both in foreign and indigenous countries.
Developed and developing countries have had different effects due to the dynamic global economy. Currently, the economy is at its worst. The economic metrics stand at a free fall at the moment. Some are quite rapid that it has become so scary. The situation has continued to deepen day by day from banks bail out to individual country bail outs.
Central to this crisis is the unavailability of basic commodities such as food. In addition, oil prices have posed the hardest hit to most countries. The oil crisis was brought about by the unstable situation in Japan and Northern part of America. These unrests led to reduced production of oil from the main oil producing countries such as Libya. The rising oil prices have been due to the scarce in the commodity or the raw material. This crisis has also translated to the current energy crisis
On the other hand is food crisis. This has also arisen due to globalization of the economy. Increased industries led to the deterioration of the environment. This consequently led to global warming. Global warming has had a great impact on Agriculture. The climate of the globe has changed tremendously towards the negative. This has contributed to the accumulation of greenhouse gases hence global warming.
Therefore the climate has changed affecting the agricultural activities. This has directly affected food prices mostly for people living in poor countries and the Asian community. This has since resulted in high increase in food prices. For instance, in Asia the food prices have increased to 10%. This has affected about sixty five million people in the country.
Another factor that has put the current economy at risk is the weakening of the Dollar. This has led to the rapid rise in market prices. The American people have huge debts to pay hence this has greatly affected their economy and even the grand global economy. Goods traded across the global market are as expensive as has never been experienced before.
The most affected are the developing countries which have to add an extra coin to get goods across the global market. There has been cumulative unemployment for fresh college students in both developing and developed nations. Also there has been a rebound in the trade globally. In 2010 the increase in trade was about 12% which was positive.
The main resolution strategy to the current economic crisis is the issue of changing policies. This can be achieved by using neutral bodies that can help save the matter starting with the matters that are of priorities. First of all the weakening of the Dollar is one crisis that should be resolved. It actually affects the global markets and hence touches every part of the world. The crisis in the economic sector unfortunately combines almost all international affairs from trade, agriculture, social status, political status and many more affairs.
This then means that there is need to restructure the financial operations. As mentioned above, a policy reform is the ways to go. International organizations dealing with specific global issues should sit down and allow room for policy interventions that will be able to advocate for the independence of countries in terms of control of each country resources (Pacula etal., 276).
For instance, every country should have the sovereign authority to strategize on self sufficiency. That is, every country should have the capacity to state their productivity, consumption and even surplus without being influenced externally. Central regulation has proven to lack transparency hence failure in the part of governance.
The issue of central control can be avoided by having each country regulate their resources and present what they have to the international organizations. This does not mean that the mandates of these international organizations are being neglected but it means that the essence of external interventions is nullified.
Another critical sector that needs quick salvaging is the financial sector. There are policies that were imposed by the World health organization, World Bank, international Monetary Fund and the regional and bilateral trade (Pacula etal., 276).
These policies have tremendously caused the current financial crisis that has been predicted to last for about two years before it picks up in a steady state. It is speculated that the years 2012 and 2013 will be bad years for more so the developed countries. Controls such as the forced quotas, regulated market prizes, control of imports should be solely left within the agreements by countries.
In the case of finances, the issue of financial literacy needs to be worked out. The current crisis means that there has been inefficiency in management of money matters. It there was a well sophisticated system able to work out the financial problem and even speculate the trends in an actual way then the issue of global crisis could not be a pandemic at the moment. For example, the issue of high mortgage ownership in developed countries has led to the banks running in huge debts hence a need for bailouts.
If there were plans put in place to train the consumers who were taking credits then there would not be the issue of debt default. This would mean that the consumers would be aware of the steps they are taking and would only participate in taking debts that they are able to clear. This can also translate in the global credit acquisition by countries. There have been increasing complexities in the financial markets both in individual countries and globally. Having financial literacy would solve the issue of this crisis.
Fortunately, these approaches are underway as there have been non partisan groups that are lobbying for reforms and policy change in international organizations. Having and ear for the cry of these lobbyists will be a good step taken by the developed countries and even the international organization in working out the crisis. Therefore, to have success, there should be great interest by these organizations and countries to take part in reforms especially on the issue of financial education which is very important.
Harman, Chris. “Financial and Economic Crisis”. The Guardian Weekly 3 Aug. 2007: 18. Print.
Pacula etal. “Politics of the United Nations”. Journal of Political Economy . 95.2 (2006): 107-300. Print.
IvyPanda. (2019, May 20). Food Security Crisis Resolution. https://ivypanda.com/essays/food-security-essay/
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Food security in India has been a significant policy concern for many years. India’s economy may be the one that is booming most rapidly in the world, but it is also seeing an increase in food price inflation. Read here to understand the food insecurity in India.
The price of food began to rise rapidly in 2019 and has continued to grow ever since. Annual inflation in July 2023 hit 11%, which was the highest level in a decade.
A portion of the population may have difficulty obtaining food with sufficient nutritional content as a result of the ongoing high food price inflation.
The term “food security” refers to the availability, accessibility, and affordability of safe and nutritious food for all individuals in a country.
Table of Contents
Food insecurity in India has been a longstanding and complex issue, despite significant improvements in food production and distribution over the years. Several factors contribute to food insecurity in the country:
While India has implemented various food security programs like the Public Distribution System (PDS) , the National Food Security Act (NFSA), and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, there are often challenges in their effective implementation, including issues related to leakages and corruption.
Also read: Global Food Security Index 2021
India has made significant progress in improving food security, but challenges still exist.
National Food Security Act (NFSA)
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
Public Distribution System
Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)
Other schemes and initiatives:
Improving food security in India is a multifaceted challenge that requires a combination of policies, programs, and initiatives aimed at increasing food availability, access, and utilization.
Enhance Agricultural Productivity:
Increase Crop Diversification:
Support Small-Scale Farmers:
Water Management:
Infrastructure Development:
Food Distribution and Supply Chain Enhancement:
Nutrition Education:
Social Safety Nets:
Support for Women in Agriculture:
Climate Resilience:
Reduce Food Loss and Waste:
Research and Innovation:
Policy and Governance:
International Cooperation:
Also read: Malnutrition in India
Addressing food insecurity in India requires a multi-pronged approach that includes improving agricultural practices, ensuring equitable distribution, reducing food wastage, enhancing access to social safety nets, and addressing poverty and malnutrition.
Government policies and programs, as well as international cooperation and support, play crucial roles in mitigating food insecurity and improving food access for all segments of the population.
India has made significant strides in improving food security, but challenges such as poverty, inequality, and the impacts of climate change continue to influence the nation’s efforts to ensure that all its citizens have access to adequate and nutritious food.
Addressing these challenges requires ongoing policy measures, investment in agriculture and rural development, and a commitment to social safety nets and nutrition programs.
Also read:
-Article by Swathi Satish
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Central african republic: ipc acute food insecurity snapshot | april – august 2024, attachments.
This projection update shows that the food insecurity situation in Central African Republic remains concerning, with around 2.5 million people (41 percent of the population analysed) in IPC Phase 3 or above. This includes 508,000 people who are in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and 2 million people in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis). These people require immediate action to save lives, protect their livelihoods and reduce food consumption gaps.
The prefectures of Mbomou, Haut-Mbomou, Haute-Kotto, Mambéré-Kadéi, Mnbomou, Nana-Mambéré and Ouham-Pende have the highest rates of food insecurity, with more than 50 percent of the population in IPC Phase 3 or above. These prefectures are followed by Kémo (48 percent), Ouaka (45 percent), Vakaga and Lobaye (40 percent), etc. A total of 11 sub-prefectures have been classified in Phase 4, while 59 have been classified in Phase 3.
The sub-prefectures classified in Phase 4 are mainly those of Bambouti, Djéma and Obo (Haut-Mbomou), Ouadda and Yalinga (Haute-Kotto), Ouanga (Mbomou), Nana-Bakasa and Nana-Boguila (Ouham), Birao and Ouada-Djallé (Vakaga). The people experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity are mainly displaced or affected by armed conflict across the country.
People experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity are mainly those living in situations of displacement as well as those affected by armed groups’ activities. People living in landlocked areas have difficulties accessing markets and selling local agricultural products because of poor road infrastructure. Poor households in urban or peri-urban areas face particular challenges as their access to food is dependent on markets but that access capacity is limited due to low purchasing power, the increase in prices of basic foodstuffs and the deterioration of livelihoods.
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République centrafricaine (rca) : analyse de l’insécurité alimentaire aigüe de l'ipc, avril - août 2024 (publié le 13 juin 2024).
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République centrafricaine : rapport de situation, 12 juin 2024.
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People experiencing food insecurity are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions such as diabetes, blood pressure problems, anemia, and similar issues ( Compromises and Coping Strategies para. 5). Without enough energy and health, they cannot improve their life quality. Example, Narrative, or Testimony: Quality food is an essential ...
Food insecurity refers to the lack of access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet one's dietary needs for an active and healthy life. It is a complex issue that affects individuals, communities, and entire nations, with far-reaching consequences that extend beyond hunger. In this essay, we will explore the causes and consequences of ...
Food insecurity in America is eminent when children are facing a devastating shortage of adequate food that is nutritious and safe for human consumption. Food insecurity in the United States also becomes eminent when the elderly, the ethnic minority, and the rural people, lack access to food of the right quality and quantity, due to their ...
More than 35 million Americans suffered from hunger in 2019 and the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 increased the number of people who face food insecurity up to 42 million (Feeding America, 2021). To put it more explicitly, every sixth person in the US has no food to eat at least once a year (McMillan, n.d.) These figures are shocking because the ...
This essay argues that a transformative approach, grounded in sustainable agriculture and equitable food distribution, is essential to addressing global hunger. By examining the current state of food insecurity, the principles of sustainable agriculture, and policy recommendations, this essay underscores the urgent need for change.
13 essay samples found. Food Insecurity refers to the lack of reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food. Essays could delve into the causes, effects, and possible solutions to food insecurity both in the United States and globally, addressing issues like poverty, agricultural practices, and climate change.
By Taylor Lance. This paper was written in response to an assignment in English 121 that asked students to write an analytical essay about entering adulthood in 2020 and use some resources. Food insecurity is an imperative issue in colleges across the country. "Food insecurity" is a broad term for the two types of low food security: low ...
742. A shadow of hunger looms over the United States. In the pandemic economy, nearly one in eight households doesn't have enough to eat. The lockdown, with its epic lines at food banks, has ...
food. food insecurity, the limited or uncertain access to nutritious food, which also includes limitations on the ability to obtain nutritious food in ways that are socially acceptable. Approximately 2.4 billion people worldwide (some 29.6 percent of the human population) experience moderate or severe food insecurity.
The main cause of food insecurity is poverty. While mobility, transportation, and car-centricity are still issues that are deeply connected with poverty, geographic access, as stated by the USDA in a 2014 report, is not "associated with the percentage of households that [are] food insecure.".
Two papers reported that emerging food insecurity (food secure at Time 1 moving to food insecure at Time 2) was associated with increased ... Only papers written in English were reviewed and as such work presented in languages other than English that may represent broader child development outcomes in settings that are not USA-centric may not ...
Food insecurity, even for short time periods, is associated with detrimental physiological and psychological impacts on college students. Compared with students who are food secure, students who are food insecure have been associated with having poor dietary quality, poor physical activity habits, and greater odds for obesity.1-4 Food insecurity in college students has also been associated ...
What is food insecurity. Food insecurity is an official term from the USDA. It's when people don't have enough to eat and don't know where their next meal will come from. It's a big problem in the United States, where over 44 million people, including 13 million children, experience food insecurity annually. However, many more people, including ...
1. Introduction. Food security (FS) is "a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life" [] p.3.It is a significant priority for international policy [], and has been perceived as being among the key challenges worldwide ...
Food Insecurity Essay. Food insecurity is a major issue in Canada, affecting millions people across the country especially minorities. In 2012, four million Canadians experienced some form of food insecurity (Tarasuk, Mitchell, & Dachner, 2014). This paper aims to focus on how food insecurity affects women and children, and the costs ...
Food insecurity is defined as "the lack of access to enough food to ensure adequate nutrition."1 The Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) reported that 14.6% of US households were food insecure during at least some portion of 2008 (up 11.1% from 2007), the highest levels recorded since monitoring began in 1995.2 Food insecurity is a concern of under consumption and ...
The solutions for these problems in food insecurity are awareness, decrease food waste and donations, etc. Discover the world's research. 25+ million members; 160+ million publication pages;
A study has shown that a staggering 30% of all campus students experience food insecurity at some point in their college life (Owens et al., 2020). Due to high prices and cost related to textbook and transportation, campus students have very little money to use for their basic needs, especially food. We will write a custom essay on your topic.
However, there are still more than one billion food-insecure people in the world with an additional two billion people prone to hidden hunger or malnutrition caused by the deficiency of micronutrients and protein (FAO, 2016; Onwonga, 2019). ... Food Security Essay. (2023, February 24). Edubirdie. Retrieved June 11, 2024, from https://edubirdie ...
Chad, Syria and Yemen in spotlight, too. Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen are also hotspots of "very high concern", the report noted. "A large number of people" in these countries face critical acute food insecurity, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to further intensify ...
Proposal for Solving Food Insecurity in America. Student's Name Institutional Affiliation Course Instructor Due Date. Proposal for Solving Food Insecurity in America. Synopsis. Food insecurity was expected to affect 1 in every 8 Americans in 2020, equal to approximately 38 million people, including around 12 million children.
Food insecurity —the condition assessed in the food security survey and represented in USDA food security reports—is a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food. Hunger is an individual-level physiological condition that may result from food insecurity. The word "hunger," the panel stated ...
Food insecurity adversely affects human health, which means food security and nutrition are crucial to improving people's health outcomes. Both food insecurity and health outcomes are the policy and agenda of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there is a lack of macro-level empirical studies (Macro-level study means studies at the broadest level using variables that ...
Long Essay on Food Security in India 500 Words in English. Long Essay on Food Security in India is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10. Food security is a factor that ensures the public to have access to sufficient, sanitary and nutritious food to suffice their nutritional needs and food preference for them to live a healthy and active life.
Analysis in English on Chad and 1 other country about Agriculture, Food and Nutrition and more; published on 31 May 2024 by FEWS NET
3220937. The World Food Programme (WFP) operations are being severely impacted by the escalation of fighting in the south and centre of Gaza, the limited flow of humanitarian assistance and the breakdown of law and order in the south. Humanitarian space needs to be protected to ensure safe, unhindered access to people in need.
Introduction. Food is one of the fundamental needs of human. Food security is the ability to access food by those who need it. Every household is termed as secured food wise if it has access to safe and enough food hence freedom from hunger. The World Food Organization describes this security as access to nutritious, safe and sufficient food to ...
Food insecurity in India has been a longstanding and complex issue, despite significant improvements in food production and distribution over the years. Several factors contribute to food insecurity in the country: Poverty: A significant portion of India's population lives below the poverty line. Low income and lack of economic opportunities ...
Analysis in English on Uganda about Agriculture, Food and Nutrition and Drought ... the region's food insecurity situation continues to increase with the population in IPC Phase 3 or above ...
This projection update shows that the food insecurity situation in Central African Republic remains concerning, with around 2.5 million people (41 percent of the population analysed) in IPC Phase ...