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Global Food Security Index 2021

Posted on October 21, 2021 by admin1  834

In News 

  • Recently, the Global Food Security index 2021 was released by Economist Impact and Corteva Agriscience.
    • It is the tenth edition of the index.

About Global Food Security Index (GFSI)

  • It considers the issues of food affordability, availability, quality and safety, and natural resources and resilience across a set of 113 countries. 
  • The index is a dynamic quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model constructed from 58 unique indicators that measure the drivers of food security across both developing and developed countries.
  • It calls attention to systemic gaps and actions needed to accelerate progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.
  • This edition of the GFSI incorporates the “Natural Resources and Resilience” category into the main index. 
    • This category assesses a country’s exposure to the impacts of a changing climate; its susceptibility to natural resource risks; and how the country is adapting to these risks, all of which impact the incidence of food insecurity in a country. 

                  Image Courtesy:impact.economist.com

Major Highlights of Index

  • Top Rankers: 

Image Courtesy: impact.economist.com

  • Ireland, Australia, the UK, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, France and the US shared the top rank with the overall GFS score in the range of 77.8 and 80 points on the index.
  • India’s Ranking: 
    • India is ranked at 71st position with an overall score of 57.2 points but the country lags behind its neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka in terms of food affordability.
    • Overall, India fared better than Pakistan (75th position), Sri Lanka (77th Position), Nepal (79th position) and Bangladesh (84th position). But the country was way behind China (34th position).
  • Issues:  
    • The findings of the GFS Index 2021 also showed that global food security has decreased for the second year in a row after seven years of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal of achieving zero hunger by 2030.
  • The index shows that, while countries have made significant strides toward addressing food insecurity in the past ten years, food systems remain vulnerable to economic, climatic, and geopolitical shocks. 
  • Suggestions: 
    • Action is imperative at all levels–local, national, and global–to end hunger and malnourishment and ensure food security for all.
    • The Index shows that to meet these present and emerging future challenges requires that investments in food security are sustained – from innovation in climate-resilient crop yields to investing in programs to assist the most vulnerable.

What is Food Security?

  • It is access to enough food by all people at all times for an active and healthy life. 
  • Three Dimensions:  Food availability,  Food accessibility &  Food affordability.

Importance of Food Security

  • 101st position among 116 countries in the GHI 2021 (serious level)
  • Nearly 47 million or 4 out of 10 children in India are not meeting their full human potential because of chronic undernutrition and stunting: UN

Challenges to Food Security in India

  • Overpopulation & Poverty: High per cent of people under BPL.
  • Lack of storage facilities: Improper storage facilities for grains & cold storage facilities.
  • Transportation infrastructure: Poor roads and inefficient transport systems & limited reach of Mandies.
  • Food Wastage: India being the 2nd largest vegetable producer, encounter a waste of close to 18% worth INR 44,000 crore ($7 billion) of produce
  • Policy & adm issues: Fragmented approach & improper implementation & lack of monitoring.
  • Climatic Change: Like unreliable rainfall, flash floods, cyclones etc
  • Lack of Awareness: About food security programmes
  • Shift from cultivation of food crops to cultivation of fruits

Indian Initiatives  For Food Safety and Security

  • “Save Food, Share Food, Share Joy”: 
    • It was launched by the FSSAI in December 2017. 
    • It aims to promote food sharing among consumers and food businesses in India, while also targeting the coalition of food collection partners in the country to fight the issue of hunger and preventing food loss and food waste.
    • Eat Right India Movement:
      • It was launched by FSSAI in July 2018.
      • Tagline: ‘Sahi Bhojan. Behtar Jeevan’.
      • It aims to improve public health in India and combat negative nutritional trends to fight lifestyle diseases.
  • State Food Safety Index:
  • FSSAI has developed the State Food Safety Index to measure the performance of states on various parameters of Food Safety.  
  • This index is based on the performance of State/ UT on five significant parameters, namely, Human Resources and Institutional Data, Compliance, Food Testing – Infrastructure and Surveillance, Training & Capacity Building and Consumer Empowerment.
  • Eat Right Mela:
  • The Eat Right Mela would be conducted annually by FSSAI headquarters in New Delhi. 
  • This is an infotainment model of a street food festival to engage, excite and enable citizens to make the right food choices. 
  • The Mela provides an opportunity to learn about safe food and healthy diets, including quick tests for adulterants, health and nutrition benefits of food, dietary advice by experts, information on Government programmes and initiatives, and much more. 
  • Poshan (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) Abhiyaan:
  • It aims at improving nutritional outcomes for children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers. 
  • The programme was launched by the Prime Minister on March 8, 2018, on the occasion of International Women’s Day from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.
  • It directs the attention of the country towards the problem of malnutrition and addresses it in a mission mode. 
  •  Mission Poshan 2.0
    • It is an integrated nutrition support programme, to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach and outcomes with a focus on developing practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity to disease and malnutrition.
  • National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013:
  • It was enacted in July, 2013 which gives legal entitlement to 67% of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas) to receive highly subsidized foodgrains.
  • Under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), foodgrain is sold at highly subsidized prices of Rs. 1/-, Rs. 2/- and Rs. 3/- per kg for nutri-cereals, wheat and rice respectively.
  • Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS):
    • It was launched on 2nd October 1975 and it represents one of the world’s largest and unique programmes for early childhood care and development.
    • The beneficiaries under the Scheme are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers
    • Ministry of Women and Child Development is the implementing agency

Way Forward

  • Agriculture development for small and marginal farmers.
  • Infrastructure creation & proper monitoring
  • Crop Diversification, establishing Food grain banks

Source: IE

 
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