Released yesterday by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the 2020 Global Food Security Index (GFSI) revealed a deterioration of global food security for a second year in a row with increased inequality and climate risks.
The results were also compounded with COVID-19 causing pressure on incomes, government support programmes as well as the entire food production and supply chain.
The index showed that only 55 countries had sufficiently funded national support programmes in place to help vulnerable groups, with climate change increasing food environment inequality both internally and externally of countries.
The Index measures how effective a country is at meeting its populations calorie and nutritional needs, based on the four factors of affordability, availability, quality and safety, as well as the newly introduced: “natural resources and resilience”.
The introduction of the new factor is intended to link the issues with climate change with dwindling food security.
James C. Collins, Jr. chief executive officer of Corteva Agriscience says “Corteva believes that it is crucial for all stakeholders to have an honest conversation about insights and solutions to address global food insecurity, and the GFSI sits at the heart of it.”
The index is done across 113 countries and also measures external factors such as agricultural infrastructure, political stability and climate risks. Resultantly, this highlights systemic issues as well as the increasing effects of climate change and impacts of COVID-19.
It is hoped that the GFSI report highlights the importance of building resilient food systems while addressing the systemic inequalities.
Pratima Singh, project lead for the GSFI at The Economist Intelligence Unit says “We need to address the structural inequalities—economic, social and environmental—that were a fundamental feature of the pandemic. Governments and policymakers, NGOs, and the private sector all have a role to play as we aim to recover from the impact of covid-19 on economies and food systems and invest in innovation to strengthen our global food environment.”