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The number of food-insecure people in 70 developing countries rose from 849 million to 982 million in 2006-07, USDA’s Economic Research Service estimates.

28th August 08 - Economic Research Service, US Dept. of Agriculture

Link to the report: Food Security Assessment, 2007

Food insecure people are those consuming less than the nutritional target of 2,100 calories per day. The food security situation of these countries is projected to deteriorate over the next decade. The distribution gap—an indicator of food access—is projected to rise from 44 million tons in 2007 to more than 57 million tons in 2017. This is more than seven times the amount of food aid received by these countries in 2006. Sub-Saharan Africa, already the most vulnerable region with the lowest calorie intake levels, will suffer the greatest deterioration in food security.

What Is the Issue?

Over the next decade, a slowdown in worldwide economic growth is projected to combine with food and fuel price hikes to contribute to an ongoing deterioration in global food security. This will have a particularly negative impact on the developing countries that are already the most food-insecure—those in Sub-Saharan Africa. By 2017, SSA will account for more than half of the food-insecure people of the 70 countries while accounting for about a quarter of the population.

The most significant regional change is occurring and will continue to occur in Asia. Previous projections had predicted long-term improvements in food security in Asia, but current analysis shows those improvements slowing to a halt.

The report, the latest in an ERS annual series, examines food prices and other factors that affect food security globally, regionally, and in 70 developing countries studied. Researchers also measure the food distribution gap (the amount of food needed to raise consumption of each income group to the nutritional requirement) and examine the factors that shape food security. Food security is defined as access by all people at all times to enough food for an active and healthy life.

Link to original source  (ERS report summary)

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