Overview
Worldwide, some 1 billion people in 70 lower income countries
are hungry, and the situation could grow worse in the
poorest countries. Ironically, most of these people live
in rural areas where food is produced. But food availability
does not guarantee food security, which depends also on
the ability to buy food and to utilize it effectively.
Individual health and education levels, as well as local
conditions such as safety of the water supply, affect
the ability to utilize food effectively.
At the "World Food Summit: Five Years Later"
in June 2002, 186 countries reaffirmed the global commitment
of halving the number of undernourished people by 2015.
They called for allocating additional resources to battle
hunger and food insecurity. Donors pledged support, particularly
for technology transfers aimed at increasing food production.
Donor countries pledged to continue providing food aid.
Some regions and countries—due in part to policy
changes, stronger economic growth, and food aid—have
significantly improved their food security situation since
the 1996 Summit. This includes several lower income countries
in Asia and Latin America. Sub-Saharan Africa, however,
has seen little progress, and prospects for improvement
are not strong. More overview...
Features
Rising Food Prices Intensify Food Insecurity in Developing Countries (February 2008) reports that the use of food crops for biofuels, coupled with greater food demand, has reversed the path of declining price trends for several commodities. For highly import-dependent or highly food-insecure countries, any decline in import capacity stemming from rising food prices can have challenging food security implications. Food aid, a key safety net source, has stagnated during the last two decades, and its share has declined relative to total food imports of low-income countries.
 Food Security Assessment, 2006 (June 2007) projects that the number of hungry people in 70 lower income countries rose between 2005 and 2006, from 804 million to 849 million. However, the food distribution gap—an indicator of food access—declined, which means that, although more people are vulnerable to food insecurity, the intensity was less in 2006 than in 2005. By 2016, the number of hungry people is projected to decline in all regions, except Sub-Saharan Africa.
Recommended Readings
Fifty
Years of U.S. Food Aid and Its Role in Reducing World Hunger
(September 2004) states that most poor countries do not have the financial
resources to support national food safety net programs.
As a result, they depend on international food aid. Differing
objectives in food aid programs, lack of consistency among
donors' approaches to food aid, and types of food donated—the
share of higher priced, noncereal foods, which are unlikely
to reach the poorest segment of the population, is growing—are
just a few factors that limit the effectiveness of food
aid.
Food
Security Assessment, 2005 (May 2006) estimates and projects
food gaps in 70 low-income developing countries and
presents
findings for North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia,
Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Commonwealth
of Independent States. On average, there has been a
slight decline in the number of hungry people, from
688 million in 1992-94 to 639 million in 2002-04. Asia
experienced the greatest decline in the number of hungry
people. Despite strong growth in food production, Sub-Saharan
Africa is the only region where the number of hungry
people—over 19 percent of the population—has
risen during the last decade.
Issues in Food Security (April and June 2001), a
series of concise papers, summarizes ERS research on food
security assessment, natural resource implications, trade
and external support, and food security in the United
States.
See all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
Production, Supply,
and Distribution (PS&D) contains official USDA data
on production, supply, and distribution of agricultural
commodities for the United States and major importing and
exporting countries. The database provides projections for
the coming year and historical data for more than 200 countries
and major crop, livestock, fishery, and forest products.
Related Briefing Rooms
U.S. Agricultural Trade
Food Security in the
United States
Global Resources and
Productivity
Questions and Answers
Important Questions and Answers
on issues of food security.
Related Links
Additional data and information on food security and
related issues in developing countries are available from
USDA, other U.S. Government sources, international organizations,
and others.
See all related links...
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