Readings
Related Amber Waves Articles
Readings
Related Links
Readings
Issues
Related to Food Security
International Food
Security Assessment 2011-21 (July 2011) estimates that the
number of food-insecure people in 77 lower-income countries will
decrease about 1 percent from 2010 to 852 million in 2011.
The number of food-insecure people at the aggregate level is
projected to decline by 16 percent over the next decade, with most
of the improvement coming in Asia and Latin America and the
Caribbean.
International Food
Security Assessment, 2010 Update: Improved Production Mitigated
Impact of Higher Food Commodity Prices (May 2011) updates food
commodity prices, domestic grain production, and export earnings
data used in the USDA-ERS Food Security Assessment,
2010-20. Results show an overall improvement in food
security for 2010 relative to the 2010 projections despite the
higher prices. The total number of food-insecure people is
estimated to be 9 percent lower than the initial estimate.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the one region included in the study where
food security is estimated to have unambiguously improved relative
to the earlier analysis. With domestic grain production
accounting for roughly 80 percent of the region's grain
consumption, the key driver of the improved result was an increase
in grain production compared to the earlier estimate. In
fact, many countries in the region had bumper grain crops in
2010.
Food Security
Assessment 2010-20 (July 2010) estimates that the number of
food-insecure people in 70 lower income developing countries will
decrease about 7.5 percent from 2009 to 882 million in 2010, due in
part to economic recovery in many of these countries. The
number of food-insecure people at the aggregate level will not
improve much over the next decade, declining by 1 percent from 2010
to 2020.
Food Security
Assessment, 2008-09 (June 2009) estimates that after rising
nearly 11 percent from 2007 to 2008, the number of food-insecure
people in 70 lower income countries will rise to 833 million in
2009, an almost 2-percent rise from 2008 to 2009. Despite a decline
in food prices in late 2008, deteriorating purchasing power and
food security are expected in 2009 because of the growing financial
deficits and higher inflation that have occurred in recent
years
Obesity in the Midst of Unyielding Food Insecurity
in Developing Countries (September 2008) recounts that the
continued escalation of food prices has again focused attention on
global food insecurity and its root cause, poverty. Despite
international commitments to improve food security in low-income
countries, progress has been limited. However, the persistence of
widespread food insecurity is troublesome because food consumption
in many developing countries has improved, sometimes to the point
that overweight and obesity are becoming concerns.
Food Security
Assessment, 2007 (July 2008) projects that the food security
situation in 70 developing countries will deteriorate over the next
decade. The estimates also indicate that the number of
food-insecure people for these countries rose between 2006 and
2007, from 849 million to 982 million. Food and fuel price hikes,
coupled with a slowdown in global economic growth, hinder long-term
food security progress. For a related Amber Waves article,
see A Pilot Program for U.S. Food Aid (November
2008).
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.
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.
Food Security Assessment, 2004-05 (May 2005)
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. Over the coming decade, food security is projected to
improve most significantly in Asia, followed by Latin America and
the Caribbean. The situation is expected to deteriorate in
Sub-Saharan Africa, where deep poverty, political unrest, and the
effects of HIV/AIDS hinder prospects for improvement.
Food Security Assessment, 2003-04 (May 2004)
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. Food aid's past performance and future role are discussed
in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. food aid
program. Special articles focus on food security and food
assistance programs in Brazil and food security developments in
Russia.
Food Security Assessment, 2002-03 (February
2003) 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 New Independent States of the
former Soviet Union. Special articles focus on methods used to
measure food security in the United States and consumer and
producer price policies in India.
Food Security Assessment, 2001 (April 2002)
projects food gaps in 67 potentially food-insecure countries and
presents findings for North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin
America and the Caribbean, and the New Independent States of the
former Soviet Union. A special article focuses on market reform and
food security policies in China.
Food Security in Central America (October
2001) is a series of five reports that were produced as part of
USDA reconstruction activities for Hurricane Mitch. They focus on
the four individual countries most affected by the hurricane-El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The reports cover
issues including historical trends of imports, production, and
yields; country-level food gaps; implications of changes in growing
conditions and movements in export prices on food availability;
resource/land-quality constraints to increasing agricultural
output; and the cost of a healthy food basket, with comparisons of
this cost to income levels in the four countries.
Issues in Food Security (April and June 2001) discusses
a broad range of issues to consider at a global level if
countries-and their households-are to become and remain food
secure. (Links below are PDF files 
)
Food Security Assessment, 2000 (March 2001) measures food security in low-income
developing countries. Two articles focus on the impacts of land
degradation and HIV/AIDS on food security.
Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan
Africa (December 2000) reviews
the historical role of population and the labor force in food
markets in Sub-Saharan Africa and the expected impact of HIV/AIDS
on the structure of the population.
Food Security Assessment: Why Countries Are at
Risk (August 1999) studies trends
in food security in low-income developing countries and examines
performance of the key factors contributing to these trends:
agricultural productivity, foreign exchange earnings, and
population growth.
Income Inequality and Food Security (November 1997) presents
measurements of inequality among countries and discusses factors
that could affect income inequality and food security.
Improving Food
Security
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.
International Evidence on Food Consumption
Patterns (October 2003) analyzes expenditures across 114
countries on major consumption categories, including food and
different food subcategories. Results indicate poorer countries are
more responsive to price and income changes and also allocate
larger shares of their total budget to necessities such as
food.
Safety Nets: An Issue in Global Agricultural Trade
Liberalization (March 2002) examines
which developing countries may benefit and which may lose in the
face of liberalization. Current global safety nets, including food
aid, are inadequate to stabilize food supplies for vulnerable
countries. New proposals are being assessed that could help
stabilize grain import prices or manage import costs.
Food Aid: How Effective in Addressing Food
Security? (March 2002) evaluates
food security situations in 67 developing countries by first
projecting the gaps between estimated food consumption and several
consumption targets through the next decade. ERS then calculates
the food gaps that would remain even after food aid allocations,
using the most recently available food aid data.
Who Will Be Fed in the 21st Century? Challenges
for Science and Policy (2001) describes how innovative
technologies and sound polices can help enhance food supplies and
access to food. The number of food-insecure people in the
developing world has declined in recent years, but lack of
sufficient access to nutritious food remains a persistent problem
with devastating human costs.
Policy Options to Stabilize Food Supplies: A Case
Study of Southern Africa (June 2001) finds that, for the
Southern Africa region, both a grain-stocking program and an import
insurance program would have reduced food-supply variability more
than historical food aid during 1970-95. The stocking program, and
possibly the import insurance program, would have been less
expensive than food aid from a donor point of view.
Trade and Food Security
Trade and Development When Exports Lack
Diversification: A Case Study from Malawi (July 2009) examines
Malawi, a country that earns most of its foreign exchange from
tobacco, as a study of export concentration and heavy exposure to
volatility. The econometric results suggest that the decline in
Malawi's gross domestic product (GDP) when tobacco exports are
falling is almost three times greater than the increase in GDP when
exports are rising.
Indian Wheat and Rice
Sector Policies and the Implications of Reform (May 2007)
suggests that future developments in India's food grain sector will
be shaped by how policies adapt to the sector's new economic
environment. Some changes, such as reducing price supports and the
scope of government food grain operations, would likely cut
government costs, benefit consumers, allow a larger private sector
role in the domestic market, and increase reliance on trade.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act: How Much
Opportunity? 
(August 2002) reviews the
potential implications of the Act, which Congress passed in May
2000, on trade for Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Impacts of Reform on Developing Countries (January 2001) reviews the implications of a
more liberalized global trading environment for trade and food gaps
in lower income countries.
Low-Income Developing Countries and Trade
Liberalization: An Overview of the Issues (December 1999) discusses likely issues for
agricultural trade negotiations with direct or indirect impacts on
the food security of developing countries.
Agricultural Resources and
Productivity
Linking Land Quality, Agricultural Productivity,
and Food Security (June 2003)
explores the extent to which land quality and land degradation
affect agricultural productivity, how farmers respond to land
degradation, and whether land degradation poses a threat to
productivity growth and food security in developing regions and
around the world. Results suggest that land degradation does not
threaten food security at the global scale, but does pose problems
in areas where soils are fragile, property rights are insecure, and
farmers have limited access to information and markets.
Sustainable Resource Use and Global Food
Security
(February 2003) illustrates that the
concept of food security has expanded in recent years from a
relatively static focus on food availability to one that recognizes
longer term concerns about access and resources.
Does Land Degradation Threaten Global Agricultural
Productivity and Food Security?
(June-July 2002) reviews the impact
of soil erosion and other forms of land degradation on productivity
growth and food insecurity, particularly where fragile resources
combine with poverty and poorly functioning markets. The article
finds that, when markets function well, farmers have incentives to
adopt appropriate conservation practices.
Resource Quality, Agricultural Productivity, and
Food Security in Developing Countries
(December 2000) takes advantage of
recent advances in data and analytical methods to improve
understanding of the ways in which agricultural productivity and
food security are affected by the quality of resources.
Agricultural Productivity and Food Security in
Sub-Saharan Africa
(December 1998) studies patterns of
agricultural productivity growth and finds that most of the
variation is due to differences in the application of conventional
inputs such as labor and fertilizer.
Resources, Sustainability, and Food Security
(November 1997) explains the links
between resources and food security and presents selected
indicators of natural, produced, social, and human resources.
Related Links
U.S. Department of
Agriculture
World Agricultural Outlook Board. Supply and
demand estimates, weather, and climate.
Foreign
Agricultural Service. Country and commodity information and
more.
- Food aid information. Descriptions of the P.L.
480 program, data for the last 3 years of sales, and updates on
current transactions and press releases.
Other U.S.
Government
State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID). Current news on disasters, the agency budget, and policy
updates.
- Sub-Saharan Africa. Information on USAID
activities in the region, country information, speeches, and press
releases.
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook. Information (geographic,
economic, and political) on 267 geographic entities in the
world.
International Organizations
United Nations, Food and Agricultural Organization.
- FAOSTAT. Data on production, trade, food
balance sheets, fertilizer and pesticides, land use and irrigation,
forest and fishery products, population, agricultural machinery,
and food aid shipments.
-
Global Information and Early Warning System.
Information on global crop outlook, shortages, weather updates,
special reports on countries/regions suffering from severe or
emergency food situations, and country-by-country information on
Sub-Saharan Africa.
World Bank. Country and regional reports and
data.
International Monetary Fund. Publications,
country information, and press releases.
Other
International
Food Policy Research Institute. Research and policy analysis
for meeting the food needs of developing countries.
FIVIMS (Food Insecurity and Vulnerability
Information and Mapping System), World Food Summit.
Michigan State University; Department of Agricultural, Food, and
Resource Economics; Food Security Group. Information on the
Department's cooperative agreement with USAID's Global Bureau,
including links to project objectives, country/regional activities,
and publications from 1993 to the present.