Global Food Security Index 2012 – Nepal in 79th Rank

'Economic Intelligence Unit' of 'the Economist' has recently published "Global Food Security Index 2012". According to the report, Nepal scored 35.2 (highest score 89.5 – USA) out of 100 (where 100 is most favorable) and placed in 79^th rank out of 105 countries ranked.  Nepal is in 4^th rank (after Uganda, Kenya and Myanmar) among low income (US$ 1005 per capita or less) countries where countries are grouped by the World Bank income group classifications. Nepal is in the second last position in South- Asia (first being Bangladesh). Kongo is in the last place scoring 18.4. 

Global Food Security Index uses the following definition of food security to calculate the index.

“When people at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs for a healthy and active life”.

The index is calculated on the basis of "affordability and financial access", "availability", and "food quality and safety" each of which is further divided into a series of indicators that evaluate programs, policies or practices that influence food security.

 Key Findings of the Study (copied from the report):

• The US, Denmark, Norway and France are the most food-secure countries in the world. A combination of ample food supplies, high incomes, low spending on food relative to other outlays, and significant investment in agricultural research and development (R&D) put these countries at the top of the 105-nation index.
• The food supply in advanced countries averages 1,200 calories more per person, per day, than in low-income economies. The average individual needs 2,300 calories per day to live a healthy and active life. Among wealthy nations, there is enough food for each person to eat 1,100 calories above that benchmark; in low-income countries, national food supplies fall, on average, 100 calories short of it.
• Several of the sub-Saharan African countries that finished in the bottom third of the index, including Mozambique, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Niger, will be among the world’s faster growing economies during the next two years. Although still poor in absolute terms, rising incomes suggest that these countries may be in a position to address food insecurity more forcefully in coming years.
• Several policy and nutrition related indicators, including access to financing for farmers, the presence of food safety net programmes, protein quality and diet diversification, are highly correlated with overall food security. Governments may be better able to influence improvements in these areas than in more structural indicators, such as per-capita income.
• China experienced the least volatility of agricultural production during the last 20 years, and three North African countries—Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria —among the most. Countries with wide variances in annual farm output were considered less food secure and scored less well in the index. 
•  The most food secure nations score less well for micro-nutrient availability. Of the top ten countries in the index overall, only France ranks in the top ten for micro-nutrient availability. For many advanced economies, it is among their weakest scores. Germany, for example, ranks 10th overall but 43rd for micro-nutrients. The low ranks are primarily owing to limited availability of vegetable iron in national food supplies, as measured in the FAO Food Balance Sheets.
• Landlocked countries fared nearly as well as those with a coastline. The 22 landlocked countries in the index on average scored only seven points lower than those that are not landlocked. This suggests that although small countries without seaports may be particularly vulnerable to food shocks, being landlocked in itself does not translate into a significantly greater degree of food insecurity.

Highlights of the Report

Rise of Global Food Price VS Inflation

          

     Average Food Supply 

     

      Spending on Food as a Share of all Household Spending

      Micro-nutrient Availability VS Overall Rank