GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY INDEX (GFSI) 2021
The Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2021 ranked India at 71st position out of 113 countries with a score of 57.2 points. India fared better than Pakistan (75th), Sri Lanka (77th), Nepal (79th), and Bangladesh (84th) however it lagged way behind China (34th). The GFS Index 2021 is a global report that was released on October 19, 2021, by the Economist Impact and Corteva Agriscience. Ireland (1st), Australia (2nd), the UK (3rd), Finland (4th), Switzerland (5th), the Netherlands (6th), Canada (7th), Japan (8th), France (9th), and the US (9th) took the top ranks with scores between 84 to 79.1 points. France and the US shared the same rank with the same scores of 79.1 points.
India ranks 71st on Global Food Security Index 2021
With a score of 57.2 points, India ranked 71st on the Global Food Security Index 2021 out of 113 countries. Across the core categories, India ranked 80th on Food Affordability, 29th on Availability, 74th on Quality and Safety, and 40th on Natural Resources and Resilience. In the Food Affordability category, India (50.2 points) lagged behind Pakistan (52.6 points) and Sri Lanka (62.9 points). In the Food Quality and Safety category, India fared better than Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Over the past 10 years, the incremental gains of India in overall food security score were behind the scores of Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. A comparison shows that India’s score improved only by 2.7 points (from 54.5 in 2012 to 57.2 points in 2021). A detailed comparison shows that India’s score improved with that of Pakistan by 9 points (from 45.7 points in 2012 to 54.7 points in 2021), Nepal by 7 points (from 46.7 points in 2012 to 53.7 points in 2021), and Bangladesh by 4.7 points (from 44.4 points in 2012 to 49.1 points in 2021).
GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY INDEX 2021 – KEY FINDINGS
- The Global Food Security Index 2021 is the 10th edition that looks back over the past 10 years of data to assess the action towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030. The GFSI 2021 noted that global food security has declined for the second year in a row after seven years of progress towards the Goal of Zero Hunger.
- The GFSI 2021 shows that even though countries have made significant progress in addressing food security in the past 10 years, the food system still is vulnerable to economic, geopolitical, and climatic shocks.
- The GFSI 2021 highlights the increased need for sustainable investment in food security to be able to meet present and future challenges. These range from investment in programs to help the most vulnerable to innovation in climate-resilient crop yields.
WHAT IS THE GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY INDEX?
- The Economist Impact defines the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) as a model that indexes the core issues of food affordability, availability, quality and safety, and natural resources and resilience across a set of 113 countries. The GFSI has built a dynamic quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model using 58 unique indicators that measure food security across both developed and developing countries.
- The GFSI 2021 is the 10th edition. The Economist Impact keeps updating the model on the annual basis to record year-on-year changes in factors that impact food security across these 113 countries. The Economist Impact (the Economist Group) designs and constructs the GFSI while Corteva Agriscience sponsors it.
- The GFSI aims to provide insight to enable action to fill systematic gaps and accelerate progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.
The 2021 GFSI is the tenth edition of the index. It is published every year.
Calculation: It measures the underlying drivers of food security based on the following factors:
- Affordability
- Availability
- Quality and Safety
- Natural Resources and Resilience
It considers 58 unique food security indicators including income and economic inequality - calling attention to systemic gaps and actions needed to accelerate progress toward United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.
FINDINGS OF THE REPORTS (INDIA AND WORLD)
Top Rankers: Ireland, Austria, the UK, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, France and the US shared the top rank with the overall GFS score in the range of 77.8 and 80 points on the index.
India’s Rank: Overall Position: India held 71st position with an overall score of 57.2 points on the GFS Index 2021 of 113 countries. In Comparison to Neighbouring Countries: It fared better than Pakistan (75th position), Sri Lanka (77th Position), Nepal (79th position) and Bangladesh (84th position). But the country was way behind China (34th position). However, over the past 10 years, India’s incremental gains in overall food security score were lagging behind that of Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. India’s score improved only by 2.7 points to 57.2 in 2021 from 54.5 in 2012 when compared with Pakistan by 9 points (to 54.7 in 2021 from 45.7 in 2012). Pakistan scored better than India in the food affordability category and Sri Lanka was even better. On the remaining 3 factors, India scored better than Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
MAJOR CONCERNS RELATED TO IT:
Global food security has decreased for the second year in a row after seven years of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal of achieving zero hunger by 2030. While countries have made significant strides toward addressing food insecurity in the past ten years, food systems remain vulnerable to economic, climatic, and geopolitical shocks.
Suggestions: Action is imperative at all levels–local, national, and global–to end hunger and malnourishment and ensure food security for all. To meet these present and emerging future challenges requires that investments in food security are sustained – from innovation in climate-resilient crop yields to investing in programs to assist the most vulnerable.
INDIA RANKED AT 101ST AT GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX 2021
The 2021 Global Hunger Index (GHI) ranked India at 101st out of a total of 116 countries. The 2021 GHI report launched on October 14, 2021, stated that India with a score of 27.5 is facing a level of hunger that is serious. The Global Hunger Index released in 2020 ranked India at 94th among 107 countries. India has also been identified among the 31 countries where hunger has been identified as a serious threat. India has also ranked behind Pakistan (92nd rank), Bangladesh (76th rank), and Nepal (76th rank).
2021 GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX (GHI) – KEY POINTS
As per the current projections in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) report launched on October 14, 2021, it is estimated that the 47 countries in the world will be unable to achieve even low hunger by 2030. Although the GHI scores show that global hunger has declined since 2000, progress has slowed down. The GHI score on the global basis has fallen 4.7 points that is 25.1 to 20.4 points between 2006 and 2012. However, it has fallen just 2.5 points since 2012. Even after decades of decline, the global prevalence of undernourishment is increasing. This may be an indication of reversals in other measures of hunger.
Countries with extremely alarming and serious levels of hunger: As per the 2021 GHI report, Somalia has the highest level of hunger. With a score of 50.8 points, Somalia is facing extremely alarming levels of hunger. The other 5 countries with alarming levels of hunger are Yemen, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, and the Central African Republic. While 31 countries have shown serious levels of hunger, including India.
INDICATORS USED TO CALCULATE GHI 2021
Global Hunger Index uses four key indicators to measure progress toward Zero Hunger by 2030 at global, national and regional levels. Based on the four key indicators, the GHI assesses the level of hunger in a country on a 100-point scale wherein the score 100 is the worst (extreme hunger) and score 0 is the best (low or no hunger). The GHI score of each country is ascertained by severity, from low to extremely alarming.
For the 2021 Global Hunger Index (GHI), the four key indicators are:
- Undernourishment: the share of the population with insufficient caloric intake (data are from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization)
- Child stunting: the share of children under age five who have low height for their age (data are from UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the Demographic and Health Surveys Program)
- Child wasting: the share of children under age five who have low weight for their height (data are from UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the Demographic and Health Surveys Program)
- Child mortality: the mortality rate of children under age five (data are from the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation)
2021 Global Hunger Index (GHI): Country-wise report - India
- As per the GHI report in 2021, India ranked 101st out of a total of 116 countries. With a score of 27.5, India is facing a serious level of hunger. Only 15 countries ranked worse than India. These countries are Papua New Guinea (102), Afghanistan (103), Nigeria (103), Congo (105), Mozambique (106), Sierra Leone (106), Timor-Leste (108), Haiti (109), Liberia (110), Madagascar (111), Democratic Republic of Congo (112), Chad (113), Central African Republic (114), Yemen (115) and Somalia (116).
- Progress of India on Global Hunger Index (GHI): India has shown significant progress on the GHI score since 2000. The country has witnessed a decrease in the GHI score of 38.8 points (extreme hunger) in 2000 to 27.5 points (serious hunger) in 2021. However, child nutrition remains an area of concern for India.
TEST YOURSELF
Q.1 In the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2021, India ranked at which of the following positions out of 113 countries with a score of 57.2 points?
- 104th Rank
- 101st Rank
- 71st Rank: ANSWER
- None of the following
Q.2 Which of the following organisations is responsible behind the releasing of the Global food Security Index (GFSI) 2021?
- Food & Agriculture Organisations
- World Food Programme
- United Nations Development Programme
- Economist Impact and Corteva Agriscience: ANSWER
Q.3 Which of the following statements is/are correct in the reference to the Global food Security Index (GFSI) 2021?
- The GFSI aims to provide insight to enable action to fill systematic gaps and accelerate progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.
- It measures the underlying drivers of food security based on the four factors which includes Affordability, Availability, Quality and Safety, Natural Resources and Resilience
- Only I follows
- Only II follows
- Both I & II follows
- None of the following
Q.4 Global Hunger Index report 2020 is co-published by which of the following institutions?
- US based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
- Germany-based Welthungerhilfe
- Irish NGO Concern Worldwide
- Both B & C: ANSWER
Q.5 Global Hunger Index report 2020 is calculated on the basis of four factors. Which of the following is not one of these?
- Undernourishment
- Child Stunting
- Child Abuse: ANSWER
- Child Mortality
