India ranks 71st in world food security index

India has been ranked 71st in the world in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI 2020). The index is developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Britain.

Pakistan was ranked 80th in the index. Compared with 2019 the overall scores of Pakistan and Nepal have increased, with Pakistan registering 2.6 increased and Nepal 1.8 during 2020.

The 113 countries included in the GFSI cover five regions—Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and North America. In addition to the global report, reports for each region are also available, providing deeper analysis of region-specific performance in the 2020 index.

In the Asia-Pacific region, India was ranked 16 with a score of 58.9 out of 100. Sri Lanka was ranked higher at 14 with a score of 60.8 while Pakistan was ranked at 18 with a score of 56.8. Nepal was ranked below Pakistan with a score of 56.4 and Bangladesh was ranked 20 with a score of 53.2.

There is significant disparity in food security across the region. It is home to the top performer in the index, Singapore, and food security is generally high in the other developed nations of the region: Australia, New Zealand and Japan. However, much of the region is dominated by emerging economies that score below average in the index, with lower levels of economic development and lack of dietary diversity as common factors, the report noted in the region specific document.

Government support in the form of safety nets, financing and subsidies for agricultural production provides a strong foundation for affordability and availability of food, though high levels of corruption in a number of countries in Asia limit the effectiveness of these programmes. The quality of the food supply in some countries suffers from a lack of dietary diversity as non-starchy food sources are either less available or less in demand, it said.
As the agricultural sector has grown and contributes a larger share of GDP, this growth has generally not been matched with proportionate increases in research and development (R&D) or investment in the sector.

Government efforts to manage climate risks to the sector are also lacking. Developing countries in Asia are the hardest hit by natural disasters, accounting for more than half of the world’s disaster fatalities each year, and the region is vulnerable to rises in sea level and flooding, which puts the food supply at risk. While high income countries generally do better in coping with climate risks, the recent wildfires in Australia are a clear indicator that current measures may not be adequate to address these threats.

The key gaps the report pointed out in the region are decline in public spending on agricultural R&D is relative to the sector’s GDP; high corruption levels in developing countries that affect food availability through poor management of resources; poor quality of food from a lack of diet diversity and availability of micronutrients and quality protein in the food supply; high risks due to the region’s vulnerability to flooding, sea level rise and an increase in temperatures and drought susceptibility; and lag in efforts to adapt agricultural practices in accordance with climate risks.