Food security | Growing food insecurity in 2023

Last updated – October 2, 2023

Domestic food price inflation remains high around the world. Information from the last month between May and August 2023 for which food price inflation data is available shows high inflation in many low- and middle-income countries, with inflation above 5% in 52.6% of low-income countries, 86.4% of low-income countries. -middle-income countries and 64% of upper-middle-income countries, many of which are experiencing double-digit inflation. Additionally, 69.6% of high-income countries experience high food price inflation. The most affected countries are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia. In real terms, food price inflation exceeded headline inflation (measured by the annual change in the headline consumer price index) in 79.4% of the 165 countries for which food CPI and Overall IPC are both available.

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The agricultural price and export indices closed down 1% and 2% respectively compared to two weeks ago; while the cereal price index closed up 2%. The prices of rice and wheat, which closed up 6% and 2% respectively from two weeks ago, led the increase in the cereal price index. On an annual basis, corn and wheat prices are 29% and 31% lower, respectively, although rice prices continue their upward trend and are currently 38% higher. Compared to January 2021, corn prices are 7% lower, wheat prices are 10% lower and rice prices are 23% higher (see “pink sheet” data on price indices for agricultural and food raw materials, updated monthly.)

THE mid-term evaluation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development highlights concerns about achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to food and agriculture in the face of multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and armed conflict, which threaten global progress in to eradicate poverty and improve food security and nutrition and improve health. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that between 691 million and 783 million people will suffer from hunger worldwide in 2022, erasing progress made since 2015. Additionally, food insecurity increased from 25.3% in 2019 to 29.6% in 2022, with severe food insecurity affecting 11.3 million people. % of world population. This means that 180 million more people face severe food insecurity compared to 2019. In 2022, 27.8% of women and 25.4% of men globally faced moderate or severe food insecurity. Although the global gender gap in food insecurity has narrowed slightly, the outlook remains poor.

There have been significant trade disruptions in global food and agricultural markets, including India’s recent ban on rice exports and trade restrictions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, raising concerns about food security, price unpredictability and the ability of the global trading system to withstand. such challenges. The global rice market has seen significant turbulence since India, the world’s top rice exporter, began implementing a series of export restrictions in July, including a ban on exports of milled white rice. , an export tax on parboiled rice and the establishment of an export minimum. basmati rice price. India’s dominance as the cheapest supplier of white rice, particularly to sub-Saharan Africa since 2020, has raised concerns about the potential impact of a significant rise in rice prices on this dependent region imports. Trade restrictions have also disrupted the fertilizer sector over the past year. The invasion of Ukraine not only increased fertilizer prices, but also grain prices, peaking in May 2022. The easing of export restrictions and sanctions, as well as the partial reopening of transit via the Black Sea, helped stabilize grain markets.

THE new Global Food Crises Report 2023, biannual update shows that 238 million people in 48 countries face acute food and nutrition insecurity. Nine countries have experienced an increase in acute food insecurity since 2022. Sudan has been particularly affected, with an increase of 8.6 million people experiencing acute food insecurity (74%). Burundi and Somalia saw an increase of one million people each, increasing the acutely food insecure population by 65% ​​and 18%, respectively. There are three main drivers of food insecurity in 2023, namely conflict, economic challenges and climate-induced extreme weather events.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, trade policies imposed by countries have increased. The global food crisis has been partly aggravated by the growing number of food trade restrictions put in place by countries in an attempt to increase domestic supplies and reduce prices. As of September 25, 2023, 19 countries have implemented 25 food export bans and 7 have implemented 12 export limitation measures.

World Bank action

In May 2022, the World Bank committed to releasing $30 billion over a period of 15 months to address the crisis. We have exceeded this objective. The World Bank has scaled up its food and nutrition security response, and is now making $45 billion available through a combination of $22 billion in new loans and $23 billion from the existing portfolio.

Our food and nutrition security portfolio now extends to 90 countries. It includes both short-term interventions, such as expanding social protection, but also longer-term resilience, such as increasing productivity and climate-smart agriculture.

The Bank’s intervention is expected to benefit 335 million people, or 44% of the number of undernourished people. Around 53% of beneficiaries are women – they are disproportionately more affected by the crisis. Here are some examples :

1. The 766 million dollars West Africa Food Systems Resilience Program works to increase preparedness against food insecurity and improve the resilience of food systems in West Africa. The program increases digital advisory services for the prevention and management of agricultural and food crises, strengthens the adaptive capacity of agricultural system actors and invests in the integration of regional food markets and trade to increase food security . An additional $345 million is currently in preparation for Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
2. A $150 million grant for the second phase of the Yemen Food Security and Resilience Response and Resilience Project, which will help address food insecurity, build resilience and protect livelihoods.
3. Donate $50 million in additional funding for Tajikistan to mitigate the impacts of food and nutritional insecurity on households and improve the overall resilience of the agricultural sector.
4. A $125 million project in Jordan aims to strengthen the development of the agricultural sector by improving its climate resilience, increasing competitiveness and inclusion and ensuring food security in the medium and long term.
5. A $300 million project in Bolivia this will help increase food security, access to markets and the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices.
6. A $315 million loan to support Chad, Ghana and Sierra Leone to increase their preparedness for food insecurity and improve the resilience of their food systems.
7. A $500 million Emergency Food Security and Resilience Support Project to support Egypt’s efforts to ensure that poor and vulnerable households have uninterrupted access to bread, help strengthen the country’s resilience to food crises, and support reforms that will help improve nutritional outcomes.
8. A $130 million loan for Tunisiaseeking to mitigate the impact of the war in Ukraine by financing vital soft wheat imports and providing emergency support to cover imports of barley for dairy production and seeds for smallholder farmers for the upcoming season of seedlings.
9. The 2.3 billion dollars Food Systems Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa, helps countries in Eastern and Southern Africa increase the resilience of the region’s food systems and their capacity to combat growing food insecurity. The program will strengthen the inter-institutional response to the food crisis, also stimulate medium and long-term efforts towards resilient agricultural production, sustainable development of natural resources, expanded access to markets and greater attention given to the resilience of food systems in policy making.

In May 2022, the World Bank Group and the G7 Presidency met jointly the Global Alliance for Food Security, which aims to catalyze an immediate and concerted response to the ongoing global food crisis. The Alliance developed the publicly accessible site Global Dashboard on Food and Nutrition Securitywhich provides timely information to global and local decision-makers to help them improve the coordination of the policy and financial response to the food crisis.

The leaders of the FAO, IMF, World Bank Group, WFP and WTO released a Third joint declaration on February 8, 2023. The declaration calls for preventing a worsening of the food and nutrition security crisis, and additional urgent measures are needed to (i) save hunger hotspots, (ii) facilitate trade, improve functioning of markets and strengthening the role of markets. of the private sector, and (iii) reform and redirect harmful subsidies with careful targeting and effectiveness. Countries must balance urgent short-term interventions with longer-term resilience efforts as they respond to the crisis.

Last updated: October 2, 2023