|
`
Role of Emerging Countries in Global Food Security
Food availability, stability, and access and proper nutrition are essential components for the wellbeing and productivity of all people. However, despite progress in the 1970s and 1980s, the number of undernourished people has been rising steadily since the 1990s and, most recently, has increased sharply as a consequence of the food and financial crises. The current state of global food insecurity raises serious concerns, with the number of hungry people surpassing one billion in 2009. The forces challenging food security include population growth and demographic changes, high and volatile food prices, and environmental constraints and changes. At the same time, the rapidly growing economic strength and size of emerging countries such as China, India and Brazil have resulted in a more complex political and economic environment that has a significant impact to achieve and sustain global food security: Recent analyses of the effects of the financial crisis indicate that emerging countries and their above-average growth have helped low-income countries overcome the worst effects of the crisis. Furthermore, emerging countries have the potential to play a key role in the reduction of global food insecurity not only by alleviating hunger among their own citizens but also through growing trade and financial linkages, technology and knowledge exchanges between emerging and developing countries. The objective of this paper is to examine the growing role that the emerging countries of Brazil, China, and India can play in raising global food security. Shengen Fan is the Director General of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Joanna Brzeska is a consultant of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) |