1. Global Food Security Index
Focus on:
Resilience for food and nutrition security
for the
Conference workshop: IFPRI 2020
May 15, 2014
Sponsored by
2. Overview of the Global Food Security Index
The Global Food Security Index:
ranks and scores 107 countries
according to the structural resilience of their food systems
using 27 indicators from three categories: Affordability; Availability; Quality and Safety.
Employed a collaborative approach to framework development via an expert panel
The index examines the effectiveness of food systems across the internationally
established dimensions of food security
Focus is on the underlying factors that influence the ability of consumers to access
sufficient amounts of safe, high-quality and affordable food.
The Global Food Security Index seeks to establish an evaluative framework for national
food systems to understand the drivers of food security
Based on a central definition: Food security exists 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.
3. Geographic coverage: 107 countries in 2013, 2 to be added for 2014
Argentina, Bolivia,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El
Salvador, Guatemala,
Haiti, Honduras, Mexico,
Nicaragua, Panama,
Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay,
Venezuela
Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia,
Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK
Canada,
United States of America
Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina
Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Cote
d’Ivoire, Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia,
Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar,
Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique,
Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan,
Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Zambia
Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh,
Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia,
Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New
Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi
Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri
Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand,
Turkey, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
4. Index
Availability
Quality and
Safety
Affordability
Index framework: overview
External
Adjustment
Diet diversification
Nutritional standards
Micronutrient availability
Protein quality
Food safety
Food consumption as a share of household
expenditure
Percent of population under global poverty line
GDP per capita, $US, PPP
Agricultural import tariffs
Presence of food safety nets
Access to finance for farmers
Sufficiency of supply
Public expenditure on agricultural R&D
Agricultural infrastructure
Volatility of agricultural
production
Political stability risk
Corruption
Urban absorption capacity
Food Price Adjustment Factor
FAO global food price index
adjusted for income growth,
exchange rates and a pass-
through coefficient of global to
national food prices on a
quarterly basis
Applied to Affordability score
Released 22 April 2014
* Composite indicators are bolded.
5. Index framework: Quarterly Food Price Adjustment Factor
• Beyond the baseline measure of food security
provided in the annual model, quarterly
affordability updates of the GFSI highlight the
vulnerability of countries.
• The quarterly price adjustment is a test of a
country’s resilience in the face of global price
volatility
The quarterly adjustment incorporates the
following elements:
The FAO’s Food Price Index
National income changes
Quarterly exchange rates
The food price adjustment factor interprets the
impact of the FAO’s global price change for each
country by examining the historical relationship
between global and national food price inflation.
2013 GFSI
Affordability scores
United States 86.8
Norway 86.5
France 83.7
Austria 83.4
Switzerland 83.2
Netherlands 83.2
Belgium 82.4
Canada 82.1
New Zealand 82.0
Denmark 81.8
Ireland 81.7
Germany 81.7
Finland 81.4
Sweden 80.8
Australia 08.1
X
A global to national
food price
adjustment factor is
applied to each
country’s
Affordability score.
This factor is a
transmission
coefficient
calculated based on
the historic “pass
through” rate of
global to national
food prices, and
takes into account
quarterly changes
in income and
exchange rates
Price Adjustment
= New, price adjusted GFSI score
that reflects the quarter on
quarter change
6. Index framework: Affordability
Indicator Source Year
Food consumption as a proportion of total
household expenditure
FAO; USDA; EIU Latest available year in 2002-11
Proportion of population living under or
close to the global poverty line
World Bank, World Development
Indicators; EIU
Latest available year in 2001-13
GDP per capita (at PPP, exchange rates) EIU 2012
Agricultural import tariffs WTO Latest available year in 2006-12
Presence of food safety net programmes Qualitative scoring by EIU
Access to financing for farmers Qualitative scoring by EIU
The food affordability category measures the consumer’s ability to purchase food, their vulnerability to
price shocks and the presence of programmes and policies to support them when shocks occur.
7. Index framework: Availability
Food availability measures the sufficiency of the national food supply, the risk of supply disruption,
national capacity to disseminate food and research efforts to expand agricultural output.
Indicator Source Year
Sufficiency of supply* FAO; WFP; OECD 2006-11
Public expenditure on agricultural R&D EIU based on OECD, WB, ASTI Latest available year in 2001-13
Agricultural infrastructure** EIU; WB; qualitative scoring by EIU 2008-13
Volatility of agricultural production FAO; EIU calculations 1992-2011
Political stability risk EIU 2013
Corruption EIU 2013
Urban absorption capacity EIU; World Bank, World Development
Indicators; EIU calculations
2011-13
*Composite indicator of average food supply and dependency on chronic food aid.
** Composite indicator of existence of adequate crop storage facilities, road infrastructure and port infrastructure.
8. Index framework: Quality and Safety
The quality and safety category measures “utilisation” and assesses the variety and nutritional quality of
average diets, as well as the safety of food.
Indicator Source Year
Diet diversification FAO 2005-07
Nutritional standards* Qualitative scoring by EIU 1994-2013
Micronutrient availability** FAO 2005-07
Protein quality FAO; WHO; USDA Nutrient database; EIU
calculation
2005-09
Food safety*** WHO; qualitative scoring by EIU Latest available in 2005-13
*Composite indicator of existence of national dietary guidelines, existence of national nutrition plan or strategy, and existence of regular nutrition monitoring and surveillance.
** Composite indicator of dietary availability of vitamin A, animal iron and vegetal iron.
***Composite indicator of existence of an agency to ensure health/safety of food, access to potable water and presence of a formal grocery sector.
9. Overall results: GFSI 2013, Overall rankings
Most food secure
1 United States 86.8
2 Norway 86.5
3 France 83.7
4 Austria 83.4
=5 Switzerland 83.2
=5 Netherlands 83.2
7 Belgium 82.4
8 Canada 82.1
9 New Zealand 82.0
10 Denmark 81.8
Bottom tier
=96 Madagascar 29.3
=96 Rwanda 29.3
98 Sierra Leone 29.0
99 Malawi 28.3
100 Zambia 28.1
101 Haiti 27.6
102 Mali 26.8
103 Burundi 26.3
104 Sudan 25.2
105 Togo 22.7
106 Chad 22.1
107 Congo (Dem. Rep.) 20.8
The most food-secure countries share these
characteristics:
Ample food supply
High incomes
Low spending on food relative to other outlays
The least food-secure countries share these
characteristics:
Low gross domestic product per head
Underdeveloped agricultural infrastructure
High levels of corruption
Poor protein quality
The GFSI can be used to identify
relationships across different countries,
best practices and policy priorities.
*Figures are from the GFSI 2013, annual release, July 2013
10. Contact information
The 2013 GFSI, and the price
adjustment factor releases,
can be found at:
http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com
Thank you