Agribusiness giant DuPont has modified the Global Food Security Index to account for the impact of changes in global food prices at a national level where price fluctuations impact most directly.
Commissioned by DuPont and developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the Price Adjustment Factor captures the impact of changing food prices and income growth over time. In response to the rising cost of food, mainly in June of this year, the Index recorded a slight decline in food security globally. The interactive tool is available online at www.foodsecurityindex.eiu.com.
DuPont Executive Vice President James C. Borel says this tool will help understand the root causes of hunger. “The ramifications of this year's drought are far reaching. Knowing where the impact is the greatest can help focus our collective efforts where they are needed most.”
The World Bank estimates that global food price spikes in 2008 pushed 44 million people below the poverty line globally, most of them in poor countries. In the United States, almost 15 percent of households experienced food insecurity in 2011, up 11 percent before recent price jumps.
“Many factors affect food prices, from rising demand in emerging markets to abrupt changes in the weather,” said EIU Global Forecasting Director Leo Abruzzese. “The new Price Adjustment Factor tool will assess, quarterly, the impact of price changes on a country’s ability to afford food. High and volatile prices can impact food security by limiting consumers’ purchasing power and calorie consumption.”
Seventy eight percent of U.S. corn acres have been affected by drought; some farmers can’t afford to feed livestock and the cost of commodities is at record highs. While this year’s drought has been devastating to farmers, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reported the 2nd largest corn crop globally, in addition to the 2nd and 3rd highest rice and soybean crops respectively.
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