The extent and depth of food insecurity in the developing world at the turn of a new century and millennium remains unconscionable. About 800 million people — one-sixth of the developing world’s population — do not have access to sufficient food to lead healthy, productive lives. Around 280 million of these food-insecure people live in South Asia; 240 million in East Asia; 180 million in Sub-Saharan Africa; and the rest in Latin America, Middle East and North Africa.
Although progress is being made in tackling food insecurity, it is slow. And in sub-Saharan Africa the number of food-insecure people has actually doubled since 1969–71. According to recent projections from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Summit goal of halving the number of food-insecure people from 800 million in 1995 to 400 million by 2015 will not be achieved until 2030.
This chapter looks at how the policy choices and investment decisions made will profoundly influence the number and location of food-insecure people in the future.
