Food insecurity has been increasing dramatically. In 2022, 258 million people in 58 countries faced acute food insecurity, an increase of 34 per cent from the previous year. Trade can be an important enabler of economic development and the smooth flow of agricultural trade is a necessary condition for food security.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched its annual Statistical Yearbook, covering latest trends in the world’s agrifood systems and highlighting for the first time the impact of disasters on agriculture and the cost and affordability of a healthy diet.This publication offers a synthesis of the major factor

The GRFC 2023 Mid-Year Update highlights that high levels of acute food insecurity persist in 2023 due to protracted food crises and new shocks, with improvements in some countries.

In a somewhat concerning development on macro-economic front, retail inflation, measured by the year-on-year (YoY) Consumer Price Index (CPI) remains above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper tolerance ceiling of 6 percent (4+/- 2 percent), at 6.83 percent in August 2023. In the last month, retail inflation had surged to 7.44 percent.

This new study---*Knowing Better, Responding Worse: How Mistakes from 2008 Led to the Food Crisis of Today---* released by CARE reported that 112.2 million more people around the world were driven to hunger after 2020, compared to the previous major global food crisis (2008-2009).

Almost 258 million people in 58 countries faced acute food shortages last year due to conflicts, climate change, effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, according to this United Nations report, a sharp rise from 193 million the previous year.

This decade has been marked by multiple, often overlapping, crises. The COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, and the ongoing war in Ukraine have all threatened the fabric of our global food systems. But opportunities can be found amid crises, and the world’s food systems have demonstrated surprising resilience.

Economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are expected to grow at a slower pace in 2023, as double-digit food inflation adds pressure on poorer households and the impact of food insecurity can span generations, according to the World Bank’s latest economic update.

South Asia’s outlook is shaped by both good and bad news in the global economy. Lower commodity prices, a strong recovery in the services sector, and reduced disruptions in value chains are aiding South Asia’s recovery but rising interest rates and uncertainty in financial markets are putting downward pressure on the region’s economies.

Global public debt, the highest seen in 60 years, is causing a spike in food insecurity, according to this new report. This is especially true for low-income countries where around 60% are facing a debt crisis and debt servicing costs have gone up due to the depreciation of their currencies against the dollar.

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