The recent global fuel hike has greatly affected the economy of many countries including Malaysia, where the prices of daily commodities especially food prices have increased. The Food Summit, organised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Association (FAO) on 6 June 2008 in Rome, raised the issue about high food prices at its effects on developing countries in Africa, South America and Asia. FAO has decided to provide short and long term assistances to these countries which are badly affected by the food price crisis. People with low income are most affected because they will have a lower food budget and less access to nutritious food which are more expensive. These people may experience food insecurity and malnutrition.
There are two commonly used definitions of food security that come from FAO and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
(FAO): Food security exists when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
(USDA): Food security for a household means access by all members at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security includes at a minimum (1) the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and (2) an assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (that is, without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies).
From the definition, we understand that food security is affected by factors such as poverty, health, food production, political stability, infrastructure, access to markets, and natural hazards. There are differences in food security between developing and developed countries.
In developing countries, 70% or more of the population live in rural areas and move within their own community. They often have less access to grocery stores with high variety of foods, low income and limited health care. Therefore, people in these countries have a low level of food security. With aids from FAO, a number of developing countries—including countries in Africa—have made good progress in reducing hunger and child malnutrition. However, many are still left behind despite policies that aim to cut poverty and hunger in half by 2015 under the UN Millennium Development Goals.
On the other hand, developed countries are known to have achieved community food security, whereby all community residents obtain a safe, culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through a sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance and social justice. In addition to that, Strong economic growth in developed countries brings change in world food demand towards high-value agricultural products and processed foods.
Measures are taken by FAO to overcome the food price crisis, such as helping small scale farmers to increase their crop production and integrate with the international market. They will also help increase their food stock capacities and work on their food security risk management. Last but not least, the development of biofuels due to the high petrol price is focused by FAO to help achieve and maintain food security.
