DuPont has introduced the Global Food Security Index in India and has called for local collaborations and science-powered innovations to address the challenge of the country’s food security.
The Index, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and commissioned by DuPont, is the first-of-its-kind, dynamic scoring tool that measures the drivers of food security in 105 countries.
Further, the Index points to areas for improvement under the broad categories of availability, affordability, quality and safety. Food security is a worldwide focus, but the Index is distinct because it evaluates the underlying factors affecting food security on a country by country basis and it will employ an adjustment factor for food price fluctuations to recalibrate the risks countries face through the course of the year.
India is ranked 66th in the 2012 Global Food Security Index, scoring slightly higher in the category of ‘availability’ than in the other two categories of ‘affordability’ and ‘quality and safety.’ With India expected to be the most populous country in the world by 2025, feeding the population is likely to be one of the serious challenges that the country will face in the coming decades. In addition to the twin challenges of availability and accessibility as reflected in chronic household food insecurity, India also faces a nutrition challenge reflected in the malnutrition and over nutrition statistics.
“At DuPont, we believe that there is a science to feeding the growing population. It will take all of us working collaboratively to ensure that every person has enough nutritious food to eat,” said James C Borel, executive vice-president, DuPont.
“While science is global – solutions must be local. The chances of achieving that goal are increased dramatically by creating science-based innovations that target specific local challenges, collaborating with others on solutions and bringing know-how to the people and places that need it most.”
Commenting on the imperative of collaborative solutions to address food security and the need for a common measurement tool, Rajeev Vaidya, president, South Asia, DuPont, said, “We hope that the global Food Security Index will provide a common language for the public discourse on food security as well as generate local insights and collaboration across the food value chain.”
“The Global Food Security Index should be used as a tool to help stakeholders make informed decisions that drive sustainable results at a local level. Collaboration is the key to unlock the power of science and we hope this index will help foster collaborative solutions that address India’s food security needs,” said Vaidya.
