Cereal production, undernourishment, and food insecurity in South Asia

Abstract

South Asia remains one of the major strongholds of hunger in the world, despite the fact that, following the Green Revolution, cereal production in the countries of this region tripled during the second half of the 20th century. This study examines the role played by this increase in cereal production in improving the region's nutrition and food security situation. We study the association between the different aspects of food security and cereal production in South Asia that have prevailed over the past 25 years. We find a beneficial role of the production and yield of cereals in lowering the extent of undernourishment. A 1% increase in cereal production and yield is associated with up to 0.84% decrease in the prevalence of undernourishment. The impact is significant over a period of 3 years. The positive effect is particularly evident in the case of rice and maize production. An improvement is seen in the aspects of availability, stability, and utilization of food security but not in the aspect of access. These findings are robust to alternative specifications and techniques. The results explain, in part, the means by which South Asian nations have managed to stall relative increases in extreme hunger and food insecurity.

Assessment of Cereal Self-sufficiency and Food Balance Projection in Afghanistan

“…1). The cereal yield (2136.3 kilograms per hectare) is low compared to that of Bangladesh, China, India, and Pakistan, which recorded output of 4411.2, 6222.3, 31608, 31708 kilograms per hectare, respectively [11]. On the other hand, the area used for cereal production has experienced a steady decline from 1979 to 2018 (Fig.…”

“…Food security has long been the primary concern as it is the fundamental requirement for human survival and development in Afghanistan [11].…”

Assessment of Food security situation in Afghanistan

“…Hence, more than a quarter (29%) of the population cannot meet their calorie requirements, i.e., the average per capita calorie consumption is lower than the world standard. In 2017, per capita calories a day was 2,090 kilocalories, and wheat is the chief source of calories for people in Afghanistan (Mughal, 2020). The main reason for malnutrition among people in Afghanistan is poverty, inadequate education, and childbearing in teenage years, gender inequality, insufficient child feeding and caring practices, lack access to important sanitation facilities, inadequate potable water, and hygiene (WorldBank, 2019a).…”

An integrated assessment model for food security under climate change for South Asia

“…This region currently hosts more than 1.8 Billion people, and in the mid of this century the figure is expected to exceed to 2 Billion ( World Bank, 2017a , World Bank, 2017b ). As a result, experts and policy makers are increasingly concerned about the availability of food for the growing population in the upcoming years ( Mughal and Fontan Sers, 2020 ).…”