Food Security: Definition, Scope and Influencing Factors

Food security has been a concern of all civilizations. International concerns for food security arose towards the end of the nineteenth century up to the World War I period within the context of over-production of food in the Global North, and its impact on farmers’ income. Out of this emerged the use of surplus production in the North to alleviate hunger in the developing world. The League of Nations was the first institution to attempt to assess the state of food security globally, and devised strategies to alleviate same. The FAO, founded in 1945, has been carrying out this function since. Initial concerns about food security centred around food availability. However, abundance of food co-existed with hunger and malnutrition, forcing the world to look at issues of access, utilization and stability, the latter against the background of increasing conflicts, crop failures and weather-related disasters, disrupting food supplies. In more recent times, speculation and the trading of food on futures market would cause global food crises and escalation of food prices worldwide. Liberalization of agricultural trade, erosion of preferential markets for commodities from developing countries, and IMF/World Bank sponsored structural adjustment policies adversely impacted the food security of developing countries. Increasing food security is one of the SDGs, highlighting its importance to sustainable development. COVID-19 and increased global conflicts are threatening the attainment of these goals, and it is therefore important to monitor the drivers of food security.