Food Crises Report 2021

Nearly 193 million people in the world are in acute food insecurity, an increase of 40 million people in one year, according to a new UN report.

Nearly 193 million people in the world are in acute food insecurity, an increase of 40 million people in one year, according to a new UN report.

The Global Report on Food Crisis released today jointly by the Global Network against Food Crisis (FAO, WFP and the EU) and the Food Security Information Network (FSIN) revealed that in 2021 nearly 193 million people were experiencing acute food insecurity in 53 countries or territories.

This represents an increase of nearly 40 million people from the previous year confirming an alarming trend: acute food insecurity has been on the rise over the last six years. This year-on-year increase is largely the result of worsening acute food insecurity and attributable to expanded geographical coverage of analyses.

SOUNDBITE (English) Luca Russo, FAO Senior Food Crises Analyst:
“The main number of the global report is 193 million people facing a level of acute food insecurity. This is a record number, it is [an increase of] 40 million [people] higher than last year. if you look [at] this on the long-term trend, it is two times the number that we had six years ago. So, what is really worrying is the trends that we are facing in terms of acute food insecurity.”

Major food crisis countries remain those suffering from protracted conflicts like Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Conflict continues to be the main cause of hunger in the world, pushing some 139 million people in 24 countries in acute food insecurity, followed by economic shocks, for example in Pakistan and Haiti, and climate change. Increasingly, frequent and severe weather extremes have been the main driver of acute food insecurity for 23.5 million people in eight African countries in 2021.

SOUNDBITE (English) Luca Russo, FAO Senior Food Crises Analyst:
“What is really at the root causes of this, and this is what is very important for FAO’s mandate, is that all these derive from a situation of a rural marginalization [and] rural poverty, which [are] really the main cause of these crises. You start from rural poverty, rural marginalization and then you have all these factors feeding each other, [which] bring [us] to the number that we just mentioned”.

Forecasts for 2022 show that the impact of protracted conflict and related displacement, often in tandem with macroeconomic shocks and extreme weather events will intensify and prolong acute food insecurity conditions.

The war in Ukraine is expected to have dire consequences for global food security following the displacement of millions of Ukrainians and widespread destruction of infrastructure and livelihoods. Severe repercussions are expected at regional and global level, as many food crisis countries rely heavily on Ukraine and Russia for staple food supplies, especially wheat and fertilizers.

SOUNDBITE (English) Luca Russo, FAO Senior Food Crises Analyst:
“There is a likelihood that the number will increase again compared to 2021. And we are not yet factoring the Ukraine crisis, which is what we call the elephant in the room. We don't know yet what will be the effect of the Ukraine crisis on the overall global food insecurity – [and] this is something very important. What is very important for us is to make sure, and I'm talking for FAO, that we keep on monitoring the countries most at risk of acute hunger and famine because at the moment, because of the attention that is paid to Ukraine, there is a risk that we simply forget about all the crises.”

Somalia is one of the countries that current forecasts place among the ten major food crises of 2022. A prolonged drought, increasing food prices and persistent violence in the country are threatening to put some six million people, or more than one-third of the Somalis, in acute food insecurity, while specific hunger hot spots in the country are facing the risk of famine.

Abdi Weyrah Mohammed, a 50-year-old farmer and father of nine, has lost all his animals to starvation once the river near his village dried out.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Abdi Weyrah Muhumad, farmer, Guricade:
“There was no farming due to the drought which devastated our livestock including goats, camels, cows and people are facing the worst humanitarian crisis. There is no water flow in the river and people face severe water shortages. Our lives depended on both farming and livestock”.
The drought has been plaguing Somalia since late 2020. This is a devastating fourth season of failed rains to hit these communities. People’s means to produce food and earn income are stretched to the breaking point.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a response plan that includes a wide range of support measures for farmers and pastoralists. Animals are kept alive and productive with feed, water and veterinary care. At the same time, farmers are provided with drought-tolerant early-maturing varieties of seeds for their fields. In addition to that cash transfers are implemented to ensure the most vulnerable can access food.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Abdi Weyrah Muhumad, farmer, Guricade:
“The cash transfers we received enabled us to buy petrol for our farming tractors. We paid it together with the rent of the tractor that helped us till the land. Some of us also bought food and water for both the kids and the livestock.”

From lifesaving humanitarian assistance to life-sustaining livelihoods support, people in food crises need urgent help. FAO is committed to working alongside governments, affected populations and stakeholders at national, regional and global level to address all dimensions of food crises.

SOUNDBITE (English) Luca Russo, FAO Senior Food Crises Analyst:
“The agriculture sector is a sector which has been undermined in terms of investment in the past. Only 8 percent of humanitarian assistance goes to the agriculture sector. And it's clear that there you have to really change this trend. FAO, from this side, is investing heavily in agriculture, in agricultural intervention. Investing in [rural] livelihoods is a way also to save money and energy, because the return is ten times what will come from food assistance. So we need to invest more in agriculture.”

The Global Report on Food Crises is the flagship publication of the Global Network Against Food Crises and is facilitated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). The report is the result of a consensus-based and multi-partner analytical process involving 17 international humanitarian and development partner