In a promising development, recent figures from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reveal a decline in hunger in India. According to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2024) report, the Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU) has dropped from 16.6 percent in 2020-2022 to 13.7 percent in 2021-2023. This decrease signifies that approximately 39.3 million people have moved out of undernourishment during this period, as noted by NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand on Tuesday.
Chand shared these findings with journalists at a press conference held to announce the 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists, scheduled to take place in Delhi from August 2. This major event, which will welcome over 700 delegates from around the world, will address a range of critical agricultural issues, including subsidy burdens, climate change, and nutritional challenges.
The updated FAO report, based on recent data from the central government, has also settled previous debates regarding hunger levels in India post-COVID. Last year, the central government had contested the FAO’s SOFI 2023 report, which indicated an increase in PoU from 14 percent in 2017-2019 to 16.6 percent in 2020-2022. The government criticized the FAO’s use of the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) survey, claiming its methodology was flawed and biased.
Despite previous criticisms of the FIES-based estimates, the latest SOFI 2024 report provides a more positive outlook. On a global scale, however, the report highlights that, after a sharp rise from 2019 to 2021, global hunger has remained relatively stable over the past three years, affecting 9.1 percent of the global population in 2023 compared to 7.5 percent in 2019.
