The U.S. intelligence community says the overall risk of food insecurity will rise during the next decade in many countries “of strategic importance to the United States” because of disruption in local food supplies, lower purchasing power and counter-productive government policies. “In some countries, declining food security will almost certainly contribute to social disruptions and political instability,” said the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). “Simply growing more food globally will not lead to more food-secure countries because sustainable access will remain unequal; millions lack access to land or income sources to buy sufficient food.”
Prospects are poor for countries struggling with food insecurity, said ODNI. “We judge that augmenting traditional approaches to agricultural development with innovative, but lesser-used strategies – such as reducing crop and food waste, generating off-farm income activities, conducting research into minor crops and fostering technical education in agriculture – will improve the resilience of local and global food systems.”