Understanding the Problem of Food Security of the G-20 Countries From the Nexus Between Food Price and Food Production

Abstract

The problem of food security depends highly on food availability along with access, utilization and stability. In this study, we would like to focus on the food availability criterion. With the rise in food prices, production of food is expected to increase in the domestic as well as in the international market. Therefore, the G-20 countries collectively, which produce up to 80% of the world's cereals and also have the largest percentage share of world agricultural exports, ought to benefit from the rise in agricultural prices. However, a significant number of countries in this group are net importers in terms of agricultural inputs. Also, the rise in the prices of non-renewable resources raises the demand and cost of biofuels. Commodity trading and the weakening of the exchange rate also affect farm prices. A rise in farm prices from these accounts may not be supportive of to rise in food production and food security. Hence, it will be interesting to analyze the effect of rising food prices on the problem of food security of the G-20 countries from the perspective of food production. In this study, we have taken rice as a representative food item and found that rice production is significantly responsive to the domestic relative price of rice. However, there is no price incentive operative for rice productivity. Rather, we find evidence of a negative relationship between rice productivity and domestic rice prices in relation to the international prices.

Citation

Jha, S. and Nayak, B. (2024), "Understanding the Problem of Food Security of the G-20 Countries From the Nexus Between Food Price and Food Production", Das, R.C. (Ed.) Growth, Poverty and Developmental Aspects of Agriculture, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 143-162. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83608-076-320241010