Food Security

Situation in

Sri Lanka

Manoj Thibbotuwawa

Food Security

• “when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO, 1996).

• This was evolved to include “four pillars of food security” namely, availability, access, utilization, and stability

Presented at IPS – IFPRI – National Consultation Workshop at the IPS Auditorium, July 2015

Four main dimensions of food security

Physical AVAILABILITY of food

“supply side” of food security and is determined by the level of food production, stock levels and net trade

Economic and physical ACCESS to food

Individual’s capability to purchase food (incomes, expenditure, markets and prices)

Food UTILIZATION

Sufficient energy and nutrient intake by individuals is the result of good care and feeding practices, food preparation, diversity of the diet and intra-household distribution of food

STABILITY of the other three dimensions over time

•Even if your food intake is adequate today, you are still considered to be food insecure if you have inadequate access to food on a periodic basis, risking a deterioration of your nutritional status. •Adverse weather conditions, political instability, or economic factors (unemployment, rising food prices) may have an impact on your food security status

Food Availability

• Food availability ---> Domestic dominance

• The amount of food exports from total domestic food production is 4 per cent.

• Local production of all major food items except for wheat flour, sugar, pulses and milk which are imported in bulk quantities exceeds 70 per cent of the total availability

Food availability in Sri Lanka by major food groups in 2013

Gross

availability

Production Imports Exports

Qty

(000Mt) %

Qty

(000Mt) %

Qty

(000Mt) %

Rice 3094 3082 99.6 23 0.7 11 0.4

Wheat 819 0 0.0 944 115.3 125 15.3

Other cereals 267 216 80.9 52 19.5 1 0.4

Starchy Roots 574 435 75.8 154 26.8 15 2.6

Sugar 622 35 5.6 592 95.2 5 0.8

Pulses 232 25 10.8 221 95.3 14 6.0

Oil crops 2376 2560 107.7 6 0.3 190 8.0

Vegetables 1108 910 82.1 217 19.6 19 1.7

Fruits 869 848 97.6 70 8.1 49 5.6

Spices 97 70 72.2 71 73.2 44 45.4

Meat 138 139 100.7 1 0.7 2 1.4

Eggs 110 111 100.9 0 0.0 1 0.9

Milk 868 325 37.4 546 62.9 3 0.3

Fish 602 435 72.3 192 31.9 25 4.2

Total 17236 13565 78.7 4332 25.1 661 3.8

• Food imports

–have been increasing in both volume and value in absolute terms

–share in total imports and total exports have been declining slightly or remained constant

Food import expenditure from 2008-2014 Value (Rs. Mil) % share of

Fo

od

Imp

ort

s

To

tal

Imp

ort

s

To

tal

Imp

ort

s w

/o

Oil

To

tal

Ex

po

rts

To

tal

Imp

ort

s

To

tal

Imp

ort

s w

/o

Oil

To

tal

Ex

po

rts

2008 123,203 1,525,705 1,158,865 878,499 8.1 10.6 14

2009 113,329 1,172,618 921,612 813,911 9.7 12.3 13.9

2010 149,568 1,519,737 1,175,928 974,387 9.8 12.7 15.3

2011 173,277 2,241,488 1,723,207 1,167,588 7.7 10.1 14.8

2012 166,003 2,441,879 1,817,063 1,245,531 6.8 9.1 13.3

2013 176,423 2,323,128 1,788,080 1,344,054 7.6 9.9 13.1

2014 213,308 2,535,163 1,955,752 1,453,176 8.4 10.9 14.7

• National level food availability seems less challenging overall due to –larger shares of local production in most of the

food crops

–Improved food availability since the 2000s

• Is Sri Lanka completely food secure???? –National requirement will be rising constantly in the

years to come • Population is growing at approximately 1 per cent annually

and

• Real per capita income is rising at 7.5 per cent per year,

–The challenge is not just to ensure food security to an estimated 4.7 million people currently undernourished, but also to feed 2.4 million people expected to inhabit the island by 2050

–Domestic production would not be able to meet the national requirements even under the present levels of per capita food consumption.

• Extents cultivated for major food crops have been constant since 2000 due to the present lack of new arable land to be brought under agriculture

• Area expansion will not be a solution to meet growing food requirement

• A possible solution to this problem from the domestic production front should come through yield improvement

• yield levels of domestically grown food crops, except for rice, have stagnated for more than a decade at levels non-impressive

Performance of major food crops in Sri Lanka (1993-2013) 1993-97 1998-02 2003-07 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Rice Extent 791 811 855 1053 942 1060 1091 990 1188

Production 2473 2793 3084 3875 3652 4301 3895 3846 4621

Yield 3125 3444 3608 3680 3875 4056 3570 3885 3889

Maize Extent 31 27 29 52 51 58 51 59 68

Production 31 30 42 136 130 162 138 202 209

Yield 1000 1111 1452 2634 2552 2806 2726 3419 3087

Pulses Extent 42 26 21 22 20 21 18 20 20

Production 36 24 20 21 23 23 21 26 25

Yield 856 904 945 968 1136 1102 1163 1274 1270

R&T Extent 48 41 36 36 34 33 34 34 35

Production 425 343 345 368 387 381 399 406 435

Yield 8868 8472 9528 10352 11374 11494 11586 11924 12494

Vegetables Extent 87 77 77 78 77 76 78 82 79

Production 576 558 625 723 732 733 759 819 910

Yield 6599 7250 8098 9224 9507 9656 9708 9998 11461

Fruits Extent 100 107 105 103 104 112 116 115 115

Production 810 842 755 729 710 786 824 839 848

Yield 8066 7892 7202 7075 6811 7032 7078 7269 7376

Note: Extent (‘000ha), production (‘000 MT) and yield (Kg/ha)

• Low agricultural productivity Availability

Food Access

Food

security Lack of income Rural poverty

Food Access

• The level of incomes and the pattern of income distribution determine to a major extent access to enough food at the household level

• Per capita incomes have registered substantial increases, increasing from Rs. 64,569 in 2000 to Rs. 461,650 in 2014 at current prices,

• Income distribution, as represented by the Gini ratio, has worsened to reach 0.48 in 2012/13 compared to 0.43 in 1990/91

2000 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Per capita income (current) 64,569 233.419 267,682 310,090 365,194 412,447 461,650

• Estate sector ---> lowest incomes and the least inequality

• Urban sector ---> highest income and greatest inequality

Indicators of access to food Year

Prevalence of undernourishment (%)

Prevalence of food inadequacy (%)

Depth of the food deficit (kcal/capita/day)

2001-2003 29.7 37.9 268

2002-2004 29.9 38.2 270

2003-2005 29.8 38.1 269

2004-2006 29.5 37.8 266

2005-2007 29.1 37.3 262

2006-2008 28.4 36.5 255

2007-2009 27.6 35.7 247

2008-2010 26.7 34.6 238

2009-2011 26 33.7 230

2010-2012 25.3 32.9 224

2011-2013 24.6 32.2 217

2012-2014 23.8 31.2 209

2013-2015 22.9 30.1 200

2014-2016 22 29 192

Source: FAOSTAT

Access to food: where we are in the region?

Country Prevalence of

undernourishment (%) Prevalence of food

inadequacy (%) Depth of the food deficit

(kcal/capita/day)

Afghanistan 26 35.5 166

Bangladesh 16.9 26.6 120

Sri Lanka 22.9 30.1 200

India 15.3 24.4 110

Iran 5.1 10 36

Maldives 5.9 11.2 39

Nepal 7.7 13.3 49

Pakistan 22 30.4 171

Source: FAOSTAT

• The information on food availability and accessibility indicate a considerable level of food insecurity

• Poverty is a major determinant of food insecurity, and food insecurity in turn leads to under-nutrition

• The availability of sufficient food and the means to acquire enough food at the household and individual level do not ensure proper utilization of food and good health

• The relative share of food expenditure has declined over time

– rising income, changing consumer preference, relative price variations, supply condition variability and changes in demographic conditions

• Real expenditure has shifted from the consumption of carbohydrates towards the consumption of more nutritious food

Food Utilization

Changing Compositions of Sri Lankan Diets

Food item Unit 1980/81 1985/86 1990/91 1995/96 2002 2005 2006 2009/10 2012/13

Rice kg 46.7 45.2 44.3 38 35.3 35.6 35.7 36.3 34.8

Wheat flour kg 3.6 4 2.6 3 3.3 3.1 2.5 2.7 2.2

Bread kg 7.8 9.3 9.9 12.5 10.2 7.3 6.7 5.1 3.6

Condiments kg 5.7 6.3 5.6 - 4.8 5.2 5.3

Pulses kg 1.4 1.7 2.6 - 3 2.9 3 2.8 3.0

Meat kg 0.8 1.1 1.2 - 1.3 1.6 1.2 1.4 1.6

Fish kg 3.5 3.4 2.4 - 2.9 3.8 3.3 3.8 3.7

Dried fish kg 1.4 1.4 1.3 - 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2

Milk liters 2.7 2.4 1.4 0.7 0.4 0.7 0.4 1.9 0.4

Eggs no. 7 7 11 12 10 10 12 10 11

food availability and its nutritional contribution

• Rice ---> 41 percent and 34 percent of the calorie and protein.

• Wheat flour ---> only second to rice in Sri Lankan diet in terms of providing the two major nutrients

• Together, rice and wheat ---> 53 percent of the calories and 50 percent of the proteins

• Meat, eggs and milk fall short of fish in fulfilling the protein needs of the consumers ---> relatively high supply of marine and inland fish

• Increased availability and accessibility to rice, wheat flour and fish appears to be the shortest way to improve food and nutritional security in Sri Lanka, particularly in the short run

• Nevertheless, in the long run changes of food preferences and habits have to be given due regards

Per capita consumption of major food items and their contributions to nutrition in Sri Lanka (2000-13 average)

Food supply quantity (kg/capita/yr)

Calorie (kcal/capita/day) Protein supply quantity

(g/capita/day)

Quantity % of total

calorie Quantity % of total

protein

Rice 101.55 982.57 40.83 18.73 33.81

Wheat 42.13 294.07 12.22 9.22 16.65

Maize 3.83 34.07 0.85 0.85 1.54

Pulses 8.00 75.07 3.12 4.67 8.44

Nuts 0.93 5.43 0.23 0.12 0.21

Vegetables 36.31 36.21 1.51 1.41 2.54

Fruits 35.18 65.79 2.73 0.55 0.99

Eggs 2.51 9.79 0.41 0.77 1.39

Milk 34.39 59.64 2.48 3.16 5.71

Meat 6.36 23.21 0.96 2.25 4.07

Eggs 2.51 9.79 0.41 0.77 1.39

Fish, Seafood 21.95 50.07 2.08 7.75 13.99

Sugar 49.17 294.07 12.22 0.00 0.00

• Rice is the major calorie contributor in the Sri Lankan diet followed by wheat flour and sugar across the entire population, irrespective of income

• Major reason for rice being the higher calorie supplier is basically its bulk consumption (300g of rice daily)

• In higher HH deciles calorie supplement through roots and tubers and sugar is larger then the lower deciles and it is the other way around with respect to wheat flour due to high bread consumption in lower deciles.

• One important feature is that rice consumption is almost similar in all deciles, showing the traditional preferences for it in Sri Lanka

Daily per capita consumption of major food commodities: quantities and calorie levels by HH expenditure deciles

HH

Decile

Rice Wheat flour Roots and

Tubers Sugar Others

Qty Calories Qty Calories Qty Calories Qty Calories Qty Calories

1 280.9 971.9 21.2 73.9 16.7 19.8 29.3 117.0 125.1 232.46

2 297.1 1027.9 28.7 100.0 19.6 22.7 34.6 138.5 158.0 292.88

3 308.7 1068.1 25.3 88.0 21.0 24.0 38.5 153.8 173.9 330.19

4 301.2 1042.3 26.6 92.6 21.7 24.4 40.6 162.6 188.0 361.61

5 306.8 1061.5 21.9 76.1 22.0 24.2 42.3 169.0 200.8 382.75

6 301.8 1044.1 19.1 66.3 23.1 25.5 44.6 178.2 215.4 412.59

7 309.5 1071.0 14.9 51.7 25.0 27.5 46.2 184.8 233.8 448.46

8 303.1 1048.6 13.6 47.5 25.6 28.2 48.3 193.4 246.3 478.43

9 302.9 1048.0 12.5 43.5 26.7 28.3 48.6 194.6 263.4 511.16

10 288.3 997.7 11.0 38.3 28.5 30.1 52.5 209.9 304.0 593.11

Source: Department of Census and Statistics, Food Balance Sheets (various years)

Daily per capita consumption of major food commodities: quantities and protein levels by HH expenditure deciles

HH

Decile

Cereals Roots and

Tubers Pulses Meat Fish Others

Qty

Pro

tein

Qty

Pro

tein

Qty

Pro

tein

Qty

Pro

tein

Qty

Pro

tein

Qty

Pro

tein

1 302.1 20.9 16.7 0.2 18.1 4.6 2.0 0.5 15.4 5.1 89.5 5.0

2 325.8 22.8 19.6 0.3 20.7 5.3 3.7 0.8 22.8 7.2 110.7 6.5

3 334.0 23.2 21.0 0.3 22.6 5.8 5.6 1.3 28.0 8.5 117.6 7.4

4 327.8 22.8 21.7 0.3 24.3 6.2 7.0 1.6 34.2 9.9 122.4 8.2

5 328.7 22.7 22.0 0.3 24.0 6.1 8.8 2.0 36.0 10.5 131.9 9.2

6 320.8 22.0 23.1 0.3 24.5 6.2 11.6 2.7 40.1 11.4 139.2 10.0

7 324.4 22.1 25.0 0.4 26.9 6.8 13.9 3.3 44.6 12.7 148.3 11.0

8 316.7 21.5 25.6 0.4 27.2 6.8 15.9 3.8 48.4 13.4 154.8 12.2

9 315.4 21.4 26.7 0.4 30.5 7.6 18.6 4.5 51.1 14.0 163.0 13.7

10 299.4 20.2 28.5 0.4 32.9 8.2 26.2 6.4 59.3 15.5 185.4 9.2

Source: Department of Census and Statistics, Food Balance Sheets (various years)

Utilization of Food

Year

Children under 5 years of age pregnant women

who are stunted (%)

affected by wasting (%)

underweight (%)

Prevalence of anaemia (%)

Prevalence of anaemia (%)

2000 18.4 15.5 22.8 33.8 32.6 2007 17.3 14.7 21.1 33.4 27.4 2009 19.2 11.8 21.6 34.7 26.3 2012 14.7 21.4 26.3 36.1 25.5

Source: FAO STAT

Conclusion • Sri Lanka’s food security problem is more severe at micro

level than at macro level • The problem of food insecurity is multifaceted

– domestic production, trade, growth and distribution of income, population growth and distribution and food consumption patterns.

• Any policy or strategy to solve food security problem has to be – dynamic in nature and – should be covered within a framework of sustainable

development and structural transformation in agriculture

• Food security programmes should look forward to progressively move away from the present calorie bias

– Promoting diverse traditional food crops for better nutritional security

• Solving the food insecurity is not just a consumption or welfare measure, but a productive investment in human capital

• Issues to be addressed – Production & Productivity

– High prices & Seasonality

– Poor supply chain management

– High postharvest losses

– Storage issues

– Climatic Issues

– Health & Food safety issues

– Poor value addition & technology

– Marketing

– Lack of knowledge & Awareness

Thank you