Understanding Food Insecurity: Causes, Impact, and Solutions

By Lisa Kagel

Food insecurity, driven by poverty and conflict, affects millions worldwide. Explore its root causes, far-reaching impacts, and the sustainable solutions needed to ensure a food-secure future for all.

According to the World Health Organization, a lack of economic access to healthy diets affects over one-third of the world’s population. The 2024 edition of the United Nations’ report, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, estimates that between 713 and 757 million people, or somewhere between 8.9% to 9.4% of the global population may have faced hunger in 2023. While hunger can impact anyone, certain groups, such as women and children, are more affected. TechnoServe works with communities and households to raise awareness about the nutritional needs of all household members and how to meet those needs.

Regionally, Africa has the highest proportion of the population facing hunger at 20.4%, significantly higher than Asia at 8.1%, Latin America and the Caribbean at 6.2%, and Oceania at 7.3%. The report also estimates that “582 million people will be chronically undernourished at the end of the decade, and more than half of them will be in Africa.” 

Given these numbers, this blog post explores the root causes, the wide-reaching impacts, and the sustainable solutions to combat food insecurity. It highlights how organizations like TechnoServe are making a difference in reducing food insecurity and discusses how you can get involved in creating meaningful, lasting change.

What is Food Insecurity

Food insecurity occurs when individuals do not have consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life, as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN. According to the World Bank, there are four dimensions to consider:

• Physical availability of food 
• Economic and physical access to food 
• Food utilization by the body 
• Stability of the other three dimensions over time 

Unlike food shortages, which are often caused by specific crises like natural disasters or war, food insecurity can persist in both the short and long term, depending on economic conditions, infrastructure, and social policies. Other key drivers include poor health status, low income, and discrimination.

The Key Causes of Food Insecurity

To solve food insecurity, it helps to understand the root causes that create and sustain it. According to the report “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World,” published in July 2024, “major drivers of food insecurity include economic slowdowns and downturns, lack of access to nutritious foods, unhealthy food environments, and high and persistent inequality.”

Economic Drivers: Poverty and Unemployment

One of the leading causes of food insecurity is poverty. Without sufficient income, families struggle to buy enough food, much less maintain a nutritious diet. In many cases, unemployment or underemployment exacerbates this issue. Households with irregular or inadequate incomes face difficult choices between paying for necessities like housing, healthcare, and education versus food.

At TechnoServe, we recognize the direct connection between income and food security. Partnering with people to build sustainable, resilient farms and businesses in low-income countries generates new opportunities for reliable incomes. Through these programs, families can consistently afford the food they need to thrive.

Environmental Factors

Climate events significantly affect global food production. Changes in rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, and an increase in extreme weather—such as droughts, floods, and storms—have disrupted agriculture worldwide. This leads to reduced crop yields, increased food prices, and supply chain disruptions, hitting vulnerable communities the hardest.

Conflict and Political Instability

Wars and political instability can create food shortages by disrupting farming, destroying infrastructure, and displacing entire communities. These disruptions limit food production, transport, and distribution, leading to higher food prices and shortages. In regions affected by conflict, rebuilding food systems is essential for peace and recovery.

Consequences of Food Insecurity:  Physical, Mental, & Economic

Food insecurity has wide-ranging effects on individuals, families, and communities, including health, economic, and social impacts.

Health Impacts: Malnutrition and Hunger

Food insecurity and malnutrition are among the leading causes of poor health. At its most extreme, food insecurity leads to malnutrition and hunger. Malnutrition can occur even in families with access to food but lacking the diversity or quality necessary to maintain health. In the long term, when people don’t get adequate nutrients for their brains, muscles, and organs, they may experience nutrition-related chronic diseases and many other related medical conditions over time. 

Economic Consequences

Food insecurity hampers people’s ability to contribute to the economy. It often leads to more health issues for adults and children, which may result in more absences from work and school. Hungry children struggle to focus in school, leading to lower educational outcomes, while hungry adults may be less productive at work. Food insecurity also has long-term effects on economic development, as communities find it more difficult to overcome poverty without a stable food supply.

Mental and Emotional Well-being

Food insecurity is not just a physical lack of food. It also affects mental and emotional well-being and can lead to a vicious cycle of poverty and malnutrition by increasing vulnerability to illness and poor birth outcomes, limited cognitive development, and productivity later in life. Constant worry about where the next meal will come from leads to anxiety, stress, and even depression. This psychological toll is often felt most acutely by parents who are unable to provide for their children, compounding the adverse effects on family life and social stability.

Who is Most Affected by Food Insecurity?

Certain populations are more vulnerable to food insecurity than others. These include children, women, the elderly, and people living in rural or impoverished areas. People living in conflict-affected regions and climate-vulnerable populations, which tend to coincide with low-income areas, also suffer disproportionately from food insecurity. Understanding the unique challenges these groups face helps shape better interventions.

Impact on Women and Children

UNICEF reports that children have been hit the hardest by food insecurity, with more than 36 million acutely malnourished children across 32 countries in 2023. Conflict and disaster-related events were a major contributing cause. 

Women experience higher levels of food insecurity as a result of conflict and beliefs and practices that distribute nutritious food disproportionately to men despite higher micronutrient requirements of women before, during, and after pregnancy.

Solutions to Combat Food Insecurity

Numerous strategies exist to address food insecurity, from short-term relief to long-term sustainable solutions. Here are some ways we can collectively work toward a food-secure future.

Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems

Sustainable farming practices that prioritize environmental health and resource conservation are key to improving food security in the long term. By focusing on reducing soil degradation, enhancing water management, and promoting diverse crops, communities can build resilient food systems that withstand economic and environmental shocks. TechnoServe is at the forefront of this effort, working with smallholder farmers to adopt regenerative practices that increase yields and protect the environment.

Reducing Food Waste

Addressing food loss and waste is another critical element in the fight against food insecurity. Approximately one-third of all food produced globally is wasted through spoilage, inefficient storage, or consumer waste. Reducing loss and waste throughout the food chain—at the production, distribution, and consumption levels—can significantly improve food availability.

TechnoServe partners with organizations along the value chain to help farmers reduce post-harvest losses, ensuring more food reaches those who need it most.

Community Empowerment Through Business

Empowering communities to strengthen local food systems by developing their own food production and business enterprises is a key part of TechnoServe’s mission. Through training, market access, and financial support, TechnoServe helps farmers and entrepreneurs increase their incomes and build sustainable businesses. TechnoServe also works with producers to improve food safety and quality, ensuring that more people in low-income communities have access to safe and nutritious food.

The Role of TechnoServe in Addressing Food Insecurity

TechnoServe’s mission to reduce poverty by helping individuals build sustainable businesses and farms helps reduce food insecurity by creating economic opportunities, increasing incomes, and improving access to safe and nutritious foods in low-income communities. With projects spanning Africa, Latin America, and Asia, TechnoServe helps smallholder farmers improve their productivity and market access to ensure they can produce enough food for their communities and generate income.

Case Study: Sustainable Farming Initiative

One successful example of TechnoServe’s impact is the story of Joshua Mudope, a young farmer in Uganda. He participated in a TechnoServe program that trained smallholder farmers to adopt regenerative adaptation practices.  While the farm flourished, providing more reliable income for Joshua and his family, he also started to employ part-time workers, helping them earn additional income.

“I am now able to cultivate my vegetables in a controlled environment, with few disease attacks,” Joshua said. “From the training, I also learned to make my organic fertilizer. It is possible to create what you once bought.” 

TechnoServe has also partnered with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) processing nutritious food products, providing them with 1:1 technical assistance. Through this partnership, these SMEs solved their business and manufacturing challenges, seeing an increase in competitiveness and revenue and improving access to nutritious foods in local markets. This approach also provided more sourcing opportunities for smallholder farmers, which helped increase their incomes.

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How You Can Help

How can you help to reduce food insecurity around the world and in your local community?  Here are some opportunities:

Donate with Transparency

You can give to organizations like TechnoServe that work with members of local food systems to expand sustainable farming practices, reduce food waste, and improve the availability of nutritious food in low-income communities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. For every $1 invested in a program, a program participant earns $5.60 in incremental income.

Volunteer to Make a Lasting Impact

Donate your time to organizations working to reduce food insecurity.  Check out TechnoServe’s Fellows program, which empowers working professionals to offer their skills to help change the lives of those living in poverty around the world.

Support Sustainable Practices in Daily Life

You can also support food security through everyday choices, such as buying fair-trade products, reducing food waste at home, and advocating for policies that promote sustainable agriculture and fair distribution of food resources.

Food insecurity is a complex global issue with deep roots in poverty, climate change, and social inequality. However, we can make a lasting impact by supporting sustainable solutions, empowering communities, and reducing food waste. Organizations like TechnoServe are leading the way by creating opportunities for people to lift themselves out of poverty and build food-secure futures that break the vicious cycle of poverty and malnutrition.

By getting involved—whether through donations, volunteering, or simply making conscious daily choices—you can contribute to ending food insecurity.