Food more affordable, accessible in most countries; biggest gains in Egypt ...

ROME, May 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Food has become
more affordable and accessible in most countries over the past
year due to investment in agriculture and infrastructure,
falling global food prices and economic growth in most regions,
a leading research group said on Tuesday.

Two thirds of the 109 countries surveyed in the 2015 Global
Food Security Index which measures the affordability,
availability, quality and safety of a country's food supply saw
improvements, the Economist Intelligence Unit said.

Egypt, Myanmar, Azerbaijan, the Democratic Republic of Congo
and Togo made the most progress partially due to more affordable
food and reduced political tensions.

Ukraine, Sierra Leone, Honduras and Mozambique faced
worsening food security mostly due to economic instability and
rapid urbanisation, the report said.

The gap between the most and least-food secure nations has
narrowed because of falling prices for grains, sugar and dairy
products and more government investment in safety net programmes
and monitoring, the report said.

Countries once rocked by chronic hunger, particularly those
in sub-Saharan Africa, are seeing gains due to investments in
crop storage facilities and other infrastructure, said Lucy
Hurst, director of the Food Security Index.

Reducing supply chain problems means more food gets to
hungry residents and countries become less dependent on outside
aid, she said.

"Countries will continue to benefit from the combination of
economic growth and food prices that are at their lowest level
since 2010," Hurst said in a statement.

"However, economic growth is necessary, but not sufficient
to reduce hunger; policies, the right investments and
partnerships are equally important."

Researchers warn that global population growth - from 7.2
billion in 2013 to a projected 9.6 billion in 2050 - will put
increasing pressure on food markets.

The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that
global food production will need to grow by 70 percent to meet
the new demand.

(Reporting By Chris Arsenault; Editing by Katie Nguyen)

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