Although more is produced than consumed, there are people who do not have access to enough safe and nutritious food to meet their needs and lead a healthy life because they do not have enough resources. This concept is called food insecurity and in Colombia, according to a survey of the Dane and FAO28.1 percent of households were in this situation last year.
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That is 28 out of every 100 Colombian households had to reduce the quantity and quality of food consumed, at least once in the last 12 months, due to lack of money. In addition, for 4.9 percent of them the prevalence of food insecurity was severe, which means that in five out of every 100 households at least one person went without food for a whole day because they did not have resources.
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The data was taken from the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (Fies), a tool designed by FAO and internationally adopted as the official measurement of the SDG 2.1.2 indicator. This was included for the first time in the Danish National Quality of Life Survey. Through eight questions, such as whether the household ran out of food or if it did not eat for a whole day, the situation of household food insecurity in 2022 was recognized.
“This is the first time that Colombia presents the Fies indicator. This information should motivate the country to reflect on the importance of the data and to have more disaggregation for vulnerable groups”, said the director of Dane, Piedad Urdinola.
Piedad Urdinola, director of the National Department of Statistics (Dane).
MAURICIO MORENO WEATHER
In La Guajira is the worst
The worst part is taken by the homes of La Guajira (59.7 percent), followed by Sucre (47.9 percent), Atlántico (46.1 percent), Magdalena (45.3 percent), Chocó (43.2 percent) and Cesar (41.1 percent). These have the highest prevalences of moderate or severe food insecurity. (see graph)
Then come the departments of Arauca (39.3 percent), Córdoba (38.9 percent), Nariño (37.1 percent) and Vaupés (36.1 percent). And they follow those of Bolívar (32.1 percent), Vichada (30.7 percent) and Guaviare (30.4 percent).
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“Except for some challenges in terms of corn and soybeans, Colombia has all the potential to produce the food it needs to provide food security for the population. We are self-sufficient. There is even food to throw away, ”she said at the presentation of the study the Minister of Agriculture, Jhenifer Mojica.
On the contrary, the departments of Caldas (14.6 percent), San Andrés (17.2 percent), Quindío (17.3 percent) and Risaralda (17.5 percent) In 2022, between 14 and 17 out of every 100 households were moderately or severely food insecure, the lowest prevalence in the country.
Higher risk in women
The prevalence of food insecurity in Colombia grows depending on variables such as the sex of the person, their educational level, the characteristics of their home or if they are a foreigner. In addition, there is a higher risk in the rural areas (32.5 percent) than in the capitals (26.8 percent).
According to Dane, it is higher in households headed by a woman (31 out of 100) in contrast to those headed by men (26 out of 100). Furthermore, it decreases as education level increases. It is observed that 48 out of every 100 households with heads without any schooling present moderate or severe food insecurity, followed by households with heads who have basic secondary (37 out of every 100), basic primary (34 out of every 100), medium (28 out of every 100) and, finally, there are those with higher education (15 out of every 100 households).
According to Dane, it is higher in households headed by a woman (31 out of 100) in contrast to those headed by men (26 out of 100).
Juan Pablo Rueda Bustamante / Time
The migratory character is also a determining factor in the probability that a household is more at risk or not of having moderate or severe food insecurity.
According to the Dane survey, while 27 out of 100 households headed by non-migrants or internal migrants experienced this type of food insecurity last year, households headed by a non-migrant international migrant and especially born in Venezuela had a significantly higher probability of 44.7 percent. According to Urdinola, this is one of the highest levels of prevalence among the different groups examined in this analysis.
In addition to this, the Dane analysis with the FAO measurement tool for the first time shows that households whose head is considered iindigenous people have a higher prevalence of food insecurity moderate or severe (46.3 percent), followed by households headed by a person who identifies as black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, or palenquera (40.7 percent).
On the other hand, those who do not identify with any ethnic group register the lowest probability (26.1 percent).
