Bahrain ranked sixth in Mideast food security

Manama : Bahrain has been ranked 6th in the Middle East region in the latest edition of the Global Food Security Index.

The research has revealed Bahrain as 37th most food secure nation in the world. The study titled The Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2017 was conducted by Economist Intelligence Unit.  Kuwait was ranked as the most food secure nation in the region, Oman was ranked second, Qatar third followed by Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (4TH and 5th). World wide, Ireland was ranked as the most food secure country.

The Index is constructed after considering the issues of affordability, availability, and quality across a set of 113 countries. 

“The index is a dynamic quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model, constructed from 28 unique indicators, that measures these drivers of food security across both developing and developed countries,” researchers stated.

The report stated that the GCC region is especially vulnerable to droughts and storms. “The countries of the GCC — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — are exceptionally vulnerable. The oil-rich area is the most susceptible of all regions to losses from storms, sea level rise and drought. Though the GCC countries’ agricultural sectors are small — less than 2%of the total land area is arable — heightened exposure threatens to increase dependency on imports. On average they already import 60-80 per cent of their food from abroad. Furthermore, management of risks is particularly weak: for example, Qatar, ranked 110th out of 113 countries in this category, has no exposure management measures in place,” the report stated.