Measuring Food Security in Pakistan: A Multidimensional Index Approach

Abstract

Food security is a key element of the self-sufficiency of agricultural countries. This paper constructs various dimensional and a composite multidimensional annual food security index for Pakistan from 1980 to 2023. Food security is not a simple phenomenon. This study considered a multidimensional framework to accurately capture its complex nature. The authors used Principal Component Analysis to develop food security indices for Pakistan. The composite index comprises four dimensions. These are food availability, access, utilization, and stability. The study took 6 indicators for food availability, 3 for food access, 1 for food utilization, and 4 for food stability over the period 1980-2023. The authors extracted data from World Development Indicators and the Food and Agriculture Organization database for the first three dimensions. The stability indicators are constructed by the authors. The dimensional index of food availability exhibits modest progress. The food access index has improved over the years, yet food utilization has not. This caused severe malnutrition and low dietary diversity. Natural disasters, economic shocks, and overreliance on food imports have destabilized the food supply and exacerbated food insecurity. Overall, food insecurity is still a pervasive issue in the country. The authors conducted a robustness analysis to develop dimensional and composite food security indices using factor analysis. The results confirm robustness to the aggregation technique. The authors suggest that agricultural investments and initiatives to build resilience to climate shocks may help to address food insecurity. Moreover, the government may implement targeted food subsidy programs for low-income households to address deeply rooted food insecurity, thereby helping to achieve SDGs 2 and 3. The non-availability of longitudinal data on various indicators of food utilization confined the analysis to only one indicator.