Hunger worsened in 10 regions due to political crisis and fall in GDP

The pandemic shook the foundations of society and it is now that Peru has one more problem to face: the fight against hunger.

According to the last Global Hunger Indexcarried out by Alliance 2015, in ten regions of our country hunger worsened due to inflation and the economic slowdown seen in 2022.

Although the average balance shows that we are a country with a “moderate” problem – with 19.6 points, four tenths away from entering the serious terrain –, the simulations project that the outlook would worsen with greater emphasis on the rural area at the end of this 2023 (see infographic).

Kaspar Schmidt, director of Helvetas Perú, adds that the political factor also integrates the equation that complicates hunger and generated the loss of purchasing power of the population, to the point that the positive effects inherited from the rebound seen in the bicentennial – after the recession of 2020—. He even acknowledged that he was “very optimistic” in the projections.

The profile of hunger

Carolina Trivelli, principal investigator of the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP), explained that the rise in poverty is accompanied by a food crisis: the amount of food consumed by households has been reduced and we are heading towards severe food insecurity.

“In the last three months, 6 out of 10 households were left without food at some point. In March 2023 it was 46% and in September, it was 57%. This problem is growing and by gender, urban-rural or socioeconomic area there are important differences,” she said. The former Minister of Development and Social Inclusion insisted on diversifying policies to combat hunger, considering that there is not a single type of poverty.

What will the Government do?

Janet Ramos, general director of the General Directorate of Agrarian Policies of the Ministry of Agrarian Development (Midagri), assured that they will not only bet on assistance policies, but they will also generate capacities in the population.

Within the route to follow, he explained that they will formulate the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy, which “will not be more of the same”—in response to Trivelli, who questioned what was done by the Executive—, as well as the National Food and Nutrition Policy. Family Farming, since this sector “provides the largest amount of food that we consume daily.”

Finally, they will regulate the food safety and food recovery law, which has been dubbed a “dead letter” by the common pots.

Break the order for good

The problem of hunger plays into the wall with pending tasks to combat malnutrition, considering that before the pandemic it cost the country 4.6% of the GDP: US$10,584 million, Trivelli warned.

The IGH 2023 proposes to improve employment conditions and guarantee wagess fairs within food systems so that young people see the sector as profitable and where they develop professional skills; in addition to the incorporation of gender equality to end barriers in education and employment, since women have a greater burden of unpaid work at home.

Reactions

Janet Ramos, General Directorate of Agrarian Policies of Midagri

“The agriculture Family is the one that provides the largest amount of food we consume, and there is a commitment to implement training and technical assistance.”

Kaspar Schmidt, Helvetas Peru

“The combination of inflation, political crisis and economic slowdown has brought the country to an index very close to the limit between moderate and serious. The outlook is worrying.”