Food security

Between 2012 and 2017, rural mountain communities in developing countries became more vulnerable to food insecurity, continuing a trend started in 2000. In the five years from 2012 to 2017, the absolute number of vulnerable people increased globally by 40 million, representing an increment of 12.5 percent. As of 2017, about 346 million rural mountain people living in developing countries were vulnerable to food insecurity.

In 2017, more than 90 percent of the world’s mountain dwellers lived in developing countries, including 648 million people living in rural areas where a vast majority lived below the poverty line and more than 1 in 2 faced the threat of food insecurity.

The vulnerability of mountain communities to food insecurity in the developing world is compounded by the presence of natural hazards and armed conflicts that disrupt livelihoods or strain the natural resources on which mountain people depend. These alarming statistics give voice to the plight of mountain communities. They send a clear message to policymakers about the importance of including mountains in their development agendas. These agendas should focus on alleviating the harsh living conditions of mountain communities and reducing outmigration from mountain areas.