The seven food groups examined were fruits, vegetables, dairy products, fish, meat, plant proteins, and starchy staples.

Guyana is followed by China and Vietnam, which achieve food self-sufficiency in six groups, according to the research, which examined the ability of 186 countries to feed their populations using only domestic production.

At the other extreme, the study identifies six countries that do not meet the needs of any food group, primarily in the Middle East (Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, the Special Administrative Region of Macao, Qatar, and Yemen, in addition to China).

The study also notes that of the 186 countries studied, 154 can meet the requirements for two to five of the seven food groups in the World Wildlife Fund’s Livewell diet, which considers plant proteins, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, while giving less importance to foods high in fat, salt, and sugar.

The research shows that more than a third of all countries achieve self-sufficiency for two or fewer food groups; 25 are in Africa, 10 in the Caribbean, and seven in Europe. Only one in seven nations achieves self-sufficiency in five or more food groups, mostly in Europe and South America.

The study offers abundant data on the topic and highlights that nations characterized by low self-sufficiency and high dependence on one or a few trading partners face greater vulnerability to market shocks.

Analyzing the change in self-sufficiency from 2020 to 2032, projections suggest that nearly all countries have the potential to improve self-sufficiency, although this varies across different food groups, the study summarizes.

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