Authors: Dr.A. Satheesh Babu
Abstract: Global food security is a major challenge of the twenty-first century, particularly amid climate change, climatic variability, population pressure and increasing competition for natural resources. Food insecurity is multidimensional, requiring improvements in food availability, economic access, utilisation and stability, especially among vulnerable populations. Although India and Thailand are important agricultural economies in Asia, comparative evidence on their food security and climate-related vulnerabilities remains limited. Against this background, this study compares food security and climate change-related food and water vulnerability in India and Thailand. The study is descriptive and based on secondary data from the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) published by the Economist Intelligence Unit/Economist Impact and the Food Vulnerability and Water Vulnerability indicators of the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN). GFSI data for 2012–2022 and ND-GAIN data for 2001–2024 are analysed using mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation and annual growth rate. The findings show that Thailand maintained a comparatively stronger food-security position than India, recording a higher average GFSI score. India also exhibited substantially higher average Food Vulnerability (0.604) than Thailand (0.451). However, mean Water Vulnerability was slightly higher in Thailand (0.524) than India (0.516), while India's score showed a gradual long-term decline. Overall, Thailand demonstrates stronger food security and lower food-sector vulnerability, whereas India shows improvement in water vulnerability. The findings emphasise climate-resilient agriculture, sustainable water management, improved food access and institutional adaptation, with relevant policy lessons from Thailand for India.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22301798
