There is only one country in the world capable of producing all the food it needs

New research suggests that only a country in the world is able to produce enough food to supply all its citizens.

The study, in the journal Nature Food, was developed in a partnership between the University of Goettingen, Germany, and the University of Edinburgh, the United Kingdom.

According to the study’s authors, other countries necessarily depend on foreign imports to ensure the balanced diet of their population. For the research, the agricultural reality of 185 regions was taken into account with regard to seven nutritional groups: fruits, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, protein, vegetables and starch foods.

According to the magazine, the research indicates that only the GuianaSouth American country, can be considered a Total self -sufficiency countryas it guarantees the local production of seven nutritional groups.

Soon after China and the Vietnameas they are capable of planting sufficiently Six of the seven types of food.

The data project that one in seven nations in the world is “self -sufficient” in five or more categories, with the countries of South America and Europe those who, in general, approach this level.

The study also shows that, around the world, 65% of the regions analyzed were producing Excessive meat and dairy products – This unbalanced was perceived due to the analysis of the food needs of its populations.

Similarly, a global shortage of nutrient -rich plants. Less than half of the countries involved in the study produce enough plant protein to maintain an ideal diet, which represents a low cultivation of beans, chickpeas, lentils, nuts and seeds.

Insular states, Arabian Peninsula countries and underdevelopment regions are the most likely to depend on foreign imports.

The study even points out that six of them – Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Macao, Qatar and Lemen – do not produce even enough of a group to be considered self -sufficient in a single category.

But, after all, why is the only country that produces all the food it needs is an underdeveloped country?

Food autosufficiency is not associated with wealth. “Low selfish is not inherently bad,” explains Jonas stehlfirst author of the project. “There are valid and often beneficial reasons why a country may not produce most of the food it needs.”

This can occur, for example, because of the low rainfallof a Little quality soil for planting or unstable temperatures to cultivate enough foods for the population.

In these scenarios, sometimes it can beefficient and economic to invest in import of regions with more appropriate characteristics to produce food.

“However, undeniably, low levels of self -sufficiency can reduce a country’s ability to respond to sudden shocks in global food supply,” says Stehl.

“So they are more susceptible to suffering from drought effects, wars or export prohibitions“.

Debates about the advantages of self-sufficiency increased after Covid-19 pandemic and the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine. On both occasions, food supply had to be temporarily interrupted, which caused lack of products and increased prices in many markets around the world.