DuPont has enhanced its Global Food Security Index, which captures the impact of changes in global food prices at a national level where price fluctuations are felt most directly. Developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the Price Adjustment Factor tool measures the impact of changing food prices and income growth over time, in an effort to better understand the root causes of hunger.

“Many factors affect food prices, from rising demand in emerging markets to abrupt changes in the weather,” said EIU global forecasting director, Leo Abruzzese. “The new Price Adjustment Factor tool will assess, quarterly, the impact of price changes on a country’s ability to afford food. High and volatile prices can impact food security by limiting consumers’ purchasing power and calorie consumption.”

The Global Food Security Index, available online, addresses the underlying factors of food insecurity in 105 countries and points to areas for improvement and reforms. Features include:

• The impact of changing food prices on each country’s ability to afford food
• Analysis of key findings
• Definition of 25 global indicators that measure specific aspects of food affordability, accessibility, availability, nutritional value and safety
• An interactive heat map of overall scores and detail of category results
• Adjustable weightings to allow for scenario planning
• The ability to compare multiple countries simultaneously and adjust rankings by indicators
• A country details page that allows a food-security drill down into individual economies