Projecting food demand in 2030: Can Uganda attain the zero hunger goal?
A precarious food security situation implies that many countries in the Global South may not achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) of zero hunger by 2030. We focus on the case of Uganda and explore food demand and food security implications for 2030, where 33% (15 million) of the population of 44 million are poor. Matooke (cooking bananas), cassava, and (sweet) potatoes are traditional foods in Uganda; however, the consumption of maize, wheat, and rice has been rising with increases in income and urbanization. Using the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) datasets of Uganda, this study estimated the demand for matooke, cassava and potatoes, maize/coarse grains, wheat and rice, vegetables, and meat and fish in 2030. Our findings confirm that with increases in income and demographic changes, the demand for these food items will increase drastically. To attain SDG2 of zero hunger, as well as food and nutrition security, this study calls for further investments in Uganda’s agricultural sector to enhance domestic production capacity to meet the growing demand for food.