Building a Roadmap for Resilient Food Supply Chains

As global supply chains face ongoing turbulence, Economist Impact explores how countries can build food supply chain resilience and the barriers they face.

With a growing population and increasing weather disruption affecting crops, the global food supply chain could be particularly vulnerable.

Facing the challenge of feeding 10 billion people in the coming decades, the global supply chain must prepare itself to develop resilience.

Through its inaugural Resilient Food Systems Index (RFSI), Economist Impact offers a roadmap to building more shock-resistant systems that procurement professionals need to understand.

Food supply chains rely on regular weather patterns, controlled temperatures and swift logistics operations to reach consumers without waste. Between 2020 and 2024, disruption to crops has occurred, with extreme weather causing rot and damage to yields.

This instability, mixed with a growing population, could mean demand is higher than ever, with supply chain shocks having even higher impacts on procurement strategies.

Understanding supplier vulnerability and risk

Economist Impact's RFSI ranks 60 countries across four pillars, exploring how resilient countries are and where they need to improve. The index revealed a 42-point gap between Portugal and the Congo, the most and least resilient food systems.

No country revealed total resilience – instead, nearly half of the countries gained average scores of 56-71 across a 100-point scale.

A significant barrier to resilience is affordability. In 62% of countries, the cheapest healthy diet makes up almost 60% of the poorest household's income, meaning there is a lack of affordable and nutritious food that can be reached by everyone.

According to the index, the 15 largest exporters have an average score of 71. The need to monitor risks and opportunities around the world is high for procurement professionals – when suppliers face major shocks, the markets relying on these countries will also undergo disruption.

"The data show food systems are deeply interconnected: when countries implement targeted, coordinated action across key resilience levers, the benefits ripple across entire systems," says Jonathan Birdwell, Global Head of Policy and Insights at Economist Impact.

"But if these interventions fall short or happen in isolation, overall system resilience will deteriorate."

Critical gaps in infrastructure

Research found that food affordability is strong, but gaps exist in access to nutritional food.

Though food affordability was the strongest performing pillar (accruing an average score of 71.8) access and nutrition had major inequalities. Food prices in lower-income countries have risen the fastest, with a 23.1% increase between 2019 and 2024.

Transportation and logistics systems scored an average of 56.8, with the revelation that 13.2% of food is lost before reaching retail and 19% wasted within households. Though many countries support agritech, they lack the infrastructure to scale it, meaning there is an inability to deliver a system-wide impact.

Climate resilience is a major limit to food stability, with climate risk responsiveness being at an average of 56.4.

Despite research in low-emissions agriculture and sustainable practices being strong, agriculture-specific efforts to adapt and mitigate risks was at an average of 34.

Procurement strategies for resilience

To address these vulnerabilities, the index explores areas for improvement. Advancing affordability alongside access and nutrition is essential, as agricultural trade correlates with dietary diversity. Better access to trade can result in lower costs while offering greater choice to consumers.

Scaling infrastructure and innovation through investing in equitable internet and mobile access, cold chain capacity and transport networks can reduce food loss and expand market access for farmers.

Strengthening resilience through actionable solutions and translating innovation into agriculture-specific adaptation can help countries strengthen their systems.

"Everyone needs dependable access to nutritious, affordable food," says Brian Sikes, Board Chair and CEO of Cargill.

"This research offers valuable insights that can help strengthen the world's food systems. Cargill is proud to do our part to advance this important work, innovating with farmers, customers and partners across our global supply chains to help ensure food moves where it's needed, when it's needed."