TEHRAN – Iran has prepared 16 national plans aiming to improve food security which could increase gross national income by $23 billion.

GNI is the total amount of money earned by a nation's people and businesses. It is used to measure and track a nation's wealth from year to year. The number includes the nation's gross domestic product plus the income it receives from overseas sources.

World Bank and OECD national accounts data put Iran’s GNI at 24.431 quadrillion dollars in 2019.

Unjust and cruel sanctions have faced the country with different challenges in meeting technological needs and providing basic foods, Mostafa Qanei, secretary of biotech development center (BioDC), said, adding that the plans aim at boosting domestic production, enhancing knowledge-based economy, and saving foreign currency, IRNA reported.

According to the report of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects along with domestic conditions such as inflation and economic shocks increase the risk of food insecurity and hunger in the world.

Malnutrition plays an important role in COVID-19 development, people with weakened immune systems or non-communicable diseases are more vulnerable to the disease.

COVID-19 has negatively affected all aspects of food security, including food availability, accessibility, productivity, and stability.

Decreased purchasing power due to job loss, rising food prices, inflation, domestic and international conditions lead to the consumption of food without nutritional value and reduced physical activity which will cause malnutrition along with obesity and overweight.

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