Disruption in Food Supply Chain and Undernourishment Challenges: An Empirical Study in the Context of Asian Countries

Abstract Undernourishment and associated health issues are some mammoth challenges that the world currently faces. The poorly design food supply chain (FSC) is considered a root cause of high undernourishment cases worldwide. Since all processes and stages in a supply chain are strongly connected, a slight delay or glitch can trigger a butterfly effect resulting in significant socio-economic losses. The FSC is vital to providing human essentials and a source of bread earning; rank at the top in global industries and any disturbance results in high unemployment and leading social evils like crime and violence in society. Recognize the same; this study examines the impact of food supply chain disruption on undernourished cases in selected Asian countries. Using Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) estimator, this study provides two key findings. First, a higher intensity of COVID-19 cases translates into higher undernourishment due to direct and indirect effects from higher stringency measures. Secondly, government financial allocations to combat COVID-19 and economic growth significantly mitigate the prevalence of undernourishment. Interestingly, a higher crime index is linked with higher undernourished cases supporting the proposition of socio-economic disorder. These results propose broad policy implications for governments, food regulatory authority, donor agencies, and Non-Governmental Organizations by strengthening the food supply chain and thus reduces undernourishment cases.