Food Systems Dashboard

Food Environments Food affordability

Cost of vegetables relative to the starchy staples in a least-cost healthy diet

Definition

Cost of the least expensive vegetables as a multiple of the least expensive starchy staples to meet intake levels recommended in food-based dietary guidelines. Data available for 2017.

Relevance

Shows the relative cost of the recommended amount per day of vegetables compared to the recommended amount per day of starchy staples. A ratio greater than 1 indicates a high-cost food group. A ratio less than 1 indicates the food group costs less than the cost of starchy staples.

Additional Information

Herforth, A., Venkat, A., Bai, Y., Costlow, L., Holleman, C. & Masters, W.A. 2022. Methods and options to monitor the cost and affordability of a healthy diet globally. Background paper for The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022. FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper 22-03. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc1169en

Participate in an independent evaluation of the Food Systems Dashboard- FSD!

Your insights are invaluable in helping us understand how the FSD is used and how it can be improved to better support evidence-based decision-making across food systems. The survey is anonymous and takes just 15–20 minutes.

If you primarily engage with dashboards Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya, or Mozambique, please submit your response here.

Participate in the Global Survey →