Overview of Basic Concepts and constructs in Food security

By

Abba AMINU

Bayero University, Kano

working with FAO Nigeria/CILSS

as resource person in the implementation of the Cadre Harmonise (CH) in

Nigeria

Presented

At

Standardized Food Security Indicators Refresher Training

Organized by FAO-Nigeria/CILSS,WFP, FEWSNet and other Partners

20-21, February, 2017

Bolton White Hotel

Abuja-Nigeria

Main Objective of the presentation

To learn/ appreciate the basic concepts ofFood Security

What is food security?

• Food security exists when all people, at all times,have physical, social and economic access tosufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets theirdietary needs and food preferences for an active andhealthy life

Note: From these definition four dimension of foodsecurity can be identified.

The four dimensions/Elements of FS

1. Physical Availability /Access to food

2. Economic Access to Food

3. Food Utilization

4. Stability (of the 3 elements)

Physical Availability

What the determinants of Physical Availability?

• Domestic food production,

• Stock levels (Reserves)

• Imports

• Food Aid

Economic Access

Adequate supply (Physical availability) may not by itself guarantee food security because access could be influence by certain economic factors such as ;

Incomes,

Markets and prices

Expenditure,

Food Utilization

Utilization of food determine the nutritional status of individuals /households.

Food Utilization is determine by the following;

• Good feeding practices

• Food preparation

• Diversity of the diet

• Intra-household distribution of food (equity)

• Good biological utilization of food consumed by the body (physiological factors)

Stability

STABILITY of the other three dimensions over time.

Stability may be influenced by the following factors;

• Adverse weather conditions,

• Social and political instability, or

• Economic factors (unemployment, rising food prices etc)

Note: For food security objectives to be fully realized, all the four

dimensions must be fulfilled simultaneously.

Conceptually

We can analyse FS at different levels e.g;

• Household Food Security: All household members have affordable access at all times to the food they need for a healthy life.

• National/State/Zonal/LG/Community Food Security: Food is available in market through-out the country/State/Zone/LG/Community from domestic production, commercial imports, or food assistance .

Types of Food Insecurity

Food insecurity exists when people do not have adequatephysical, social or economic access to food as defined above

Food Insecurity can be discuss based on the followingdimensions ;

• Duration (a time dimension )

• Severity (Scale dimension)

In terms of Duration

In terms of duration there are two generaltypes of food insecurity;

1. CHRONIC FOOD INSECURITY

2. TRANSITORY FOOD INSECURITY

In between the two there may be what isterm as Seasonal Food Insecurity (cyclical innature )

Chronic Food Insecurity

• Chronic food insecurity occurs when people are unable tomeet their minimum food requirements over a sustainedperiod of time. It is long-term or persistent in nature.

• Chronic food insecurity is often the result of extended periodsof poverty, lack of assets and inadequate access to productiveor financial resources.

• Chronic food insecurity can be overcome with typical long term development measures such as education or access to productive resources, such as credit etc

• But in the first instance chronically food insecure people mayneed more direct access to food to enable them to raise theirproductive capacity

TRANSITORY FOOD INSECURITY

• It refers to a sudden drop in the ability to produce or accessenough food to maintain a good nutritional status. Transitoryfood insecurity is short-term and temporary

• Transitory food insecurity is primarily caused by short-termshocks and fluctuations in food availability and food access,including year-to-year variations in domestic food production,food prices and household incomes.

• Transitory food insecurity is relatively unpredictable and canemerge suddenly and this makes planning and programmingmore difficult.

• The best option for tackling it, is developing the capacity foran early warning capacity and safety net programmes

Seasonal Food Insecurity

• It is an intermediate type of food insecurity which occurswhen there is a cyclical pattern of inadequate availability andaccess to food.

• This is associated with seasonal fluctuations in the climate,cropping patterns, work opportunities (labour demand)and/or prevalence of diseases.

• In rural communities it is common to talk of “hungry periods”(e.g pre-harvest periods) and “periods of plenty” (e.g harvestperiods)related to the agricultural calendar and/or cyclicalavailability of employment

In terms of Severity

In terms of severity the following types of food insecurity are

identified;

• Acute food insecurity which is used in describing a severe and life threatening situation.

• Famine which is used in describing the most extremesituation of food insecurity usually associated withsubstantial loss of life.

Note: the IPC and CH analysis and classification is based onthe severity dimension

How to Measure and report food Insecurity situation

• To accurately describe the intensity of food insecurity,different scales or terms have been developed using differentindicators and cut-off points or benchmarks.

• Until recently, there was no commonly used scale and thusmaking it very hard to compare the severity of different foodsecurity crises.

• This in turn makes it hard to prioritize between differentcontexts and respond proportionately to needs.

The Cadre Harmonize (CH) was developed to provide acommon scale for analysis and reporting of food insecuritysituation especially for the ECOWAS region.

Major Outcomes/ Indicators of FS

• Food Consumption ( FCS, HHS,HDDS etc as indicators)

• Livelihood Evolution (change in asset, income etc as indicators)

• Nutritional Status (GAM, BMI)

• Mortality ( Under 5 mortality rate etc)

Factors that would reduce household food insecurity

• Increased Agricultural Productivity

• Investments in Market Infrastructure and information

• Investment in irrigation Infrastructure

• Education of Smallholder Farmers

• Provision of Extension Services

• Social Safety Net Programs

Thank you for listening