An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security

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Food Security Information for Action Practical Guides The EC-FAO Food SecurityProgramme isfundedby the European Union andimplemented byFAO climate, cropping (labourdemand)and disease. patterns, workopportunities a cyclicalpatternofinadequateavailabilityand accesstofood.Thisisassociatedwithseasonalfluctuations inthe insecurity isoflimitedduration itcanalsobeseenasrecurrent, transitoryfoodinsecurity. Itoccurs whenthere is food insecurityasitisusually predictable andfollowsasequence ofknownevents.However, asseasonalfood The conceptofseasonalfoodsecurity fallsbetweenchronic andtransitoryfoodinsecurity. Itissimilartochronic Food securityanalystshavedefinedtwogeneraltypesoffoodinsecurity: II. THEDURATION OFFOODINSECURITY For foodsecurityobjectivestoberealized, allfourdimensionsmustbefulfilledsimultaneously. From thisdefinition,fourmaindimensionsoffoodsecuritycanbeidentified: - 1996World FoodSummit nutritious foodthatmeetstheirdietaryneedsandpreferences foranactiveandhealthylife. Food securityexistswhenallpeople,attimes,havephysicalandeconomicaccesstosufficientsafe I. THEFOURDIMENSIONSOFFOODSECURITY An Introduction totheBasicConceptsofFoodSecurity with... overcome can be from... results when... occurs is... time three dimensionsover STABILITY oftheother Food UTILIZATION ACCESS tofood Economic andphysical of food Physical AVAILABILITY CHRONIC FOODINSECURITY raise theirproductive capacity. need more direct accesstofoodenablethem productive resources, suchascredit. Theymayalso to address poverty, suchaseducationoraccessto typical longtermdevelopmentmeasures alsoused resources. inadequate accesstoproductive orfinancial extended periodsofpoverty, lackofassetsand requirements overasustainedperiodoftime. people are unabletomeettheirminimumfood long-term orpersistent. prices) mayhaveanimpactonyourfoodsecuritystatus. Adverse weatherconditions,politicalinstability, oreconomicfactors(unemployment, risingfood inadequate accesstofoodonaperiodicbasis,riskingdeteriorationofyournutritionalstatus. Even ifyourfoodintakeisadequatetoday, youare stillconsidered tobefoodinsecure ifyouhave of individuals. Combined withgoodbiologicalutilizationoffoodconsumed,thisdeterminesthenutritionalstatus feeding practices,foodpreparation, diversityofthedietandintra-householddistributionfood. in thefood.Sufficientenergy andnutrientintakebyindividualsisthe result ofgoodcare and Utilization iscommonlyunderstoodasthewaybodymakesmostofvariousnutrients policy focusonincomes,expenditure, marketsandpricesinachievingfoodsecurityobjectives. household levelfoodsecurity. Concernsaboutinsufficientfoodaccesshave resulted inagreater An adequatesupplyoffoodatthenationalorinternationalleveldoesnotinitselfguarantee food production, stocklevelsandnettrade. Food availabilityaddresses the“supplyside”offoodsecurityandisdeterminedbylevel Box 1). warning capacityandsafetynetprogrammes (see capacities andtypesofintervention,includingearly programming more difficultand requires different and canemerge suddenly. Thismakesplanningand transitory foodinsecurityisrelatively unpredictable incomes. domestic foodproduction, foodpricesandhousehold and foodaccess,includingyear-to-yearvariationsin shocksandfluctuations infoodavailability short-term status. access enoughfoodtomaintainagoodnutritional there isasuddendrop intheabilitytoproduce or andtemporary.short-term TRANSITORY FOODINSECURITY 1 An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security

The severity of undernourishment indicates, for the Box 1. What are Safety Nets? food deprived, the extent to which dietary energy consumption falls below the pre-determined threshold. Measures to enhance direct access to food are more

uides likely to be beneficial if these are embedded in more The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification general social safety net programmes. Safety nets (IPC) include income transfers for those chronically unable to work—because of age or handicaps—and for those temporarily affected by natural disasters or economic The IPC is a classification system for food security recession. crises based on a range of livelihood needs: Practical G Practical Options include: IPC Phase Classification Indicators

• Targeted direct feeding programmes. These include Generally food secure - Crude Mortality Rate school meals; feeding of expectant and nursing mothers - Malnutrition prevalence Chronically food insecure as well as children under five through primary health - Food Access/ Availability centres, soup kitchens and special canteens. Acute food and livelihood - Dietary Diversity crisis - Water Access/Availability Food Security Information for Action Food Security Information for • Food-for-work programmes. Food-for-work programmes Humanitarian emergency - Coping strategies provide support to households while developing useful - Livelihood Assets infrastructure such as small-scale irrigation, rural roads, Famine / humanitarian buildings for rural health centres and schools. catastrophe See www.ipcinfo.org for more information • Income-transfer programmes. These can be in cash or in kind, including food stamps, subsidized rations and IV. VULNERABILITY other targeted measures for poor households. The dynamic nature of food security is implicit when we Stamoulis, K. and Zezza, A. 2003. A Conceptual Framework for National Agricultural, Rural Development, and Food Security Strategies talk about people who are vulnerable to experiencing and Policies. ESA Working Paper No. 03-17, November 2003. food insecurity in the future. Vulnerability is defined in Agricultural and Development Economics Division, FAO, Rome. www. fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/007/ae050e/ terms of the following three critical dimensions: ae050e00.htm 1. vulnerability to an outcome; III. THE SEVERITY OF FOOD INSECURITY 2. from a variety of risk factors; 3. because of an inability to manage those risks. When analyzing food insecurity, it is not enough to know the duration of the problem that people are Indeed, a person can be vulnerable to hunger even if experiencing, but also how intense or severe the impact he or she is not actually hungry at a given point in time. of the identified problem is on the overall food security Vulnerability analysis suggests two main intervention and nutrition status. This knowledge will influence the options: nature, extent and urgency of the assistance needed by affected population groups. 1. Reduce the degree of exposure to the hazard; 2. Increase the ability to cope. Different ‘scales’ or ‘phases’ to ‘grade’ or ‘classify’ food security have been developed by food security By accounting for vulnerability, food security policies and analysts using different indicators and cut-off points or programs broaden their efforts from addressing current ‘benchmarks’. Examples include: constraints to food consumption, to include actions that also address future threats to food security. Measuring the Severity of Undernourishment

The measure for hunger compiled by FAO, defined as Box 2. Analyzing the Risk of Becoming Food Insecure undernourishment, refers to the proportion of the population whose dietary energy consumption is less For example, we may be interested in analyzing the risk than a pre-determined threshold. This threshold is of becoming food insecure as a result of a flood. country specific and is measured in terms of the number of kilocalories required to conduct sedentary or light If a household lives outside a flood plain then the activities. The undernourished are also referred to as exposure to flooding is low and therefore the risk of a suffering from food deprivation. flood causing the household to become food insecure is

2 An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security

low (unless their crops are in the valley!). deprivation that relate to human capabilities including consumption and food security, health, education, However, if they live on the flood plain, but they have the rights, voice, security, dignity and decent work.” ability to cope with the hazard, for example by being very - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) uides mobile, and being able to move their animals and/or food crops to safety, then the risk may still be low. It is argued that a strategy for attacking poverty in conjunction with policies to ensure food security offers the best hope of swiftly reducing mass poverty and V. HUNGER, MALNUTRITION AND POVERTY hunger. However, recent studies show that economic

Practical G Practical growth alone will not take care of the problem of food It is important to understand how these three concepts security. What is needed is a combination of: are related to food insecurity.

- income growth; supported by Hunger is usually understood as an uncomfortable or - direct nutrition interventions; and painful sensation caused by insufficient food energy - investment in health, water and education. consumption. Scientifically, hunger is referred to as food deprivation.

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Simply put, all hungry people are food insecure, but not E-learning all food insecure people are hungry, as there are other causes of food insecurity, including those due to poor These guidelines are taken from the e-learning course “Food Security Concepts and Frameworks” available at: intake of micro-nutrients. www.foodsec.org/dl

Malnutrition results from deficiencies, excesses or Further Reading imbalances in the consumption of macro- and/or micro- nutrients. Malnutrition may be an outcome of food Devereux, S. 2006 Distinguishing between chronic and insecurity, or it may relate to non-food factors, such as: transitory food insecurity in emergency needs assessments. SENAC. WFP. Rome. - inadequate care practices for children, - insufficient health services; and Dilley M. and Boudreau T.E. Coming to terms with - an unhealthy environment. vulnerability: a critique of the food security definition. Food Policy, Volume 26, Number 3, June 2001 , pp. 229-247(19) While poverty is undoubtedly a cause of hunger, lack FAO. 2003. Focus on Food Insecurity and Vulnerability – A of adequate and proper nutrition itself is an underlying review of the UN System Common Country Assessments cause of poverty. and World Bank Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. FIVIMS Secretariat and Wageningen University and Research Centre: A current and widely used definition of poverty is: www.fao.org/DOCREP/006/Y5095E/Y5095E00.htm

“Poverty encompasses different dimensions of Sen, A.K. 1981. Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlements and Deprivation. Oxford. Clarendon Press.

Figure 1: Food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty are Stamoulis, K. and Zezza, A. 2003. A Conceptual Framework deeply interrelated phenomena for National Agricultural, Rural Development, and Food Security Strategies and Policies. ESA Working Paper No. 03-17, November 2003. Agricultural and Development Economics Poverty Division, FAO, Rome. www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr. asp?url_file=/docrep/007/ae050e/ae050e00.htm

WFP.2005. Emergency Food Security Assessment Handbook. http://www.wfp.org/operations/emergency_needs/EFSA_ section1.pdf

Low productivity Food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition This document is available online at: www.foodsec.org/docs/concepts_guide.pdf For more resources see: http://www.foodsec.org/pubs.htm