Pub Date : 2025-09-01DOI: 10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100882
Diego Monteza-Quiroz, Andres Silva, Maria Isabel Sactic
Most previous research on food insecurity treats households in isolation, overlooking social interactions. The purpose of this study is to analyze the causal relation between social capital and food insecurity. We have addressed potential endogeneity issues using access variables as instrumental variables and employed a recursive bivariate probit model to analyze the relation between social capital and food insecurity across three illustrative cases. We utilized a unique dataset comprising 72,056 households, which includes questionnaires on food insecurity and social capital. For the first time, we were able to assess the causal relation between social capital and food insecurity, finding that social capital reduces food insecurity by 23–25 percentage points. Our findings aim to inform and support the expansion of social capital-based food policies as a strategy to mitigate food insecurity. Moreover, we argue that a larger dataset would need to include food insecurity and social capital questionnaires to provide new insights to reduce food insecurity. Finally, we argue that larger datasets should include both food insecurity and social capital modules to generate new insights for reducing food insecurity.
{"title":"The effect of social capital on food insecurity: Insights from a household survey","authors":"Diego Monteza-Quiroz, Andres Silva, Maria Isabel Sactic","doi":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100882","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100882","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Most previous research on food insecurity treats households in isolation, overlooking social interactions. The purpose of this study is to analyze the causal relation between social capital and food insecurity. We have addressed potential endogeneity issues using access variables as instrumental variables and employed a recursive bivariate probit model to analyze the relation between social capital and food insecurity across three illustrative cases. We utilized a unique dataset comprising 72,056 households, which includes questionnaires on food insecurity and social capital. For the first time, we were able to assess the causal relation between social capital and food insecurity, finding that social capital reduces food insecurity by 23–25 percentage points. Our findings aim to inform and support the expansion of social capital-based food policies as a strategy to mitigate food insecurity. Moreover, we argue that a larger dataset would need to include food insecurity and social capital questionnaires to provide new insights to reduce food insecurity. Finally, we argue that larger datasets should include both food insecurity and social capital modules to generate new insights for reducing food insecurity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48741,"journal":{"name":"Global Food Security-Agriculture Policy Economics and Environment","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article 100882"},"PeriodicalIF":9.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145094955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-21DOI: 10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100880
Noah J. Wescombe , Juan Garcia Martínez , Florian Ulrich Jehn , Nico Wunderling , Asaf Tzachor , Vilma Sandström , Michael Cassidy , Rachel Ainsworth , David Denkenberger
Food systems today face interconnected, systemic risks that could culminate in widespread disruptions triggering extreme global famine, in addition to neglected extreme risks. This paper introduces the concept of Global Catastrophic Food Failure (GCFF) to describe such scenarios; where food shortages overwhelm response capacities of governments and private sectors, necessitating extraordinary interventions. A GCFF could be triggered by various mechanisms including: abrupt sunlight reduction scenarios from a volcanic winter (like a Tambora-scale eruption), nuclear winter, or asteroid impact that could cause near-total agricultural collapse; multiple breadbasket failures from synchronous extreme weather events causing >10 % yield losses; collapse of critical climate systems like the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) that could eliminate half of wheat and maize cultivation zones; or cascading disruptions to global trade and agricultural inputs (fertilizers, fuel, machinery) that could reduce crop production by up to 40 % across staples. These events would be characterized by rapid onset, extended duration over multiple years, extreme magnitude affecting global food supply by 5–10 % or more, and limited resilience exceeding normal coping mechanisms. While the exact likelihood of certain GCFF scenarios is uncertain, forecasts over the century indicate a probability of over 10 % for each of: a large climate-changing eruption, a nuclear war, and an AMOC collapse. Currently, GCFF is a blind spot requiring research and policy efforts to strengthen food systems' resilience and capacity to sustain humanity.
{"title":"It's time to consider global catastrophic food failures","authors":"Noah J. Wescombe , Juan Garcia Martínez , Florian Ulrich Jehn , Nico Wunderling , Asaf Tzachor , Vilma Sandström , Michael Cassidy , Rachel Ainsworth , David Denkenberger","doi":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100880","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100880","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Food systems today face interconnected, systemic risks that could culminate in widespread disruptions triggering extreme global famine, in addition to neglected extreme risks. This paper introduces the concept of Global Catastrophic Food Failure (GCFF) to describe such scenarios; where food shortages overwhelm response capacities of governments and private sectors, necessitating extraordinary interventions. A GCFF could be triggered by various mechanisms including: abrupt sunlight reduction scenarios from a volcanic winter (like a Tambora-scale eruption), nuclear winter, or asteroid impact that could cause near-total agricultural collapse; multiple breadbasket failures from synchronous extreme weather events causing >10 % yield losses; collapse of critical climate systems like the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) that could eliminate half of wheat and maize cultivation zones; or cascading disruptions to global trade and agricultural inputs (fertilizers, fuel, machinery) that could reduce crop production by up to 40 % across staples. These events would be characterized by rapid onset, extended duration over multiple years, extreme magnitude affecting global food supply by 5–10 % or more, and limited resilience exceeding normal coping mechanisms. While the exact likelihood of certain GCFF scenarios is uncertain, forecasts over the century indicate a probability of over 10 % for each of: a large climate-changing eruption, a nuclear war, and an AMOC collapse. Currently, GCFF is a blind spot requiring research and policy efforts to strengthen food systems' resilience and capacity to sustain humanity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48741,"journal":{"name":"Global Food Security-Agriculture Policy Economics and Environment","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article 100880"},"PeriodicalIF":9.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144886034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-12DOI: 10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100879
Yuhan Zhao , Fang Xia , Xiande Li , Chen Qian , Shenggen Fan
Food security and nutrition are crucial for well-being and global development, as emphasized by Sustainable Development Goal 2. Nevertheless, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) continue to face significant challenges related to food insecurity and malnutrition, adversely affecting health throughout the life course—from impaired child development to increased risks of non-communicable diseases in adults. Meanwhile, international migration has emerged as a key livelihood strategy in these regions. While research has explored migration's impact on household well-being, its complex interactions with food security, nutrition, and health across different household members remain underexplored. This study investigates how international migration affects the food security, nutrition, and health of left-behind households in rural Tajikistan. Using a large-scale dataset of 10,742 households and an instrumental variable approach, we find that migration significantly enhances food purchasing power, increases macronutrient intake, and improves diet quality and quantity. While children's health outcomes improve, the incidence of diet-related chronic diseases among adults rises. We also identify nonlinear relationships between migration duration and calorie intake (inverted U-shaped) and the General Dietary Quality Score (U-shaped), reflecting patterns observed in adult hypertension. These findings suggest that Tajikistan and other LMICs should implement policies to promote employment opportunities for rural households to improve food security and nutrition. Additionally, targeted interventions are necessary to ensure balanced nutrition and health education for migrant-sending communities and households with migrants.
{"title":"How does migration affect the food security and health of children and adults ?","authors":"Yuhan Zhao , Fang Xia , Xiande Li , Chen Qian , Shenggen Fan","doi":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100879","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100879","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Food security and nutrition are crucial for well-being and global development, as emphasized by Sustainable Development Goal 2. Nevertheless, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) continue to face significant challenges related to food insecurity and malnutrition, adversely affecting health throughout the life course—from impaired child development to increased risks of non-communicable diseases in adults. Meanwhile, international migration has emerged as a key livelihood strategy in these regions. While research has explored migration's impact on household well-being, its complex interactions with food security, nutrition, and health across different household members remain underexplored. This study investigates how international migration affects the food security, nutrition, and health of left-behind households in rural Tajikistan. Using a large-scale dataset of 10,742 households and an instrumental variable approach, we find that migration significantly enhances food purchasing power, increases macronutrient intake, and improves diet quality and quantity. While children's health outcomes improve, the incidence of diet-related chronic diseases among adults rises. We also identify nonlinear relationships between migration duration and calorie intake (inverted U-shaped) and the General Dietary Quality Score (U-shaped), reflecting patterns observed in adult hypertension. These findings suggest that Tajikistan and other LMICs should implement policies to promote employment opportunities for rural households to improve food security and nutrition. Additionally, targeted interventions are necessary to ensure balanced nutrition and health education for migrant-sending communities and households with migrants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48741,"journal":{"name":"Global Food Security-Agriculture Policy Economics and Environment","volume":"47 ","pages":"Article 100879"},"PeriodicalIF":9.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144826988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Well-being is a multidimensional concept. Global measures of well-being like the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) use indicators such as education, health, and living standards. Nevertheless, both HDI and MPI do not include essential factors of human well-being, especially in lower- and middle-income economies, i.e., decent work and food insecurity. Lack of decent work and food insecurity are two key factors that majorly contribute to the deprivation of household well-being. The lack of decent work conditions substantially contributes to various issues, including low wages, long working hours, and unsafe work environments. These factors can have a detrimental impact on the physical and mental health of workers. Similarly, food insecurity correlates with malnutrition, leading to poor health outcomes and a diminished quality of life. Addressing decent work and food security is essential for improving community well-being and health. In this paper, we construct a novel index that is decomposable to incorporate these dimensions of well-being, i.e., labor and diet. Employing Alkire and Foster (2008) methodology, we develop a multi-dimensional well-being index (MWBI) using PSLM/HIES (2018–19) data for different occupational groups in Pakistan. Our findings indicate that 26 % of households experience poor well-being in Pakistan, with rural areas facing double the deprivation relative to urban areas. KPK province ranks the most deprived, while Punjab is the least deprived. Female-headed households are more deprived (34 %) than male-headed households (26 %). Those in low-skill, agricultural, or entertainment sectors perform the worst. In contrast, those in high-skill, non-agriculture, real estate, and clerical support roles show the least deprivation. Our policy recommendations are improving skills through technical and vocational training programs, supporting legislation to enforce the minimum wage for informal workers, and enhancing labor protections and job opportunities for women. Focusing on the interplay of labor and diet is pivotal for promoting well-being in vulnerable economies.
{"title":"New insights into the measurement of household well-being for vulnerable economies: Evidence from Pakistan's labor and diet data","authors":"Robina Kouser , Faisal Abbas , Suresh Chandra Babu , Mousumi Bhattacharjee","doi":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100876","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100876","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Well-being is a multidimensional concept. Global measures of well-being like the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) use indicators such as education, health, and living standards. Nevertheless, both HDI and MPI do not include essential factors of human well-being, especially in lower- and middle-income economies, i.e., decent work and food insecurity. Lack of decent work and food insecurity are two key factors that majorly contribute to the deprivation of household well-being. The lack of decent work conditions substantially contributes to various issues, including low wages, long working hours, and unsafe work environments. These factors can have a detrimental impact on the physical and mental health of workers. Similarly, food insecurity correlates with malnutrition, leading to poor health outcomes and a diminished quality of life. Addressing decent work and food security is essential for improving community well-being and health. In this paper, we construct a novel index that is decomposable to incorporate these dimensions of well-being, i.e., labor and diet. Employing Alkire and Foster (2008) methodology, we develop a multi-dimensional well-being index (MWBI) using PSLM/HIES (2018–19) data for different occupational groups in Pakistan. Our findings indicate that 26 % of households experience poor well-being in Pakistan, with rural areas facing double the deprivation relative to urban areas. KPK province ranks the most deprived, while Punjab is the least deprived. Female-headed households are more deprived (34 %) than male-headed households (26 %). Those in low-skill, agricultural, or entertainment sectors perform the worst. In contrast, those in high-skill, non-agriculture, real estate, and clerical support roles show the least deprivation. Our policy recommendations are improving skills through technical and vocational training programs, supporting legislation to enforce the minimum wage for informal workers, and enhancing labor protections and job opportunities for women. Focusing on the interplay of labor and diet is pivotal for promoting well-being in vulnerable economies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48741,"journal":{"name":"Global Food Security-Agriculture Policy Economics and Environment","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article 100876"},"PeriodicalIF":9.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144739127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study aims to synthesise evidence on an under-researched area of food systems, the justice implications of alternative food movements (AFMs) globally across all possible contexts (e.g., geographic, socio-political, and historical). The search strategy involves two sets of keywords, representing food justice and alternative food movements, and three databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and Medline). A total of 140 peer-reviewed studies met the inclusion criteria and were subjected to topic modeling. The modeling exercise resulted in nine topics: (1) genesis of food banks; (2) second-generation food banks; (3) food aid for nutrition security; (4) food aid for health equity; (5) food policy coalitions; (6) food advocacy coalitions; (7) bringing back nature into agriculture; (8) the new garden city movement; and (9) food sovereignty. Cluster analysis grouped these topics into two themes: technical aspects of food provisioning and institutional dimensions of food system governance. Together, these themes describe how the literature addresses multiple dimensions of food justice: anthropocentric, multispecies, and planetary justice. The findings reveal that literature on AFMs focuses more on reformist, protectionist approaches within urban-centric public and private welfare systems than on emancipatory, transformative food justice movements. Our findings suggest an important gap in the literature in understanding structural barriers to food justice and how expanding the subject of food justice beyond individual humans advances emancipatory food movements toward more-than-human non-dualism.
本研究旨在综合研究不足的粮食系统领域的证据，即在所有可能的背景下（例如，地理，社会政治和历史），全球替代食物运动（afm）的正义含义。搜索策略包括两组关键字，分别代表食物正义和替代食物运动，以及三个数据库（Scopus， Web of Science和Medline）。共有140项同行评议的研究符合纳入标准，并进行了主题建模。建模练习产生了九个主题：(1)食物银行的起源；(2)第二代食物银行；（三）营养保障粮食援助；(4)粮食援助促进卫生公平；(5)粮食政策联盟；(6)食品倡导联盟；（七）使农业恢复自然；(8)新花园城市运动；(9)粮食主权。聚类分析将这些主题分为两个主题：粮食供应的技术方面和粮食系统治理的制度方面。总之，这些主题描述了文献如何解决粮食正义的多个维度：人类中心、多物种和地球正义。研究结果表明，关于afm的文献更多地关注于以城市为中心的公共和私人福利系统中的改革主义和保护主义方法，而不是解放的、变革的粮食正义运动。我们的研究结果表明，在理解食物正义的结构性障碍以及如何将食物正义的主题扩展到个体人类之外推动解放性食物运动走向超越人类的非二元论方面，文献中存在重要空白。
{"title":"A global scoping review of alternative food movements calls for food justice and justice beyond individual humans","authors":"Laxmi Prasad Pant , Sharada Prasad Wasti , Charoula Konstantia Nikolaou , Prajal Pradhan , Georgie Hurst , Kiran Kumari Bhattarai","doi":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100877","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100877","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aims to synthesise evidence on an under-researched area of food systems, the justice implications of alternative food movements (AFMs) globally across all possible contexts (e.g., geographic, socio-political, and historical). The search strategy involves two sets of keywords, representing food justice and alternative food movements, and three databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and Medline). A total of 140 peer-reviewed studies met the inclusion criteria and were subjected to topic modeling. The modeling exercise resulted in nine topics: (1) genesis of food banks; (2) second-generation food banks; (3) food aid for nutrition security; (4) food aid for health equity; (5) food policy coalitions; (6) food advocacy coalitions; (7) bringing back nature into agriculture; (8) the new garden city movement; and (9) food sovereignty. Cluster analysis grouped these topics into two themes: technical aspects of food provisioning and institutional dimensions of food system governance. Together, these themes describe how the literature addresses multiple dimensions of food justice: anthropocentric, multispecies, and planetary justice. The findings reveal that literature on AFMs focuses more on reformist, protectionist approaches within urban-centric public and private welfare systems than on emancipatory, transformative food justice movements. Our findings suggest an important gap in the literature in understanding structural barriers to food justice and how expanding the subject of food justice beyond individual humans advances emancipatory food movements toward more-than-human non-dualism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48741,"journal":{"name":"Global Food Security-Agriculture Policy Economics and Environment","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article 100877"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144711724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-23DOI: 10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100875
Wenling Liu , Guodong Zhang , Xinzhu Zheng
The food system is a major contributor to global climate change, making its decarbonization and sustainable transformation a critical area of academic inquiry. As many countries, including China, experience rapid population aging, new challenges emerge for reducing food-related carbon emissions. Variations in dietary preferences and entrenched eating habits across age groups introduce substantial uncertainty into projections of future dietary carbon footprints. This study analyzes age-specific dietary carbon emissions, simulates the impact of demographic aging on China's food-related emissions, and explores the drivers of dietary transitions. Using microdata from the 2014 China Urban Household Survey, we simulate the effects of demographic changes—both in population size and structure—and potential shifts in dietary behavior. The results indicate that total dietary carbon emissions are likely to peak and then decline around 2030 due to population contraction. However, per capita emissions will increase as the population ages. Health-oriented dietary transitions and technological advancements in agriculture could reduce emissions by approximately 10 %–13 % and 22 %–26 %, respectively. Although the dietary system may face reduced carbon pressure, other systemic risks could arise. Notably, aging may lead to a decline in the agricultural workforce, exacerbating mismatches between labor supply and food demand, and posing additional risks to food security. These findings underscore the need for improved agricultural efficiency, technological innovation, and a carefully coordinated approach to urbanization and rural revitalization strategies.
{"title":"Future foodscape: Impact of population decline and aging on China's dietary carbon footprint and food security","authors":"Wenling Liu , Guodong Zhang , Xinzhu Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100875","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100875","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The food system is a major contributor to global climate change, making its decarbonization and sustainable transformation a critical area of academic inquiry. As many countries, including China, experience rapid population aging, new challenges emerge for reducing food-related carbon emissions. Variations in dietary preferences and entrenched eating habits across age groups introduce substantial uncertainty into projections of future dietary carbon footprints. This study analyzes age-specific dietary carbon emissions, simulates the impact of demographic aging on China's food-related emissions, and explores the drivers of dietary transitions. Using microdata from the 2014 China Urban Household Survey, we simulate the effects of demographic changes—both in population size and structure—and potential shifts in dietary behavior. The results indicate that total dietary carbon emissions are likely to peak and then decline around 2030 due to population contraction. However, per capita emissions will increase as the population ages. Health-oriented dietary transitions and technological advancements in agriculture could reduce emissions by approximately 10 %–13 % and 22 %–26 %, respectively. Although the dietary system may face reduced carbon pressure, other systemic risks could arise. Notably, aging may lead to a decline in the agricultural workforce, exacerbating mismatches between labor supply and food demand, and posing additional risks to food security. These findings underscore the need for improved agricultural efficiency, technological innovation, and a carefully coordinated approach to urbanization and rural revitalization strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48741,"journal":{"name":"Global Food Security-Agriculture Policy Economics and Environment","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article 100875"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144686502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-23DOI: 10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100873
Gustavo Anríquez , Fabrizio Quiñónez , William Foster
Over the last decade there has been growing global attention to the problem of female farmers lagging in terms of agricultural productivity compared with male farmers. The present study returns to the question of gender-based differences in farm productivity, decomposing differences in farm yields between male and female farmers. We identify one part of the gap explained by differences in attributes and access to productive assets, and another part explained by differences in returns to assets and attributes (i.e. “unexplained” differences). This paper applies the Kitagawa-Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition to gender-based productivity gaps using nationally representative household surveys from 11 developing countries from Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. We estimate productivity models for each country utilizing a comparable set of explanatory assets and attributes. We also implement a comparable decomposition of observed productivity gaps. The cross-country meta-analysis shows that observed total gaps in productivity by gender do not always favor male farmers; the decomposition of these gaps, however, reveals that female farmers generally face gender-specific constraints that manifest as lower returns to attributes and assets.
{"title":"Levelling the farm fields: A cross-country study of the determinants of gender-based yield gaps","authors":"Gustavo Anríquez , Fabrizio Quiñónez , William Foster","doi":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100873","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100873","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the last decade there has been growing global attention to the problem of female farmers lagging in terms of agricultural productivity compared with male farmers. The present study returns to the question of gender-based differences in farm productivity, decomposing differences in farm yields between male and female farmers. We identify one part of the gap explained by differences in attributes and access to productive assets, and another part explained by differences in returns to assets and attributes (i.e. “unexplained” differences). This paper applies the Kitagawa-Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition to gender-based productivity gaps using nationally representative household surveys from 11 developing countries from Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. We estimate productivity models for each country utilizing a comparable set of explanatory assets and attributes. We also implement a comparable decomposition of observed productivity gaps. The cross-country meta-analysis shows that observed total gaps in productivity by gender do not always favor male farmers; the decomposition of these gaps, however, reveals that female farmers generally face gender-specific constraints that manifest as lower returns to attributes and assets.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48741,"journal":{"name":"Global Food Security-Agriculture Policy Economics and Environment","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article 100873"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144696955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-19DOI: 10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100872
Natalia Piedrahita, Valentina Costa, Erdgin Mane
In sub-Saharan Africa, where women constitute half of the agricultural workforce, their productivity is often constrained by limited access to productive resources and discriminatory practices. This study uses data from the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study–Integrated Surveys on Agriculture in Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania to examine gender gaps in agricultural labour productivity. Employing the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition approach, we analyse the primary factors contributing to the observed productivity disparities across these countries. Our findings reveal that labour productivity is highest among male-managed plots, with an average gap of 33 percent with variations across countries ranging from 10 percent in Ethiopia to 47 percent in Uganda. The findings suggest that the endowment effect is the leading driver of the gender gap in all countries except northern Nigeria and Uganda, where the structural effect predominates. The higher productivity among male-managed plots is primarily driven by differential access to inputs, including labour and non-labour inputs, managerial and household characteristics. Compared to jointly managed plots, the results suggest a nuanced relationship for female-managed plots with a non-significant relationship in northern and southern Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Tanzania, whereas female-managed plots are more productive in Uganda and less productive in Malawi.
{"title":"Gender gap in agricultural labour productivity: A comparison across African countries","authors":"Natalia Piedrahita, Valentina Costa, Erdgin Mane","doi":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100872","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100872","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In sub-Saharan Africa, where women constitute half of the agricultural workforce, their productivity is often constrained by limited access to productive resources and discriminatory practices. This study uses data from the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study–Integrated Surveys on Agriculture in Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania to examine gender gaps in agricultural labour productivity. Employing the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition approach, we analyse the primary factors contributing to the observed productivity disparities across these countries. Our findings reveal that labour productivity is highest among male-managed plots, with an average gap of 33 percent with variations across countries ranging from 10 percent in Ethiopia to 47 percent in Uganda. The findings suggest that the endowment effect is the leading driver of the gender gap in all countries except northern Nigeria and Uganda, where the structural effect predominates. The higher productivity among male-managed plots is primarily driven by differential access to inputs, including labour and non-labour inputs, managerial and household characteristics. Compared to jointly managed plots, the results suggest a nuanced relationship for female-managed plots with a non-significant relationship in northern and southern Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Tanzania, whereas female-managed plots are more productive in Uganda and less productive in Malawi.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48741,"journal":{"name":"Global Food Security-Agriculture Policy Economics and Environment","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article 100872"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144662701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Biodiversity loss and rising noncommunicable disease incidences are among the greatest global challenges we face. These crises are deeply interconnected and shaped by varied food system dynamics, including the prioritization of large-scale, inexpensive food production, at the cost of externalized environmental and human health impacts. Climate change is expected to further exacerbate these challenges. Agroecological systems are increasingly promoted as a viable solution toward more resilient, nutritious, sustainable, and climate-adaptive food systems. However, the mechanisms linking biodiversity and climate sensitive management practices with potential nutritional contributions in these food production systems remain underexplored. In agroecosystems, the functional diversity of ecological traits supports resilience to disturbance and food security, while the functional diversity of nutritional traits influences the system's nutritional potential to support nutritional adequacy and human health. Using a trait-based framework, we quantified ecological and nutritional functional diversity in 48 Indigenous agroforests in Fiji. We found that agroforests with higher ecological functional diversity of response traits exhibit significantly greater nutritional functional diversity, suggesting that managing for ecological resilience may also enhance the nutritional potential of food production systems. These findings offer a novel empirical bridge between ecological function and nutrient provisioning, and highlight the importance of maintaining agrobiodiversity to support both environmental and human health in efforts to transform global food systems.
{"title":"Ecological functional diversity predicts nutritional functional diversity in complex agroforests","authors":"Ashley McGuigan , Rachel Novotny , Veniana Tikonavuli , Unaisi Vuli , Abrania Marrero , Tamara Ticktin","doi":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100870","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100870","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biodiversity loss and rising noncommunicable disease incidences are among the greatest global challenges we face. These crises are deeply interconnected and shaped by varied food system dynamics, including the prioritization of large-scale, inexpensive food production, at the cost of externalized environmental and human health impacts. Climate change is expected to further exacerbate these challenges. Agroecological systems are increasingly promoted as a viable solution toward more resilient, nutritious, sustainable, and climate-adaptive food systems. However, the mechanisms linking biodiversity and climate sensitive management practices with potential nutritional contributions in these food production systems remain underexplored. In agroecosystems, the functional diversity of ecological traits supports resilience to disturbance and food security, while the functional diversity of nutritional traits influences the system's nutritional potential to support nutritional adequacy and human health. Using a trait-based framework, we quantified ecological and nutritional functional diversity in 48 Indigenous agroforests in Fiji. We found that agroforests with higher ecological functional diversity of response traits exhibit significantly greater nutritional functional diversity, suggesting that managing for ecological resilience may also enhance the nutritional potential of food production systems. These findings offer a novel empirical bridge between ecological function and nutrient provisioning, and highlight the importance of maintaining agrobiodiversity to support both environmental and human health in efforts to transform global food systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48741,"journal":{"name":"Global Food Security-Agriculture Policy Economics and Environment","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article 100870"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144662700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-12DOI: 10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100871
Ramya Ambikapathi , Kaleab Baye , Romina Cavatassi , Kate Schneider Lecy , Benjamin Davis , Lynnette M. Neufeld
Rural transformation refers to a shift in rural economies from predominantly subsistence-oriented production with low incomes to more productive, diversified activities integrated into national markets. Such transformation has spurred economic growth, reduced poverty, and facilitated nutrition transition. However, the associated agrifood systems have proven largely unsustainable, as they are subject to biodiversity loss, increased global warming, and mixed impacts on dietary and nutrition outcomes. This paper combines multi-disciplinary reflections on the pathways towards more resilient and inclusive rural transformation. We first identify four well-established nutrition challenges to addressing: i) rural inequality in building human capital and its associated social determinants for rural transformation; ii) rising double malnutrition burdens in low- and middle-income countries; iii) recognizing that food environment is a key determinant of access to healthy diets; and iv) profound inequality in dietary and nutrition outcomes under an increasing number of shocks. We consider these challenges alongside four emerging priorities that require greater emphasis for resilient and inclusive rural transformation: i) Explicit focus on inclusivity; ii) Respecting Indigenous people's roles; iii) Addressing spatial changes to rural landscapes and implications on dietary transitions; and iv) Considering rural livelihood diversification, migration, and food environment for resilient and inclusive rural transformation. Finally, we propose expanding existing agricultural pathways towards improved diets for nutrition by integrating a stronger focus on gender, climate adaptation and resilience, policy coherence, and value chain linkages to address multiple forms of malnutrition while remaining within planetary boundaries.
{"title":"Resilient and inclusive rural transformation: Pathways towards improved nutrition","authors":"Ramya Ambikapathi , Kaleab Baye , Romina Cavatassi , Kate Schneider Lecy , Benjamin Davis , Lynnette M. Neufeld","doi":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100871","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100871","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rural transformation refers to a shift in rural economies from predominantly subsistence-oriented production with low incomes to more productive, diversified activities integrated into national markets. Such transformation has spurred economic growth, reduced poverty, and facilitated nutrition transition. However, the associated agrifood systems have proven largely unsustainable, as they are subject to biodiversity loss, increased global warming, and mixed impacts on dietary and nutrition outcomes. This paper combines multi-disciplinary reflections on the pathways towards more resilient and inclusive rural transformation. We first identify four well-established nutrition challenges to addressing: i) rural inequality in building human capital and its associated social determinants for rural transformation; ii) rising double malnutrition burdens in low- and middle-income countries; iii) recognizing that food environment is a key determinant of access to healthy diets; and iv) profound inequality in dietary and nutrition outcomes under an increasing number of shocks. We consider these challenges alongside four emerging priorities that require greater emphasis for resilient and inclusive rural transformation: i) Explicit focus on inclusivity; ii) Respecting Indigenous people's roles; iii) Addressing spatial changes to rural landscapes and implications on dietary transitions; and iv) Considering rural livelihood diversification, migration, and food environment for resilient and inclusive rural transformation. Finally, we propose expanding existing agricultural pathways towards improved diets for nutrition by integrating a stronger focus on gender, climate adaptation and resilience, policy coherence, and value chain linkages to address multiple forms of malnutrition while remaining within planetary boundaries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48741,"journal":{"name":"Global Food Security-Agriculture Policy Economics and Environment","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article 100871"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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