Global Food Security-Agriculture Policy Economics and Environment最新文献

The linear analysis of agri-food activities and tertiary stakeholders exposes fragmented solutions to public decision makers and contributes to the persistence of food insecurity among eaters. This article offers a systemic analysis of the activities within a food system and the interdependencies between tertiary stakeholders, including consumers. This article summarizes some of the results of a descriptive qualitative study of a northern region of Quebec; it presents the various economic activities carried out and the consumers targeted. The systemic analysis makes it possible to identify the agri-food activities and the tertiary stakeholders that promote access to the foods desired by local eaters to counter food insecurity.

Grains are central to food systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Their predominant consumption in refined form contributes to the double burden of malnutrition and wastes precious food and natural resources in a world challenged by growing food insecurity and accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss. Shifting consumption from refined grain foods to fortified whole grain and whole blend foods can improve food security and make diets healthier. This would also make food systems more efficient and resilient, and help mitigate the food crisis. School meal programs and other institutional and safety net markets offer the best entry points to initiate this necessary shift in food systems within LMICs.

Advancing food security requires multi-level and inclusive approaches. This article presents a novel framework to (E) evaluate the social inclusiveness of policies and interventions (PIs) towards (V) vulnerable social groups in (A) agricultural value chains. The EVA-framework is applicable to any value chain, geography and vulnerable group. We apply it to the irrigated vegetable value chain of Mali, analyzing the social inclusiveness of weighted PIs towards women and youth. We find that respective PI formulation in Mali is largely not inclusive. Only few PIs set specific targets, quotas or a financial budget for women and youth inclusion. To be inclusive PIs need to consult targeted social groups, include clear targets, budgets, and accountability mechanisms, and be monitored and evaluated.

This paper describes some of the factors that contribute to food insecurity among the growing populations of migrants who reside in Mexico City. It contributes to a growing body of literature that focuses on the relationship between migration and food security by qualitatively analyzing the specific challenges faced by migrants who are (semi)permanently settled in an urban area (rather than border region). The main argument of this paper is that although many of the challenges faced by migrants in terms of food insecurity are parallel to those faced by low-income citizens and internal migrants in Mexico City, migrants face unique challenges that contribute to their increased vulnerability. These challenges have political/bureaucratic, social, and economic dimensions. The paper argues that incomplete documentation, culinary estrangement and social isolation pose specific challenges to migrants that compound their difficulty in achieving individual and household food security.

How could we know if agricultural development interventions make contributions to sustainable development goals (SDGs)? Genetically engineered (GE) crops are celebrated as a class of technological interventions that can realize multiple SDGs. But recent studies have revealed the gap between GE crop program goals and the approaches used to assess their impacts. Using four comprehensive reviews of GE crop socio-economic impacts, we identify common shortcomings across three themes: (a) scope, (b) approaches and (c) heterogeneity. We find that the evaluation sciences literature offers alternative assessment approaches that can enable evaluators to better assess impacts, and inform learning and decision-making. We recommend the use of methods that enable evaluations to look beyond the agronomic and productive effects of individual traits to understand wider socio-economic effects.

As a growing proportion of world's population lives in cities and towns, food security is increasingly acquiring an urban character. The locus of food security research and policy agendas has correspondingly expanded from rural areas to include urban centres in recent years. However, the dominant discourse on urbanization-food security relationship appears to be shaped by perspectives from the Global North and large cities, and disregards urbanization-food security nexus in small towns of the Global South. This paper aims to correct this bias. With a focus on India where urbanization is increasingly concentrated in small, former rural regions, this paper looks at the food security implications of country's rural-urban transition and advances a conceptual framework to understand the food security impacts of peripheral urbanization.

Rural women in low- and middle-income countries face multiple constraints in accessing and benefiting from essential complementary resources, technologies, and services for agricultural production and participation in the agrifood system. This paper highlights recent thinking around these constraints and how to overcome them. The complementary factors we consider are: (1) networks and social capital, (2) information and communications technologies, (3) other agricultural technologies, (4) agricultural extension and advisory services, (5) financial services, and (6) social assistance. We first analyze constraints women face in accessing and benefiting from these complementary factors and describe the potential benefits of reducing these constraints and gender inequities in the agrifood system. We then provide evidence on what has been effective for improving women's access to and ability to benefit from the six complementary factors. We conclude by highlighting the importance of considering the different preferences of men and women when designing policies and interventions; challenging customs, norms and perceptions; and reforming formal rules and institutions toward more inclusive agrifood systems.

Context

In Southern Africa, the prevalence of undernourished people has increased more than elsewhere worldwide. Cattle ownership has been increasingly recognized as a catalytic mechanism for improving rural households’ livelihoods, yet the role of cattle ownership is often overlooked in poverty reduction, food security and nutritional strategies.

Objective

This study analyzes the effect of owning one tropical livestock unit (TLU) of cattle on rural households’ income, total consumption, and food consumption in Southern Africa, while examining variations across rural households, smallholders, and female-headed rural households.

Methods

Using a propensity score matching approach and employing a regional dataset that combines rural households' socioeconomic characteristics with livestock indicators, we develop an empirical framework capable of capturing the farmers’ decision to adopt cattle and testing its impact on their welfare.

Results and conclusions

We show that the effect of owning one TLU of cattle on income (29%), total consumption (9%), and food consumption (8%) is positive and significant. However, the effect on income is approximately three times higher than on total consumption and food consumption. These results confirm the positive, yet heterogeneous role of cattle ownership on income and consumption, highlighting the greater effect on female-headed households.

Significance

This study contributes to broadening the existing literature by providing cross-country evidence on the contribution of cattle ownership to households’ income, total consumption, and food consumption in the Southern African region. The findings could inform the formulation of strategies enhancing cattle ownership to foster household welfare in the Southern African region. This highlights that such a strategy could be particularly beneficial, especially for female-headed households.

Objective

To explore migrants’ experiences of food insecurity during their overland transit through Mexico, using qualitative methods.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative study (May–July 2016) of 26 Central American migrants in a migrant shelter in San Luis Potosí, México. The semi structured interview explored four domains of food insecurity: 1) availability; 2) accessibility; 3) utilization (eating practices and consumption; and 4) stability (experiencing hunger).

Results

Participants shared common food choices and reasons for selecting these foods. These included properties such as ease of transportability, storage (e.g., packaging) and preparation needed prior to intake (e.g., whether cooking was required). Shelters provided access to humanitarian assistance including food. The informants also experienced hunger and multiple challenges impeding their physical access to food. These were further aggravated by the disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions of areas through which they transited.

Conclusion

Migrants transiting overland through Mexico experienced challenges that limit availability, access, consumption, and stability of food, showcasing the critical nature of providing food security to ensure their human rights.