Explains the concept of food security,describes the challenges it is facing at global level and comes up with a set of recommendations to respond to these challenges at country level and at the global level

1. Shahid Hussain Raja
Independent Consultant-Public Policy
www.shahidhussainraja.com
May 10, 2015

2.  Introduction
 What is food security
 Evolution of concept
 Global profile
 Major challenges
 Global response
 Conclusion

3.  Food is the first basic human need and fundamental right of every
human being, having constitutional guarantees in almost all countries.
That's why the UNO recognized the Right to food in the Declaration of
Human Rights in 1948,vital for the enjoyment of all other rights.
 Although food security has always been a crucial issue, there is
increasing global concern in it after 2007/8 food crises which is
reinforced whenever food prices start rising.
 This presentation explains the concept of food security, its evolution,
challenges at country level as well as at global level and ends with a set
of recommendations.
 Its detailed article version is available at my website
www.shahidhussainraja.com

4.  Food Security is an evolving concept, getting refined after new
developments and greater awareness about its necessity
 During 1970s,food crises created awareness for food security and led to
formal institutional response globally. However food availability through
buffer stocks was considered enough for ensuring food security
 During 1980s,concern with increased poverty added access to food as
essential as food availability for food security
 During 1990s,interest in human development led to absorption of food
also as an essential component of food security

5.  During 2000s,recurring food crises necessitated to include stability as
one of the main components of food security
 During 2010s,evidence of increasing malnutrition among the
children/females led to inclusion of nutrition also as an essential
element of food security
 Now food security invariably means five things;
A. Food is available in the country
B. It is accessible to people, physically and financially
C. People are healthy to absorb it
D. Food supplies /prices are stable over period
E. It is nutritious enough to sustain a human body

6. “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe,
nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”.
Food and Agriculture Organisation,UN
Food insecurity is a situation of limited or uncertain availability
of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain
ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways“
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).[

7. 1990–92 2000–02 2005–07 2008–10 2011–13*
World 1 015.3 957.3 906.6 878.2 842.3
Developed
Regions
19.8 18.4 13.6 15.2 15.7
Developing
Regions
995.5 938.9 892.9 863.0 826.6
Africa 177.6 214.3 217.6 226.0 226.4
Asia 751.3 662.3 619.6 585.5 552.0
Latina America &
Caribbean
65.7 61.0 54.6 50.3 47.0
Oceania 0.8 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.2
Undernourished Population
Source: State of Food Insecurity 2013 (FAO)
Millions

8.  Despite substantial progress made since the MDGs were
launched in 2000, the number of people chronically
undernourished are more than 870 million, bulk of whom are
in Africa and Asia; almost 15 percent of their population is
undernourished
 Most of the progress made was before 2007/8 food crises. It
means any food crises wipes out a significant proportion of
progress made
 Even the methodology used by FAO needs to be improved to
truly capture the incidence of mal/undernourishment

9.  failed agriculture market regulations
 lack of anti-dumping mechanisms
 export restrictions and panic buying,
 US Dollar Depreciation
 increased farming for use in biofuels
 world oil prices at more than $100 a barrel
 global population growth
 climate change
 loss of agricultural land to residential and industrial
development
 growing consumer demand in China and India
 Wikipedia

10.  Growth is essential for poverty alleviation which is a crucial
condition for food and nutrition security
 Yet this growth must be inclusive, ensuring the participation
of poor in growth effort process for substantial improvement in
food security
 Within this framework, contents of growth must target the food
and nutrition aspects to ensure food security---safe drinking
water, health services, targeted food fortification
 In the broader perspective, it is the agricultural development
which makes the biggest dent in poverty reduction and hence
food and nutrition security

11.  Despite the highest growth rates which can be achieved,
there will always remain a significant section of society
which could not reap the benefits of growth for any
reason.
 State must create an effective, efficient and transparent
system of Social Safety Nets for these people who are
left in this growth process
 Growth must ultimately accompanied by social and
political structural changes such as people
empowerment, gender balance, good governance,
private sector participation etc

12. Global Food Security-Major Challenges

13.  Production-slow rate of growth of food production is adversely
affecting the supply of food grains
 Consumption-increasing consumption and wastages are
putting pressures on food grains stocks
 Distribution -bottlenecks pose threats to its availability even in
normal times
 Politics-political Issues also affecting food chains

14.  Decrease in cultivated area-urbanization, industrialization and infrastructural
projects on lands used for agriculture
 Degradation of arable lands due to bad agricultural and irrigation practices
 Stagnant yields due to less than adequate resource allocation for
agricultural R&D
 Climate change and environmental threats
 Increased cultivation of Biofuels crops on areas previously used for food
crops cultivation
 Land grabbing by corporate firms in food insecure countries for cultivation of
food grains and their export to rich countries

15.  Increasing population- sheer number of people demanding food is
increasing
 Growing prosperity-more meat items in the domestic menu which
needs more food grains
 Changing food habits-urbanization needs more processed food
which consumes more food
 Wastages-over eating, throwing away of food cooked more than
the needs and food getting expired in the domestic fridges/chain
stores

16.  Access to food-financial constraints due to persistent
poverty, inequality and lack of sufficient job
opportunities
 Access to food-physical constraints, due to bad
governance, infrastructural inadequacies or wrong
policy framework
 Food Denial to people and communities due to
militancy, civil war or proxy wars

17.  Poor commitment of the ruling elite to ensure this
fundamental right through proper legislation
 Not providing good governance whereby people have
freedom to get food grains without any hassle
 Not improving overall law and order and security situation
in the country for peaceful movement of the food grains
and its convenient availability
 Not making special arrangements for the provision of food
grains in conflict/disaster prone areas

18. Food Security–Country Responses

19.  Increase production through horizontal expansion-increase
areas under cultivation through technological interventions,
greater water availability and using it efficiently
 Saving arable lands from property development and
infrastructural use, more reliance on intercropping and agro
forestry etc
 Increase production through vertical expansion-increase the
total factors productivity by greater awareness and use of good
agricultural practices, availability of quality inputs at affordable
prices

20.  Reduce production and post production losses and
wastages by encouraging judicious use of chemicals and
improved processing facilities
 Establish food godowns at convenient places to respond to
the needs of vulnerable groups as and when needed
 Establish adequate system to forecast shortages and
timely import of food grains

21.  Improve financial access of the people to food
through employment creation, skill development
and job clearance information networks
 Provide income support to the extremely poor by
creating social safety nets
 Improve physical access of the people to food by
facilitating free movement of food grains
throughout the country

22.  Improve general health care by allocating more resources to
promotive and preventive healthcare which is more cost effective
and helpful in the developing countries than the curative
 Population planning for arresting its rapid growth with particular
attention to mother and child healthcare
 Pay special attention to water borne diseases which are
widespread but can be controlled with dedicated efforts
 Food fortification to make it healthy and absorption friendly

23.  Each country to have sufficient buffer stocks available for emergency in different
parts to ensure their easy availability in emergency situation
 Code of conduct at UNO level not to impose restrictions on the exports of food
by the food exporting countries in times of crises which aggravate the situation
more than the actual crises
 Timely information about the global trends in stocks and production and early
warning in case of looming food shortages must be available
 In time import of food grains whenever a country or a region’s stocks appear to
fall below the danger threshold

24. Food Security-Global Response

25.  Renewed commitment at global and state level to
reduce poverty by dedicating sufficient resources for
job creation, skill formation ,social safety nets and
ensuring good governance
 All countries to allocate more resources for agricultural
Research and Development and to share the findings
of research at institutional and private level.
 Global collaboration to carry out healthcare reforms to
improve absorption and nutrition

26.  Putting in place an efficient and reliable
forecasting and early warning systems for food
grains production and stocks position
 Early agreement on global warming,
environmental sustainability and climate change
 Creation of regional buffer stocks for timely
response to emergent threats of food shortages

27.  Devising fair rules of the game for international
trade for equitable share in the increase in global
trade and development
 Universal policy framework for corporate farming
to restrain land grabbing
 Ban on cultivation of crops for biofuels on lands
already used for food production

28.  Developing regions have registered significant progress towards
the MDG-1 of reducing poverty / hunger and undernourishment
has fallen by 17 percent since 1990–92.
 However, still one eighth population of the world is not getting
enough food for active living
 Growth can raise incomes and reduce hunger, but only
sustainable & broad based growth can reduce hunger & poverty
 Growth policies must therefore aim at enhancing agricultural
productivity targeting smallholders and should specifically target
the poor, especially those in rural areas

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 Its long article version is available at my website
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