How Harmonized Information Improves Food and Nutrition Security Policies and Programmes

Seeva Ramasawmy, FAO RAP

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1.FAO Hunger Indicators 2.Concepts on food and nutrition Overview security 3. Parameters for estimating MDG hunger indicator 4. Sources and types of data 5.Indicators of food and nutrition security 6. Levels of food and nutrition security indicators using consumption data from NHIES 7. Conclusions
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FAO Hunger Indicators

Target 1C - Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
MDG Hunger indicator 1.9:
Reduce the proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy requirement (MDER) by half by 2015.

World Food Summit Target:

Reduce the number of undernourished people3 by half by 2015.

The FAO approach for estimating Dietary Energy Deprivation Theoretical framework : Lognormal Distribution
1.5

Prevalence of Undernourishment
1

unimodal

p(U)
Distribution of Dietary Energy Consumption
0.5

x
0 500 1500

skewed

rL

2500

3500

4500

5500

(Kcal/person/day)

minimum energy requirement

mean dietary energy consumption

Concepts of food and nutrition security

Sustainability of Food Consumption Ability of the human body to digest and metabolize food Inequality of food consumption Physical existence of food (production/trade)
HIES & Nutrition surveys MDER/ADER HIES CV of DEC SUA/FBS DES (DEC)

The FAO approach for estimating food deprivation Based on three key parameters:
1. Energy consumption per person (DES) as derived from - Food Balance Sheet (FBS) 2. Inequality in access to food (CV of DEC) - National household income and expenditure survey (NHS) 3. The minimum dietary energy requirement (MDER) - Based on International Dietary Energy Requirement Norms using country age/sex structure of the population and height data.

Estimation of the mean x (Dietary Energy Supply)

per percaput caputDES DES
for forall allcountries countries

every everyyear year

FAOs FAOs/Country /CountryFood Food Balance BalanceSheets Sheets

source providing estimates

Food Available for Human Consumption (DES) from Food Balance Sheet
Gross Production - Harvest Loss = Net Production + Beginning Stocks + Imports = Gross Food Availability - Exports - Feed - Seed - Post-Harvest Loss = Net Food Availability

Net Food Availability - Ending Stocks - Non-food uses = Household Consumption - Intra-House Waste - Non-Human Consumption = Human Food Consumption

Countrys Food Balance Sheet

Food Balance Sheets aim is calculate the total

food availability per country and year expressed in their nutritive value (Kcal).

From

these values and the available population estimates, the dietary energy consumption (Kcal/person/day) is derived. energy consumption (kcal/person/day) is the base for the computation of indicators of food security of a country.
whose dietary energy consumption is continuously

Dietary

Undernourishment refers to the condition of people

How FAO obtain the FBS?

The Food Balance Sheets (FBS) are calculated with

country-level data on the production and trade of food commodities. each commodity in weight terms using these data and the available information on seed rates, waste coefficients, stock changes and types of utilization (feed, food and other utilization)

Firstly a Supply Utilisation Account is prepared for

Production +Import=Export+ (Feed & Seed) + Other net uses (Waste-Stock Variation +Other uses)+ Food consumption

Food component of the supply utilisation account,

is derived by balancing item.

mathematical

model

as

The FAO approach for estimating food deprivation Sources of variation of inequality in access to food (DEC)

Variation due to biological factors Variation due to income

Other sources

Seasonal variation

Total Variation

7.2

The FAO approach for estimating food deprivation Estimation of the inequality in access to food as given by the CV (Coefficient of Variation) of DEC
variation of energy consumption

CV ( x) =

CV 2 ( x | v) + CV 2 ( x | r )
Variation due to requirement approx. 20%

variation according to levels of income

Minimum Dietary Energy Requirement

Recommended Energy Requirement by Age and Sex -Joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation on human energy requirements (FAO/WHO/UNU, 2004).

Sources and Type of Food DataRecords (Country) Administrative (quantitative)

Population Census (quantitative) Agricultural Census/Surveys (quantitative) Household Surveys (Income/Expenditure; (quantitative) Special surveys Crop plantations; (quantitative) Nutrition surveys; (quantitative)
No single source can provide all the food These sources are complementary
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FAO Estimates of Dietary Energy Deprivation (Prevalence of Undernourishment or Food Deprivation)

Proxy of MDG 1.9 National and Regional levels Dietary Energy Consumption (DEC) National household survey (NHS)

MDG Indicator 1.9 (National) (FAO SOFI) Dietary Energy Supply (DES) Food Balance Sheet (FBS)

Coefficient of Variation (CV) of the distribution of Dietary Energy Consumption (DEC)

Minimum Dietary Energy Requirement (MDER)

Analysis of Country Agricultural and Food Data

1. Supply and Utlization Accounts (SUA) Compilation of FBS (Improved Crop Production Estimation Methodology; Appropriate tools for SUA and FBS) 2. Food Security Analysis of NHIES ( Use of ADePT tool)

Conclusions
Countries have the agricultural and food data for a food and nutrition analysis at national and sub-national levels (NHIES/FBS). Build capacity to compile FBS and reconciliation with NHIES. Use of own production data to supplement production data Improved estimation methods of crop production SUA/FBS compilation tools Institutional contribution for the collection and analysis of quality and consistent agricultural and food data to derive timely food and nutrition security indicators.
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Thank you
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