Shahid Hussain Raja

Independent Consultant-Public Policy

www.shahidhussainraja.com
May 10, 2015
 Introduction
 What is food security
 Evolution of concept
 Global profile
 Major challenges
 Global response
 Conclusion
 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
 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
 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
“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).[

 Undernourished Population Millions
1990–92 2000–02 2005–07 2008–10 2011–13*

World 1 015.3 957.3 906.6 878.2 842.3

Developed 19.8 18.4 13.6 15.2 15.7

Regions

Developing 995.5 938.9 892.9 863.0 826.6

Regions

Africa 177.6 214.3 217.6 226.0 226.4

Asia 751.3 662.3 619.6 585.5 552.0

Latina America 65.7 61.0 54.6 50.3 47.0

& Caribbean

Oceania 0.8 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.2

Source: State of Food Insecurity 2013 (FAO)

 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
 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
 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
 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
Global Food Security-Major Challenges
 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

 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
 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
 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
 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
Food Security–Country Responses
 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
 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
 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
 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

 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
Food Security-Global Response
 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
 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
 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
 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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