Agricultural assets' influence on building farmers' resilience in Romania: Food security approaches

Food security in a just energy transition is a growing debate about designing sustainable food secure networks worldwide. Energy transition, land-use change, and food security are crucial factors for food security and provision. The increased demand for food products and customer preferences regarding food safety provide various issues for the current agriculture food supply chain (AFSC). Along with rising sustainability concerns, strict government regulation, food security, and traceability concerns compel managers, business houses, and practitioners working in AFSC to adopt new tools, techniques, and methodologies to model current food supply chain problems. Thus, in turn, design the food logistics network for food security. Hence, this study investigates the core determinants of food security and supply in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon over the period of 2010–2019. In order to estimate the objectives of the study, we employ the fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares estimators (DOLS) to draw the study findings. However, the estimated results show a negative association of land use with food security and supply. Likewise, energy transition, gross domestic product, and agricultural value added (AVA) contribute to the food security supply. In contrast, urbanization's negative but insignificant contribution to the food supply in selected economies exists. Besides, another core objective of the study is to investigate the moderate role of the energy transition on the gross domestic product, agriculture sector, and land use and find the significant contribution to the food supply. However, the current study also tries forecasting for the next 10 years and employs the impulse response function (IRF) and variance decomposition analysis (VDA). Congruently, this study uses the pairwise panel causality test and finds exciting outcomes. The COVID-19 crisis has posed challenges such as energy consumption and food security issues. On behalf of the results, the current study proposes imperative policies to investigate the desired level of food supply. The findings provide valuable insights for experts, policymakers, and officials to take practical measures for energy use and food security challenges.

This article compares and examines the relationships among agricultural assets, incomes and food security in rural communities of Ghana, Senegal, and Liberia. A total of 1483 rural households were surveyed and data on agricultural endeavors, incomes and food security were collected. The analyses of incomes and agricultural assets show signs of high inequality of resource distribution. In addition, facets of food insecurity were observed among the surveyed households. The study used a multivariate logistic model, then evaluated how agricultural assets affect the food security status of rural households in Ghana, Senegal and Liberia distinctly. Overall, the results show several similarities at country level, but disparities were also noted. In particular, the study outlined significant relationships between technology assets and the food security status of rural households in Ghana and Senegal. However, the logistic model did not show any statistically significant relationship with the rural households surveyed in Liberia. This paradigm suggests critical inter-regional dissimilarities which the study discussed by emphasizing relevant socio-economic features at the country level.

Water scarcity, climate change, price volatility, agricultural output variability, and geo-political instability have determined new stressors and situations of risks that exert pressure on agro-ecological systems, farmers, people’s food security, and generally affect the well-being of the population. In recent times, resilience is seen as providing a new approach on how to analyse the effects of shocks and stressors that threaten people’s well-being. The question is whether there is a relationship between the inadequate access to basic services, as stressor of people’s physical access to food and food availability on the market, and food security, as an outcome of people’s well-being. Statistical data have been analysed with simple regression model. The case study of Romania is discussed, using twenty two observations. The main findings show that access to essential services, such as water and sanitation, are important in explaining household’s resilience capacity. Other stressors, such as rail lines density and road density, which determine the physical access to markets, have a less significant influence on food security. The relevance of the results lies in their capacity to emphasize the role of people’s access to basic needs in strengthening the resilience of individuals, families and regions, and to ensure, as a consequence, food security.

n the modern economy of Ukraine, the agricultural sector holds significant importance. Farms play a crucial role in ensuring the country's food security, developing rural areas, and creating employ-ment opportunities. The stable development of farms is supported by externaland internal factors, with one key element being sufficient equity capital.Authorized capital serves as the foundation of the equity capital of farms, contributing to their financial stability and effective management. The regular operations of farms involve movement in their authorized capital, reflecting the changes in their membership.The article discusses the procedures and methodologies for accounting for the reduction of author-ized (registered) capital in farms due to various reasons, including theliquidation of the enterprise. It proposes a method for determining the total value of the farm’s assets, which is taken into consideration when distributing the departing member's share in the farm's assets. For this purpose, two new concepts are introduced: the member's overall share in the authorized capital and the member's overall share in the farm's assets. The article also suggests an accounting approach for recording payments to departing members based on their overall share in the farm's assets and statutory capital during the functioning of the farm and its liquidation.The proposed version of the accounting display of the reduction of authorized capital in farms (legal entities) takes into account the provisions of legislative acts of Ukraine andregulatory legal acts on accounting and financial reporting and can be used in the practical activities of farms.

Who Eats, Where, What, and How? COVID-19, Food Security, and Canadian Foodscapes

PurposeThe housing market in Kenya continues to experience an excessive imbalance between supply and demand. This imbalance renders the housing market volatile, and stakeholders lose repeatedly. The purpose of the study was to forecast housing prices (HPs) in Kenya using simple and complex regression models to assess the best model for projecting the HPs in Kenya.Design/methodology/approachThe study used time series data from 1975 to 2020 of the selected macroeconomic factors sourced from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Central Bank of Kenya and Hass Consult Limited. Linear regression, multiple regression, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) models regression techniques were used to model HPs.FindingsThe study concludes that the performance of the housing market is very sensitive to changes in the economic indicators, and therefore, the key players in the housing market should consider the performance of the economy during the project feasibility studies and appraisals. From the results, it can be deduced that complex models outperform simple models in forecasting HPs in Kenya. The vector autoregressive (VAR) model performs the best in forecasting HPs considering its lowest root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and bias proportion coefficient. ARIMA models perform dismally in forecasting HPs, and therefore, we conclude that HP is not a self-projecting variable.Practical implicationsA model for projecting HPs could be a game changer if applied during the project appraisal stage by the developers and project managers. The study thoroughly compared the various regression models to ascertain the best model for forecasting the prices and revealed that complex models perform better than simple models in forecasting HPs. The study recommends a VAR model in forecasting HPs considering its lowest RMSE, MAE, MAPE and bias proportion coefficient compared to other models. The model, if used in collaboration with the already existing hedonic models, will ensure that the investments in the housing markets are well-informed, and hence, a reduction in economic losses arising from poor market forecasting techniques. However, these study findings are only applicable to the commercial housing market i.e. houses for sale and rent.Originality/valueWhile more research has been done on HP projections, this study was based on a comparison of simple and complex regression models of projecting HPs. A total of five models were compared in the study: the simple regression model, multiple regression model, ARIMA model, ARDL model and VAR model. The findings reveal that complex models outperform simple models in projecting HPs. Nonetheless, the study also used nine macroeconomic indicators in the model-building process. Granger causality test reveals that only household income (HHI), gross domestic product, interest rate, exchange rates (EXCR) and private capital inflows have a significant effect on the changes in HPs. Nonetheless, the study adds two little-known indicators in the projection of HPs, which are the EXCR and HHI.

The article presents changes in fixed assets in agriculture on farms in two selected countries of the European Union, which are Poland and Spain in the period from 2004-2016. Both of these countries were selected on the basis of similar qualitative and quantitative characteristics that are characteristic of agriculture. An additional determinant of the choice of these countries was a similar economic situation before and after accession to the structures of the European Union. The article consists of an introduction, where the essence and significance of fixed assets in agriculture have been presented. Subsequently, the material and methodology of the research were presented. The comparison of fixed assets of both countries was based on statistical data from the European Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). The analysis of the material shows that in the years 2006-2016, the value and number of fixed assets in total in Polish and Spanish farms were gradually increasing. Two significant groups of fixed assets were indicated, namely: agricultural land with plantations (SE446) and buildings (SE450). In Polish farms, depreciation is higher than in Spain, which is related to the greater number of owned buildings. In addition, the value of livestock was almost three times higher in Spain than in Poland in 2004-2016.

Household food security and income play central roles in sustainable development at the global, national, and local levels. Smallholder vegetable farming systems are widely regarded as crucial contributors to enhancing household food security and income in the developing world. Comprehensive whole-farm analysis of smallholder vegetable farming systems points out greater diversity and heterogeneity driven by interactions of socioeconomic and biophysical factors such as land profiles, land use, farm assets, enterprise income, off/non-farm activities, and household structure and expenditure. However, three distinct farm typologies exist (Resource and Livelihood Constrained Off-farm Dependent/Supplemented–RLCOD farmers, Resource and Livelihood Abundant and Commercial Oriented–RLACO farmers, and Medium Resources and Livelihoods Constrained Market Oriented–MRLCMO farmers), exhibiting significant differences and variability in structural and functional factors. The production of maize, groundnuts, soybean, and bean crops remains the primary source of livelihood for all farm typologies. Similarly, vegetable production is vital for farmers’ livelihoods in all farm types, yielding more income than food needs. However, both crop and vegetable productivity and production are still low and below the national and potential target across farm typologies. Small-scale irrigation offers one alternative solution in the context of increasing climate change. Small livestock (chickens, goats, and pigs) play a significant role in the livelihood of vegetable farmers despite their low productivity. Disparities exist across farm typologies in available arable and irrigable land, available household labor, capacity to hire additional labor, farm assets, and inputs, as well as participation in off-farm and non-labor-farm activities. While vegetable production and its proportion sold and earned income emerge as critical factors affecting household food accessibility and acquisition, additional factors such as crop production, proportion of crops sold, daily food expenditure, livestock income, and TLU significantly influence household access for different farm typologies, requiring consideration to achieve food security in vegetable farming systems.

Despite the availability of ample food and reasonably low food prices, food insecurity prevailed in many developing countries in 1970s. The paradigm shift in 1980s from supply to demand side of food security underlined the entitlement or access to food as the center of mainstream research. Current study is the findings of the data collected from household level survey regarding socio-economic and food insecurity conditions in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The descriptive analysis and cross tabulation of the household data revealed that household assets, house building material, size of agricultural farms, ownership of tractor, farm livestock were associated with food security conditions of the farming community. The data results also confirmed that the poorer families made major expenditure on the food out of total household expenditure every month. It was also revealed that households in the irrigated regions of Punjab have better entitlement as compared with households surveyed from Thal (desert) and rain-fed regions. The daily consumption of eggs, milk and various forms of meat was found below daily recommended nutritional requirements in most of the households. This study confirms the findings of the earlier surveys made in this regard and highlights the demand side of food insecurity issues in Punjab province of Pakistan. Food security policies in Pakistan should focus entitlement and food access of farming households. The household and farm assets need to be built for reducing vulnerability of poorer farming community to food insecurity in Pakistan.

The Need for Investment in Rigorous Interventions to Improve Child Food Security

Problem setting. The Global Food Security Index (GFSI) defines four indicators for assessing food security in countries, including Affordability, Physical Availability/Availability, Quality and Safety, and Natural Resources and Resilience. The goal of each state today is to maintain an adequate level of food security, which is understood as achieving a state of optimal provision of the country’s population with economically affordable, high-quality and safe food. If we analyze countries by GFSI indicators, most of them will not meet this goal. In the context of population growth, climate change, the percentage of hungry people or lack of food availability even in developed countries, wars and other factors affect the food supply. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, pays considerable attention to hunger (Goal 2). This issue is becoming more acute as a result of Russia’s armed aggression, which is currently complicating the issue of food supply in Ukraine, causing disruption of agricultural production processes due to mining of agricultural fields, damage to special equipment, destruction of livestock farms, environmental impact, soil pollution, etc. Analysis of recent researches and publications. The legal issues of food security in the context of martial law in Ukraine have been considered in the works of such scholars as: O.V. Gafurova, V.M. Yermolenko, T.O. Kovalenko, G.S. Kornienko, T.V. Kurman, M.Y. Pokalchuk, Y.Y. Pustovit, O.M. Tuieva, etc. This issue was not properly covered in the light of the latest legislative changes at the national and international level. Purpose of the research is to analyze Ukrainian legislation on food security under martial law, identifying the main problems and formulating proposals for improving the current legislation, taking into account the international legal aspect. Article’s main body. The article examines the legislative changes in food security that have taken place in Ukraine over the past few years due to the war, the use of food as a weapon, which in the context of the events may threaten the global food system. The war has profound implications for food security, with the United Nations estimating that 670 million people will suffer from malnutrition in 2030, 78 million more than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, another crisis is spreading and exacerbating that could affect the global dynamics of food security the war in Ukraine, which has had a comprehensive impact on global agricultural markets in various aspects, such as export and import, agricultural production in frontline areas, unmined agricultural fields, higher prices in the process of land cultivation, etc. In addition, the disruption of logistics supply chains leads to higher world prices for grain, mineral and organic fertilizers, and energy, which leads to food shortages and will provoke further food price inflation in the world. The resulting complications affect, for example, the implementation of the global goals of The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which in the near future may give rise to international and national legislative changes in the vision of food security. Conclusions and prospects for the development. Famine as a method of warfare not only violates international humanitarian law, but also contradicts certain provisions of the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. According to the UN experts, “famine” is not only a matter of access to food for survival, but also “the intentional deprivation of not only food or water, but also other goods necessary for the survival of the civilian population.” Russia’s terrorist activities have provoked a global food crisis. Unblocking Ukrainian ports for grain exports will help to partially overcome it. At the same time, it is important to monitor the food needs of the Ukrainian population in order to avoid famine in our country. It should also be noted that in the context of Ukraine’s membership in the WTO, the war makes it impossible to apply such means of protecting the domestic market as export and import quotas. Given the current realities in the agricultural sector in Ukraine, it is already necessary to enshrine at the legislative level that in shaping the directions of the state agricultural policy and public investment, priority should be given to food production and the quality of nutrition of the population, thus increasing the resilience of the national food system to external threats.

The purpose and objectives of the studyThe purpose of the dissertation is to develop promising areas of trade and economic cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the EAEU countries in the context of solving the problem of food security in modern economic conditions.To achieve the goal of the study, the followingtasks were set and solved:–to consider the theoretical aspects of the country's food security, the effects and risks of its decline;–to study the world experience of forming food security of countries;–to study the state policy of China in the field of ensuring food security;–to assess the export opportunities in the food sector of the EAEU countries;–to identify and justify promising areas of food exports to the PRC by the EAEU countries, as well as the implementation of joint investment projects in the field of agriculture.The object of the study is trade and economic cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the EAEU countries in the field of ensuring food security.The subject of the study is the substantiation of the main directions of ensuring food security based on the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the EAEU countries, the development of the export potential of states, and the improvement of investment activities.Provisions submitted for defense1. The essence and content of the category "food security" are defined, distinctive characteristics and criteria for assessing the level of food security are identified.2. An assessment of the position of the People's Republic of China in the field of food security is carried out, the evolution of changes in the nutritional structure of the population of the PRC is considered,3. Factors complicating the solution of the food problem in the country, the dependence of the domestic food market of China on imports of food products, and strategic directions for ensuring food security in China are identified.4. The reduction of food security risks in each of the EAEU member states has been revealed, which is primarily facilitated by mutual provision of various types of food products, prospects for the sustainable development of agriculture, ensuring the growth of physical availability of food products in the Union countries, self-sufficiency in basic agricultural products have been established5. The potential for cooperation between the countries of the Eurasian region in the field of agriculture and its importance for solving the food problem in China have been established, as well as the main areas of development of agricultural exports from the EAEU countries to China: commodity structure, volumes, dynamics and prospects for expanding volumes and improving the quality of products.Personal contribution of the applicantThe dissertation is an independently completed scientific study: the provisions submitted for defense have been developed by the author independently, have practical significance, the topic of the dissertation corresponds to the specialty 7-06-0311-01 "Economics".Dissertation approval and information on the use of its resultsThe main provisions, conclusions and results of the dissertation were presented at the 75th scientific and technical conference of pupils, students and master's students, April 22-27, 2024 - Minsk: Belarusian State Technological University. Based on the materials of the dissertation research, an article was published on the topic"The problem of food security and the main directions of its solution in the People's Republic of China".Structure and volume of the dissertationThe dissertation consists of an introduction, a general description of the work, three chapters, a conclusion, a list of references. Chapter 1 studies theoretical approaches to the study of the problem of food security, considers the concept of "food security" and its distinctive features, defines the stages of formation of modern approaches to this global problem, and formulates the risks and threats of violating the country's food security. Chapter 2 considers methodological approaches to assessing the food security of states and regions of the world, and provides an overview of the criteria for measuring the level of food security and self-sufficiency of the country in food. The third chapter includes a study of the state policy of China and the countries of the Eurasian region in the field of development of food security, substantiation of the main directions of trade and economic cooperation of the EAEU countries and China in the field of agriculture and ensuring food security of states. The work is presented on 98 pages. The volume occupied by 8 figures, 24 tables and a list of used literature, including 38 sources, is 18 pages.

Factors Associated with Stunting of Under Five-year Children: Findings from Panel Surveys in Mountains, Dry Zone and Delta Regions of Rural Myanmar (2016–17) (P04-039-19)

ABSTRACTWe analyzed households that use emergency food assistance (EFA) programs (eg, food pantries, soup kitchens) to better understand the repeated but seemingly anomalous finding that many EFA participants report being food secure. Using bivariate descriptive statistics and simple probit models to data from the 2005–2012 Current Population Survey (CPS), we examine 3 hypotheses: (1) food secure EFA participants are systematically different from food insecure participants; (2) food secure EFA participants are reporting food security and EFA usage from different times; and (3) among food secure households, EFA participants are more likely to be marginally food secure. We find limited evidence that food secure EFA participants are more advantaged than their food insecure counterparts. The 30-day food security reports are markedly higher than the 12-month reports, which suggests recall bias. Finally, among the food secure, EFA participants are more likely to be marginally food secure. We conclude that the 12-month measure of food security used in the CPS may result in overreports of food security among EFA participants, and many participants characterized as food secure may still face uncertainty about their food supply.

Feeding the City, Pandemic and Beyond