Food security problems for developing countries in the conditions of COVID-19: case of Georgia

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

Are all ultra‐processed foods created equal?

The present research is realised in the frame of the ZEU project “LUCA” (Land Use, Ecosystem Services and Human Welfare in Central Asia). LUCA builds a platform for joint analysis of land use effects for a whole region, involving participants from various countries of Central Asia. In the transition from planned to market economies, the Central Asian Republics experienced rising poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition as well as serious degradation of water and land resources. The process to a market oriented economy has not been adequately supported by national institutional development. It resulted in a reduced living standard. Land use strategies in Uzbekistan determine the level of food security. While the area of rangelands is vast, the livestock farming and production of grains, fruits and vegetables play a major role in food security and also are the basic source of rural population income. More than 60% of Uzbeks live in rural area. Uzbekistan produces adequate calories to supply the population but almost 30 % lives below the food poverty line (IFPRI, 2006). The poorest population spends more than 60 % of income for food and takes a diet dominated by cereals. The existing system of the “state order” to produce cotton and wheat does not allow to growing up food crops in adequate amount. The survey is focused on questions on the socio-economic situation, societal determinants of food supply, food consumption patterns, eating habits, and coping strategies managing food crisis on household level. Markhamat region of Andijan province and Denau region of Surkhandarya province are the two most populated regions of Uzbekistan and presented as the study area. The data collection is based on the own structured questionnaire, on the Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM), Food Consumption Score (FCS), and Food List Recall. Data analysis was done with SPSS. The main results show the percentage of food secure and food insecure households as well as the food consumption status of these households concerning cash and food crops households are producing on their farm land and/or on their homestead plot. The results show that the main indicator of the level of income, food security situation and food consumption status of household is the production strategy. Thereby the more households produce cotton and wheat they will have less income, and a worse food security and food consumption status.

Agriculture plays a major role in ensuring the country›s food security, improving the balance of payments and strengthening state independence. Increasing the production of agricultural products increases the national income of the country, creates additional jobs and more. Competitive export production should play a major role in boosting agricultural production, as it has to be competitive in the international markets.The article analyzes the competitiveness of Georgian export agro products and the export-import of agro products. It should be noted that imports of primary agricultural products over the years have significantly outstripped exports, mainly due to the low volume of production of these products and the weak competitiveness of the sector relative to foreign producers. Competitiveness should be enhanced not by imposing barriers on imports, but by enhancing the competitiveness of locally produced products. That is why has been studied the main directions of economic policy for increasing the competitiveness by the example of Israel. Israel uses the theory and principles of knowledge-based economics to increase the innovation potential of the economy and enhance its competitiveness in general. In this study export agro products are identified by the following parameters: tendencies in export, stock reserves at the end of the year, resources, local production, average yield and self-provision coefficients. Thus, we assessed the competitiveness of corn/wine, nuts, potatoes, vegetables, wheat. Competitiveness level is calculated for selected Georgian agro products based on the received FAO data. The level of competitiveness of agro-food products was compared with each other on two markets: The European Union market (EU market) and the Commonwealth of Independent States market (CIS market). The product›s competitiveness level is calculated using the following indexes: Relative Export Advantage Index (RXA), Relative Import Penetration Index (RMP) and Relative Trade Advantage Index (RTA).The paper concludes that a high level of competitiveness in the international trade from Georgian agro products has nuts and wine. In addition, it is interesting that on CIS markets Georgian agro-food products have higher competitiveness than on the EU market. Also, on CIS markets competitive are potatoes and vegetables. Data analysis has shown that Georgian wine has far higher competitiveness on the CIS market than on the EU market. In recent years, the volume of Georgian wine exports to Russia has increased, which has been reflected in competitiveness indices. Consequently, the competitiveness of Georgian wine is increasing in the CIS market, while maintaining relative stability in the EU market. Also, Georgian nuts has far higher competitiveness on the EU market than on the CIS market. Conclusions are made according to the identified problems and the recommendations are offered on the directions of economic policies for increasing the competitiveness of agro-food products. It is important to identify agro-food products on the threshold of competitiveness in international trade in order to concentrate further resources and efforts on them, which will increase export volumes in the future. It is advisable to create a stable regulatory environment and increase the awareness of the Georgian agro-food product in international level.

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.

Although organic agriculture (OA) is praised unequivocally for its environmental and health benefits, its potential for food security is often questioned because of its perceived lower yield. Least developed countries (LDCs), which have a high prospect of conversion to OA, are underrepresented in the literature related to the yield potential of OA, and its impact on regional food security. This paper aims to assess food and nutrient (calorie, protein, and fat) supply, thereby contributing to food security, from OA using yield ratio (YR) in LDCs and to compare this with North America (NA). Literature is the main source of data to estimate YR. Food supply data available in FAOSTAT for 1963–2013 along with the YR is used to estimate food and nutrient supply from OA in 2013. YR of crops shows a higher yield from OA in LDCs compared to NA. The food supply in LDCs between 1963 and 2013 increased at a higher rate than in NA. However, per capita nutrient supply is growing at a meager rate in LDCs; calorie and protein supply are just above the minimum threshold level and fat supply is still below the threshold level. Cereal is the single most important food item contributing to nutrient supply in LDCs, indicating a lack of dietary diversity. Thus, with relatively higher yields and crop diversity, and localized production and distribution systems, OA will have important contributions in dealing with persistent food insecurity in LDCs. However, a concerted effort is necessary to achieve yield gain and wider acceptance of OA.

Rural areas are crucial for agriculture in Indonesia, particularly in local rice production. However, many rural communities face challenges accessing safe and nutritious food due to limited transportation infrastructure, restricted local markets, and low incomes. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these issues by disrupting food supply chains and worsening food insecurity. This systematic review examines how local food production, including agriculture, contributed to food security in early COVID-19 rural Indonesia following the PRISMA procedure. The author uses five databases including, EBSCO Host, ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis, Wiley, and GARUDA. Search using keywords food security, access, local production, rural, agriculture, pandemic COVID-19, and Indonesia. Fifteen studies showed most rural communities faced food insecurity at the start of the pandemic due to lockdowns and higher non-household expenses. Nevertheless, some villages remained food secure, relying on local agriculture and plantations. The findings of this review can provide valuable direction for implementing focused mitigation plans in particular areas to reduce the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and future global events on rural food security.

Food shortages are not uncommon in the history of China and hence the word 'famine' is not new to many Chinese (Lang, 1934; Feng, 1970; Xu, 1996; Yang, 2008). The most recent large-scale famine took place between 1959 and 1962, during which some 37 million people (5 per cent of the population) died of hunger (Yang, 2008). While the horrific experience of the famine cannot be erased from the memories of those who are now in their 50s and above, malnutrition and starvation during the 'Cultural Revolution) period (1966-76) still remains in the minds of the generation who are in their 40s and above. Today, food supply in China is adequate and easily accessible. Arguably, the past three decades (the early 1980s to date) was one of the best periods in Chinese history so far as food availability is concerned. Thus, examining how China has managed to improve its food availability can be most valuable in generating useful implications not only for China but also for other countries to promote their food security for the future. This chapter examines China's food security practice since the 1950s. In the following section, We examine China's food security situation since the 1950s, followed by the identification of the key drivers that contributed to its improvement during the past three decades. In the third section, a normative food security framework is used to evaluate the current status of China's food security. Major challenges for China to further improve its food security for the future and influential factors that affect the handling of such challenges are identified and elaborated in the fourth part. And finally, conclusions and implications are provided.

One of the prime concerns of India’s policies has been the food and nutritional security to its population. The three important components of food security are: availability, access, and absorption (nutrition). These three are interrelated. The major aim of this paper is to examine the performance in food security in India in respect of these three components. In respect of availability, The average annual growth rates in Yields of Food grain Production and in Area under cultivation for Food grain Production have been computed for five time periods; pre green revolution 1950-51 to 66-67), early green revolution (1967-68 to 1979-80), mature green revolution (1980-81 to 1989-90), early economic reforms (1990-91 to 1999-00), and economic reforms (2000-01 to 2011-12). The food grains production has deteriorated when India entered in the era of globalization. The free market play has adversely affected the production of food grains and the rate of growth of food grains production declined after the introduction of New Economic Policy (NEP) in India. So far as the accessibility aspect of food security is concerned, long term trend in consumption pattern at household level shows that per capita direct consumption of food grains has been declining. Further India’s performance in food security on nutritional outcomes has not been very satisfactory. The Global Food Security Index 2012 released in New Delhi in September, 2012, placed India in a moderate category. It ranked India 66th among 105 nations and cited affordability rather than availability as a key food security threat for Indians. India scored highest in food availability (51.3) but lowest (38.4) in terms of food access. It also points to its poor ability to move food efficiently because of infrastructure problems. Similarly, in food security index 2013, India slipped to 70 position. We live in paradoxical times, and it is not the shortage of food but the lack of a proper food distribution network that is to blame.

Climate change presents a significant threat to humanity. It affects agriculture, food supply, and economic development. Urban agriculture (UA) is an alternate climate-smart approach to enhancing food and income security. The climate-smart agriculture (CSA) concept promises to lessen the effects of climate change. Nuanced research is critical to warrant food and income security. This review paper synthesises evidence through a systematic literature search to analyse the implications of CSA practices and climate adaptation strategies for food and income prospects. We also employed bibliometric analysis to show emerging trends and identify knowledge gaps in the ongoing topical discourse. The review elucidates insights into how CSA practices boost urban food production, accessibility, and dietary diversity, ultimately enhancing urban farmers’ food security. The economic benefits of CSA and climate adaptation strategies highlight that UA is vital for improving urban farmers’ income. Despite the opportunities created by UA, the review recognises the critical challenges and trade-offs that call for transforming UA to safeguard food and income security in the face of increasing climate change. The review calls for an all-round UA transformation encompassing urban community-based efforts, capacity building, and policy support mechanisms aimed at advancing climate-resilient UA and ensuring food and income security in an ever-changing environment.

An accurate assessment of food security and its challenges is essential for formulating effective measures and promoting sustainable socioeconomic development. This study develops an evaluation system for China's food security, focusing on four dimensions: food supply, food access, food production stability, and food continuity. The entropy weight extended matter element model is used for quantitative processing, which ensures that the integrity of the information can be guaranteed to a greater extent while reducing the influence of subjective factors, and then, the study evaluates the food security of different functional areas in China, and finally, it diagnoses the main obstacles to food security by using the obstacle degree model. (1) From 2000 to 2020, China's food security level fluctuated, initially declining, and then increasing. The food security level in major production and marketing areas is generally higher, while the primary marketing areas exhibit the lowest security levels. (2) The level of grain yields and the total power of machinery per unit area are the key factors affecting food security; the impact of inputs of agricultural materials (fertilizers and pesticides) on food security has decreased and is constantly stabilizing. In the main marketing area, the per capita food share is significantly lower than in the other functional areas, which has the greatest impact on food security. (3) Analysis of the obstacle factors reveals that the food supply and access security subsystems are crucial for ensuring national, production, and marketing security. From 2000 to 2020, the average obstacle degrees of food supply and food access security at the national level were 46.56% and 21.17%, respectively; for the production and marketing areas, they were 58.47% and 21.45%; and for primary marketing areas, they were 37.69% and 26.59%. In major grain-producing areas, the main obstacles lay within the food supply security and food production stability subsystems, with average obstacle degrees of 53.77% and 15.67%, respectively, from 2000 to 2020. The above results provide a scientific basis for comprehensively improving the level of food security in China, optimizing the structure of food production in each functional area, and formulating regionalized policies for stabilizing and maintaining food production and supply.

The state of global food security has been considerably improved in the last decades; however, these achievements are attributable to the “green revolutions” in Latin-America and Asia. The food shortage has remained persistent in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the proliferation of undernourishment is nearly 30%. There is a large number of studies investigating different causes and aspects of the current crisis, or evaluating the future of the African agro-food sector based on one or a few particular aspects (e.g. climate change, population dynamics). Just a small number of attempts have been made to offer a holistic approach focusing on future development possibilities. The goals of the article are (1) to set up a conceptual system-dynamic model for agro-food development in Africa, (2) test this model on examples of two representative countries, namely Uganda and Nigeria, (3) based on expert surveys, define development scenarios for the agro-food sector in these two countries and (4) determine the key actions for the improvement of the present situation. The system dynamics simulations forecast a rather gloomy future for the agro-food sector: even the historically highest development rate of agricultural production of these two countries will not be enough to meet the rapidly increasing demand for food. Scenarios based on expert estimations predict long-range stagnation in Nigeria and just a moderate probability of improvement in Uganda. Radical improvement in the food security situation and prevention of imminent social catastrophe necessitate wide-ranging socio-economic reforms focusing on (1) decreasing fertility, (2) a general upgrading of health culture, (3) promotion of cooperatives and (4) enhanced attractiveness of the agro-food sector for a wide range of business investment opportunities.

Food and nutrition security has remained one of the top priorities of policy planners in post-Independent India. The country followed a multi-pronged strategy to improve and sustain food and nutrition security. The core objective of this strategy has been to sustain and improve food and nutrition security through food selfsufficiency. The strategy includes (i) strong support for raising food production, (ii) stable supply of some food staples and (iii) making food available at affordable prices. This strategy embraces several instruments that cover generation and adoption of technology, better availability of inputs, institutional credit, subsidy on farm inputs, improved infrastructure, expansion of irrigation, institutional reforms and mechanisms, competitive markets, remunerative prices for farmers/producers, public procurement, system of buffer stocks, open market sales, supply of food through public distribution system, nutrition interventions and trade policy. This strategy has helped India in several ways. Food production including livestock products and fish increased from 188 million tonnes (MT) during 1970-71 to 342 MT during 1990-91 showing an 82 per cent increase over two decades. In the next two decades, food production increased to close to 600 MTmarking a 75 per cent increase. In these two periods, the population of the country increased by 53 and 47 per cent, respectively. This has resulted in an increase in per capita production of total food from less than 350kg per person during the early 1970s to more than 500 kg in recent years. However, the effect of increase in per capita production of food recorded in the country is not visible in terms of the improvement in food and nutrition security. According to some studies based on the per person per day energy norms of 2400 Kcal for rural and 2100 Kcal for urban areas, there is deterioration in the prevalence of undernourishment based on energy intake during 1987-88 to 200405 (Deaton and Dreze, 2009). About 40 per cent children under age of 5 years are underweight and child mortality is also high. Based on such facts, serious questions are now being raised about the country’s achievements in food security. This

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This paper reviews studies concerning food security in China. Before the 1980s, China suffered from chronic food shortages. Since 1980, food supply has gradually improved. Today, food in China is plentiful and varieties are diverse. Reviewing what the literature has to say about what has been most fundamental in affecting China’s level of food security can help channel future food security efforts in the right direction. Existing studies suggest that institutions were chiefly responsible for China’s food shortage or abundance. Reforms to China’s economic institutions since the 1980s were fundamental to improving its food supply. To further improve China’s overall food security, several major challenges – widespread food safety and quality concerns, large and widening income inequalities, and the degrading environment and resources that affect sustainable food production – have to be overcome. All such challenges are also closely linked to the country’s widespread corruption. To curtail the corruption and conquer remaining and emerging food security challenges, more innovative reforms to the country’s institutions would be needed.