Aspects Of Food Security Research Articles

Challenges and Opportunities Faced on Food Production Systems in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions under Climate Change Conditions

Climate change and variability may have an impact on the occurrence of food safety hazards at various stages of the food chain. It may also affect socio-economic aspects related to food systems such as agriculture, animal production, global trade, demographics and human behavior which all influence food safety. There is also concern that meeting the rising demand for food is leading to environmental degradation thereby exacerbating factors in part responsible for climate change, and further undermining the food systems upon which food security is based. A major emphasis of climate change/food security research over recent years has addressed the agronomic aspects of climate change, and particularly crop yield. Therefore, while agronomic research alone cannot address all food security/climate change issues, hence the balance of investment in research and development for crop production vis a vis other aspects of food security needs to be assessed. Improved understanding of the impacts of climate change on crop production helps to develop adaptation options, and also crucially it improves understanding of the consequences of different adaptation options on further climate forcing. This role can further be strengthened if agronomists work alongside other scientists to develop adaptation options that are not only effective in terms of crop production, but are also environmentally and economically robust, at landscape and regional scales. Furthermore, such integrated approaches are much more likely to address the information need of policy makers. The potential for stronger linkages between the results of agronomic research and the policy environment will thus be enhanced.

Flooding, Food Security and the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria: An Assemblage and Systems Thinking Approach

Food is connected to sustainable development goals in numerous ways, as food security is key to achieving sustainable development. The world is currently not on track to achieve the set sustainable development goals (SDGs). In Nigeria, flooding is a recurrent disaster and constitutes a setback to success with the SDGs and sustainable development. Flooding disasters are a threat to food security due to their impact on the food system. This study is an integrative review that explores the link between Nigeria’s flooding, food security, and the SDGs. It adopts an assemblage and systems thinking approach to analyze the impact of flooding on all components of food security. It finds that, despite the impact of flooding on food security, it is not recognized as a threat by policymakers, as evidenced by the lack of mention of disasters in the current Nigeria Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP). Attention is drawn to this oversight in this work by highlighting the interconnections between flooding, food security, and sustainable development. Recommendations on flood mitigation and adaptive practices that can alleviate the negative impact of flooding on food security to enhance the success rate of the SDGs are proffered. This work contributes to the literature by showcasing the impact of flooding on food security and its connection to sustainable development, which is an area that has not received adequate attention in research. The assemblage and system thinking approach adopted brings novelty and allows for a succinct understanding of how flooding impacts all four aspects of food security. This paper serves as the first time the problem has been explored in this manner.

UPAYA QATAR DALAM MENINGKATKAN KETAHANAN PANGAN PASCA BLOKADE TAHUN 2017

Qatar is a rich-developed country but low in food sources. It is nearly impossible to do agricultural or farming activities as Qatar located in arid and water-stress area. Local food production contributes for about 10% to the domestic food needs, therefore, Qatar heavily dependent on food imports for almost 90%. This situation leads Qatar’s food supply relying to the stability of the region and global market price. When the four Arab countries decided to impose embargo in June 5th 2017, the imports to Qatar were stopped. Qatar was forced to find food scources from other countries. This research aims to analyze how Qatar undertake to improving it’s food security as the blockade occur. This research shows Qatar’s ability to improve its food security mainly constructed by the implementation of integrated food security policy and partnership of each actor in government. Qatar managed to make policies that able achieve four aspects of food security: availability, access, utilization, and stability.
 Keywords: Qatar, Food Security, Blockade, Food Policy, GCC

Micro Level Study of Ethnic and Non-Ethnic Households’ Food Security and Dietary Diversity

Although Bangladesh has achieved rice self-sufficiency, this does not imply to food security. Around 25% of the population is still food insecure. The fundamental factor is poverty. Despite improvements in many aspects of food security, the Bangladeshi people still lack dietary diversity, resulting in nutritional imbalance. The investigation's focus is on Bangladesh's northwestern region. Though numerous attempts have been made to comprehend rural people's food insecurity, ethnic minority communities are often overlooked. They make up about 1.25 percent of the Bangladeshi population. Many ethnic groups from the plains confront harsh living conditions, such as inadequate housing, contaminated drinking water, and insecurity. In this study the socioeconomic status, household food security, consumption status and dietary diversity of ethnic groups are compared with the majority Bengali community. Ethnic groups expenditure level exceeds their income. Although their income is very poor but the ethnic groups has more months’ of cereal food availability than non-ethnic groups. Most of them are landless. Whatever land they have, most of it is homestead area. They have three meals a day but their dietary diversity is not sufficient. It can be seen that 98.39% non-ethnic households and 97.04% ethnic households have access to safe drinking water. Both groups are vulnerable, marginal and poor. It is important to emphasis on poverty alleviation through income generating activities.

Analysis of losses of food raw materials in the food chain

The article considers aspects of food security in view of the loss of food raw materials in the food chain at different stages of production. Loss of food raw materials occurs at all stages of the food chain. Thus, there is an increase in losses of food raw materials, the amount of which exceeds 1,3 billion tons annually. In general, there are two categories of food losses. The first category is formed during the stages of collection, transportation, maturation and processing of food raw materials, while the second category arises through the fault of the final consumer. The amount of food loss is also affected by the industrial development of the planet. In general, industrialized countries are characterized by a much higher percentage of food losses. In turn, more than 80 % of the loss of food raw materials can be avoided through the introduction of innovative storage technologies, and the use of resource-saving technologies will be promising. No less important aspect to reduce the loss of raw materials at the stage of consumption is the rationalization of food culture and consumer awareness.

ЗАХОДИ ПОЛІТИКИ, СПРЯМОВАНІ НА ВИРІШЕННЯ ПРОБЛЕМ ПРОДОВОЛЬЧОЇ БЕЗПЕКИ В УМОВАХ УПОВІЛЬНЕННЯ ЗРОСТАННЯ ЕКОНОМІКИ ТА ЕКОНОМІЧНИХ СПАДІВ

The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic were the most devastating for food security and nutrition as a result of unprecedented depth and scale of economic downturns caused by pandemic measures. They have caused an economic downturn in 2020 in most countries around the world: per capita incomes have fallen more than ever in recent years.There is not enough scientific work aimed at comprehensively solving the problem in the economic, technological, environmental and social spheres that determine the factors and, accordingly, measures to eliminate or mitigate the effects of economic downturns, increase the resilience of food systems. The aim of this work is to deepen theoretical and methodological approaches and develop policy measures, determine the expected results and systematize implementation tools aimed at addressing food security and malnutrition in a slowdown and economic downturns. The study found that policy measures aimed at addressing food insecurity and malnutrition in the context of slowing economic growth and economic downturns include: policy measures aimed at the main channels of transmission of the impact of slowing economic growth and economic downturns; stimulating complex structural transformations in order to reduce economic vulnerability; cross-sectoral policies aimed at tackling food insecurity and malnutrition, with a special focus on poverty and inequality; making the most of trade for food security and nutrition. The main expected results of such measures are: curbing the rise in food prices or compensating for its consequences; stimulating job creation and increasing incomes; financial feasibility and sustainability of countercyclical policy; developing a balanced policy and ensuring balanced investments in favor of complex transformations. Poverty reduction policy measures are proposed, focusing on each of the main aspects of food security: physical availability of food; economic and physical access to food; food use; stability of the other three dimensions over time.

АКТУАЛЬНІ АСПЕКТИ ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ПРОДОВОЛЬЧОЇ БЕЗПЕКИ УКРАЇНИ

Ensuring food security is always important, as it is directly related to the priority of food needs for everyone. In modern conditions, food security is a multifaceted concept, the understanding of which is broader than the need to get a certain amount of food every day. The level of food security directly affects the political and economic situation in the country, the level of social tension and the pace of society. The aim of the study was to characterize the level of food security in Ukraine by identifying the essence of key threats before and during the war. To consider topical aspects of food security, the following methods were used: induction and deduction, comparison and systematization - in the study of current priorities of food security; synthesis and analysis – to characterize the level of food security; morphological analysis – to clarify the content of key threats to food security before and during hostilities; graphic – for visual presentation of theoretical and methodological material; abstract-logical - for theoretical generalizations and conclusions of the study. It is substantiated that the current priorities of food security are: physical, economic and social access to food; food safety; access to water and acceptable sanitation; self-sufficiency in food within the country; foreign trade in food; stability in food intake; ecologically clean and nutritious food. The identified priorities were applied in characterizing the level of food security of Ukraine. Strengthening the agrarian vector of national economy development did not provide the necessary high level of food security in Ukraine. Leading positions in grain exports did not eliminate the threat to economic affordability of food and unbalanced nutrition due to insufficient high-calorie food. The military increased the negative impact of existing threats and provoked new ones. Significant numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons, with more than half of businesses shutting down and large-scale redundancies and wage cuts, have hampered economic access to food. . The breakdown of logistics chains limits physical access to seasonal fruits and vegetables. Military action has limited the production and export of agricultural products, which complicates the activities of domestic producers and exacerbates the imbalance in the national economy.

Food Security Assessment: An Exploration of Canadian Offshore Petroleum SEA Practice

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has the potential to play a crucial role in addressing global food insecurity. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of 17 recent Canadian SEAs, conducted for offshore petroleum exploration, exploring the extent of consideration for food security in current SEA practice. Document analysis was used to appraise consideration of eight core food security elements and conformity to procedural and analytical elements recommended for effective food security assessment in regional SEA. Performance variation among the SEAs in was observed. Notable deficiencies include lack of explicit consideration for food security and lack of transparency around public participation, as well as limited characterisations of the socio-political environment. Some encouraging findings, however, suggest that food security can be successfully addressed in regional SEA. In particular, the ‘system analysis’ approach typically employed in SEA in the offshore petroleum exploration industry is well-suited to food security assessment. Certain aspects of food security are already indirectly considered and incorporated in SEA; yet, there is considerable scope for improvement of integrating food security effectively in SEA.

Evaluation of the determinants of food security within the COVID-19 pandemic circumstances- a particular case of Shaanxi, China

BackgroundAgricultural food production and distribution industries may play a vital role in determining the current conditions of any country’s food security and sustainable development goals. This paper examined the determinants of food security within three distinct aspects (effective utilization of food, food availability, and food access) within the COVID-19 epidemic situation.MethodsThe qualitative set-up of the study comprised with the identification of drivers by critical analysis of published papers and discussion held with some practitioners. The quantitative data used in this research were collected from a survey covering the agricultural food supply industry in China (Shaanxi Province). The survey was conducted from November to December 2020 and we mainly focus on three aspects of food security (effective utilization of food, food availability, and food access). The core analytical assumptions were made by employing exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM).ResultsAfter analyzing the data collected from 257 agricultural food productions and distribution personnel along with the hypothesis testing, it found that the determinants of the effective utilization of food were positively related to the determinants of food access (β = 0.291, p = 0.029) and food availability (β = 0.298, p = 0.011), and the determinants of food availability were positively related to the food access determinants (β = 0.128, p = 0.002). The association and variance values between food availability and food access were 0.659 and 0.407; the association and variance values between for effective utilization of food and food availability aspects were 0.465 and 0.298, and between effective utilization of food and economy were 0.508 and 0.475.ConclusionThe study critically evaluated the interconnection among the crucial determinants within the banner of three dimensions, which will act as a major contribution to existing literature. This research will help the government and industry to develop policies and strategies for the successful implementation of all the associated determinants of food security in terms of the epidemic situation.

Effect of osmotic dehydration combined with citric acid on bioactive compounds in freeze-dried MD2 pineapple

The use of freeze drying process to prolong the shelf life of food products is considered mainstream in food industries due to its capability to retain the nutritional value. Citric acid and osmotic solution were used as a pre-treatment in this study to produce high-quality dried products. Four treatment groups were observed, including untreated (control), 1% citric acid (CA), 1% CA with 20% sugar solution (CAOD 20%), and 1% CA with 60% sugar solution (CAOD 60%). Physical properties such as moisture content; pH; total soluble solid; colour value; and bioactive compounds, such as vitamin C, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activities were evaluated in freeze-dried pineapples. The result showed that CAOD 60% demonstrated a positive effect, with the least moisture content and the lowest value of colour changes (ΔE) at 5.69 ± 0.04% and 33.76 ± 2.17, respectively, as compared with that of other samples. In terms of phytochemical, the control and CA groups recorded higher retention of vitamin C, TPC, and TFC compared with other osmotic dehydration samples; however, there was no significant effect (p<0.05) on TPC and TFC. Interestingly, CAOD 60% possessed strong antioxidant activity, with the lowest IC50 value of 85.85 ± 5.93. From these findings, it was found that CAOD 60% resulted in positive effect on both the physical qualities and preservation of antioxidant activity, making it a recommended condition for pre-treatment in fruit preservation, which is essential in ensuring both the food security aspect and maintenance of its nutritional value.

Health Risk Associated with Copper Intake through Vegetables in Different Countries

Sustainable development goals aim to attain food security by 2030. To attain food security, it becomes extremely important to target various aspects of food security where safety of food is a major factor. In order to meet the growing population demand, efforts are being made to increase production of food and thus the safety aspect is often ignored. Irrational anthropogenic activities have impacted and deteriorated the ambient environment. Degradation of soil and water has resulted in buildup of contaminants in these spheres and further transfer of contaminants into the food chain. Increase in heavy metals in our surroundings is reported in many parts of the world. Further, increase in concentration of metals in soil and water result in the transfer of these metals into food chain. Unlike other metals copper is although is an essential element for living organisms but excessive consumption of copper is known to cause toxic impacts to living organisms. Green leafy vegetables are considered as hyperaccumulators for copper. The excessive concentration of copper in vegetables is not limited to any one region of the world. The present review summarizes the reports of copper content in vegetables in various parts of the world and health effects associated with it.

Food Security in Ghanaian Urban Cities: A Scoping Review of the Literature.

Urbanisation in Ghana could be negatively impacting the state of food security, especially in economically vulnerable groups. Food supply, safety, and quality are all aspects of food security which could be impacted. We conducted a scoping literature review to understand the nature and magnitude of evidence available on the urban food security situation in Ghana. A literature search was conducted in Medline, CINAHL, Embase, Global Health, Scopus, Web of Science, Africa Wide Information and Google Scholar to identify relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature. 45 studies, mainly cross-sectional surveys/food samples analysis, met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies were concentrated in the Greater Accra Region (n = 24). Most studies focused on food safety and quality (n = 31). Studies on supply and stability were, however, scarce. Qualitative research methods were uncommon in the included studies. The existing literature on food security are concentrated in two regions: The Greater Accra and Ashanti regions. Future studies exploring food security in urban Ghana should focus on exploring the lived experiences and perceptions of food insecurity and food stability by urban-dwellers using qualitative methods. The evidence suggesting that the safety/quality of foods sold in Ghanaian markets is poor should be a concern to consumers and policy makers.

Rural Food Deserts: Food Access Status among Low-Income Households in Rural Area, Kedah, Malaysia

Food security happens when all people have physical and economic access to enough safe and nutritious food that satisfies their nutritional needs and desires for an active and balanced life at all times (FAO 2008). Food access is one of the key aspects of food security that must be met in order to achieve food security status. Food access, described as a sufficient supply of food at the national or international level, does not guarantee food security at the household level. Concerns regarding inadequate food access have prompted policymakers to place a greater emphasis on wages, expenditures, economies, and prices in order to achieve food security goals (FAO 2008). Keywords: Food Access, Low-Income Households, Food Deserts

Assessment of factors affecting the decision of smallholder farmers to use alternative maize storage technologies in Gatsibo District-Rwanda

Storage is an important aspect of food security in developing countries. Therefore, it is crucial for farmers to have access to sustainable storage technologies to cope with storage losses. Maize is an important staple and commercial food in Rwanda, but maize farmers are still being challenged by storage losses because of the lack of proper storage facilities. It is in that regard that advanced maize storage technology, notably hermetic maize storage technology, has been introduced in Rwanda in 2012. However, since its introduction, the adoption rate is low among smallholder maize farmers. Understanding the factors influencing farmers’ choice of alternative maize storage technology could provide Rwandan policymakers with important information for designing policies and programs aimed at reducing maize post-harvest losses to enhance household food security. This study used a multivariate probit model on a randomly selected cross-sectional sample of 301 smallholder maize farmers from the Gatsibo District of Rwanda to take part. The results revealed that the common maize storage technologies used among smallholder farmers were polypropylene sacks with and without chemicals, hermetic bags, and silos. Only 41% of respondents used hermetic maize storage technology. The model results showed that membership in a farmer group, access to credit, the quantity of maize produced, access to training, and selling maize soon after it dries, were the major factors influencing the decision of smallholder farmers to use alternative maize storage technologies. The study recommends that the policymakers and other stakeholders in post-harvest loss reduction should support the dissemination of advanced storage technologies to facilitate access. The government should support farmer acquisition of post-harvest maize loss reduction technologies either through subsidization of hermetic bags or provision of cheap credit.

Assessment of Factors Affecting the Decision of Smallholder Farmers to Use Alternative Maize Storage Technologies in Gatsibo District-Rwanda

Storage is an important aspect of food security in developing countries. Therefore, it is crucial for farmers to have access to sustainable storage technologies to cope with storage losses. Maize is an important staple and commercial food in Rwanda, but maize farmers are still being challenged by storage losses due to lack of proper storage facilities. It is in that regard that advanced maize storage technology, notably hermetic maize storage technologyy has been introduced in Rwanda but its adoption is still low among smallholder maize farmers. Empirical evidence on the factors affecting farmers’ choice of maize storage technology to use, is virtually non-existent. Yet, such information is needed by Rwandan policy makers in designing policies and programs aimed at maize loss reduction to enhance food security. This article characterized different storage technologies used by farmers in terms of level of adoption of advanced storage technologies, and constraints using descriptive statistics. It also investigated the factors affecting smallholder maize farmers’ decision to use alternative storage technologies, using the multivariate probit model. The sample size used was 301 smallholder maize farmers from Gatsibo District of Rwanda.

О стратегировании экономической доступности продукции и продовольственной помощи населению

Abstract. Target. Explore the issue of strategic planning related to new strategic and national food security objectives. The emphasis is placed on economic accessibility as an integral element, balancing together with the physical and environmental accessibility of products in the system of three aspects of food security. At the present stage, the level of economic accessibility achieved is subject to dangerous risks and threats of decline, which constitute social challenges due to the drop in real incomes of the population and the increase in prices of basic food. Based on the synthesis of existing regulatory acts and planned bills, it was revealed that today the influence of these challenges forces the executive and legislative authorities to adopt a package of measures to mitigate food risks, including the justification for the need to introduce food certificates to poor citizens. Methods. Scientific and theoretical generalization and analytical calculations of Rosstat data taking into account decile (10 %) population groups in terms of average per capita disposable income. Statistical groupings of regions by natural and economic conditions, conducted by the author to assess and take into account their impact on economic availability of products. Scientific novelty. To increase the financial and economic validity of food support measures, the author proposes a methodology for strategic planning of food assistance to the population, the essence of which is based on the balance between the amount of support and the cost of rational consumption of products. Results. The results of the calculations indicate that 40 per cent of the population with the lowest per capita income has an urgent need for food assistance. By statistical grouping of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation according to the cadastral value of 1 hectare of farmland, it is justified that the focus of support for increasing the economic availability of products will increase if the natural and economic characteristics of the regions of residence of citizens are taken into account in the calculations.

Историко-правовая концепция развития продовольственной безопасности: опыт НЭПа

Examined is the current legal issues of what is today called food security. The process of formation of this institution in the 1920s is considered through the prism of regulatory material. Such a retrospective analysis helps to prevent the dynamics of problems in modern state development. The purpose of the study is to identify the methodological, material and legal foundations for the emergence of food security during the New Economic Policy (NEP). Objectives to study the course of state and legal development during the NEP period are to analyze legal sources and archival materials of the Soviet policy in the 1920s in the field of food security. In the process of working on the study, a number of special methods were used, in particular, historical-legal, formal-legal, comparative-legal. The implementation of research tasks was achieved on the basis of a historical and legal analysis of the main sources and archival materials of the state and legal development of the NEP period, which enshrined the legal aspects of food security. An abstract review of the legal framework of the normative sources of the NEP allows to assert, that already in the 1920s, the issue of food security was formed. In addition, attempts were actively made to resolve it in corresponding legislative base formed. The experience of the NEP showed that the state agricultural food policy requires a very clear and clear legislative structure. These contradictions are more or less obvious in modern state of legal policy. This must be taken into account when making decisions. It is important to understand that the tasks of agricultural food policy do not have simple and complex solutions.

Agricultural Production in Qatar’s Hot Arid Climate

Agriculture has played an essential role in the provision of food and has been a major factor in overall economic development for societies around the world for millennia. In the past, agriculture in hot, arid countries like Qatar faced many challenges, the primary one being a dearth of water for irrigation. Historically this severely limited Qatar’s economic development, which was based largely on resource exploitation, pearl fishing, and only more recently, on the exploitation of its oil and gas reserves which subsequently has led to Qatar’s great wealth. This paper gives an overview of the recent evolution of Qatar’s agricultural sector and investigates future trends that tackle the challenges of its hot arid climate and the limited availability of agricultural resources. Specifically, the review analyses Qatar’s potential to develop a national food security strategy based on a significant expansion of food production in the country. We review recent policy actions implemented to address challenges in the food supply chain caused by a 3.5-year blockade imposed by the adjacent Arab Gulf States, discussing the renewed interest in the potential that an enhanced agricultural sector must provide some aspects of food security and the implications for policymakers that would logically ensue.

Women’s empowerment and gender-differentiated food allocation in Bangladesh

This paper analyzes the impact of women’s empowerment on two aspects of food security—calorie and protein intake of children—using data on agricultural households from the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey. We are interested both in the differential impact of mother’s empowerment on the food security of boys and girls as well as in whether different aspects of empowerment have different effects. There are 10 different aspects of empowerment including making production decisions, owning and selling assets, being a member of a group and so on. Our estimates suggest that, in households with more empowered women, children enjoy higher calorie and protein intake but that daughters are disadvantaged relative to sons. Most importantly, mother’s empowerment is an important source of gender discrimination. When considering the sub-components of empowerment, we find that input into production decisions are important for both calorie consumption and protein. These findings are robust to a host of controls including household poverty, sibling composition, community social norms and individual characteristics.

Розвиток ринку молока в контексті забезпечення продовольчої безпеки країни

The purpose of the article is to reveal the essence of food security and analyze the development trends of the milk market in terms of providing the population with dairy products. Research methods. In the process of the study, dialectical methods of cognition, a systematic approach to the study of economic phenomena, monographic (with generalized domestic and foreign experience in determining the economic essence of food security), analysis and synthesis (when studying the levels of milk production and the physical and economic accessibility of the population to these products) were used , statistical groupings (when identifying the place of regions in the national volume of dairy production), economic and statistical (when processing mass statistical data), abstract logical (when substantiating theoretical generalizations and drawing conclusions). Research results. The theoretical aspects of food security as an economic category are substantiated, the essence of which is reduced as the ability of the state under various conditions to provide guarantees and meet the needs of the population for food products at a scientifically grounded level of consumption for effective demand. The analysis of the development of the milk market in the context of ensuring food security, in particular of such a segment as the consumption of milk in accordance with the scientifically grounded norm, is carried out and trends in the provision of milk to the regions of Ukraine are determined. Scientific novelty. The analysis of the level of dairy products consumption by the population of the regions of Ukraine made it possible to determine a certain level of imbalances in the production and formation of regional food stocks and to classify the regions of Ukraine by functions in the milk market according to the level of provision with their own production, which made it possible to substantiate the need for interregional exchange of industry products in order to improve the level consumption per capita and strengthening food security. Practical significance. The recommendations of the authors can be used by the Departments of agro-industrial development of regional state administrations in the development of food security programs, taking into account both the development of their own milk production and the exchange between regions. Tabl.: 3. Figs.: 2. Refs.: 24.