Food Insecure Regions Research Articles

The Sustainability Model of Dryland Farming in Food-Insecure Regions: Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Approach

Agricultural sustainability is a prerequisite for reducing poverty and food insecurity. The readiness of food is closely linked to food security and the sustainability of dryland farming. It shows a vital position in food-insecure zones. This article purposes at presenting the analyses of the sustainability model of dryland farming in food-insecure regions. The research was carried out in East Nusa Tenggara Province, which is a region with a relatively high food insecurity level in Indonesia. The samples of farmers include 240 respondents taken using the combination of purposive and snowball samplings. Survey, interviews, and observation methods were applied to gather the data, which include main and supporting data. Data were examined with Structural Equation Modeling. The research model was built based on inputs, processes, outputs, food security, both directly and indirectly, affecting the sustainability of dryland farming. The outcomes of the study have shown that the sustainability of dryland farming can be improved by using government inputs and environmental inputs, reducing family resource inputs, using appropriate farming system models, utilizing government policies, increasing output, and strengthening the food security of farmers' households. Farmers are rational in making decisions about the sustainability of their farming management which is challenged with limitations.

Is Responsive Feeding Difficult? A Case Study in Teso South Sub-County, Kenya.

Responsive infant and young child feeding as a reciprocal relationship between the child and his or her caregiver is recommended by the WHO but has received less attention than dietary diversity or meal frequency up to now. The current study assessed common (non)responsive child feeding practices and factors that facilitate or hinder caregivers to improve feeding practices in rural Teso South Sub-County, Western Kenya. The qualitative study used focus group discussion (n = 93) and Trials of Improved Practices (TIPs) (n = 48) to identify challenges and opportunities in household food distribution and feeding practices. Overall, the implementation of responsive feeding practices was feasible for the caregivers. Parents reported mainly positive experiences in terms of the child's feeding behavior and effects on child health. Traditional beliefs, practices, and cultural norms hindered some households to change intrahousehold food distribution. Households who manage to implement responsive feeding even in food insecure regions should be consulted to (a) improve existing nutrition education messages that acknowledge these cultural norms, (b) to include more responsive feeding information in nutrition education material, and (c) to address gender norms to create awareness of the importance of responsive feeding practices and the need for adequate time allocation for infant and young child feeding.

Modelling climate change impacts on crop production in food insecure regions: The case of Niger

To quantify the impacts of climate change on agricultural systems and to support policy processes and farm level decisions, the agricultural meteorology community is extensively applying climate-crop modelling approaches. The herein study evaluates the impact of two climate change scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways-RCPs 4.5 and 8.5) on main crops (millet, sorghum and cowpea) grown in two agroclimatological regions (Soudano-Sahelian and Sahel) in the Republic of Niger. Climate projections using HadGEM2-ES model show increasing precipitation trends of up to + 30 % under RCP 8.5 in Birni N′Konni (Soudano-Sahelian) and a decrease of 1 % under RCP 4.5 in Mare de Tabalak (Sahel) when comparing the 2021–30 and 2071–80 periods. The number of dry days and heavy rainfall events during the wet-season are also expected to gain in frequency over the century. As a result, the productivity of major crops is threatened, with potential dire consequences for national food security and the income of millions. The emerging findings of the crop-modelling work using AquaCrop show decrease/increase yield trends for millet, sorghum and cowpea of about 0 to − 50 %, + 5 to − 20 %, + 11 to + 18 %, respectively, by the end of the century (2060–80), depending on the agroclimatic zone, sowing date and RCP. Overall, the emerging findings of this work can be used to inform agricultural transformation and adaptation to climate change by promoting a higher resilience against both excess of water (due to high rainfall events) and lack of water resources (due to extended dry periods).

Impact of climate change on agricultural production; Issues, challenges, and opportunities in Asia

Agricultural production is under threat due to climate change in food insecure regions, especially in Asian countries. Various climate-driven extremes, i.e., drought, heat waves, erratic and intense rainfall patterns, storms, floods, and emerging insect pests have adversely affected the livelihood of the farmers. Future climatic predictions showed a significant increase in temperature, and erratic rainfall with higher intensity while variability exists in climatic patterns for climate extremes prediction. For mid-century (2040-2069), it is projected that there will be a rise of 2.8°C in maximum temperature and a 2.2°C in minimum temperature in Pakistan. To respond to the adverse effects of climate change scenarios, there is a need to optimize the climate-smart and resilient agricultural practices and technology for sustainable productivity. Therefore, a case study was carried out to quantify climate change effects on rice and wheat crops and to develop adaptation strategies for the rice-wheat cropping system during the mid-century (2040-2069) as these two crops have significant contributions to food production. For the quantification of adverse impacts of climate change in farmer fields, a multidisciplinary approach consisted of five climate models (GCMs), two crop models (DSSAT and APSIM) and an economic model [Trade-off Analysis, Minimum Data Model Approach (TOAMD)] was used in this case study. DSSAT predicted that there would be a yield reduction of 15.2% in rice and 14.1% in wheat and APSIM showed that there would be a yield reduction of 17.2% in rice and 12% in wheat. Adaptation technology, by modification in crop management like sowing time and density, nitrogen, and irrigation application have the potential to enhance the overall productivity and profitability of the rice-wheat cropping system under climate change scenarios. Moreover, this paper reviews current literature regarding adverse climate change impacts on agricultural productivity, associated main issues, challenges, and opportunities for sustainable productivity of agriculture to ensure food security in Asia. Flowing opportunities such as altering sowing time and planting density of crops, crop rotation with legumes, agroforestry, mixed livestock systems, climate resilient plants, livestock and fish breeds, farming of monogastric livestock, early warning systems and decision support systems, carbon sequestration, climate, water, energy, and soil smart technologies, and promotion of biodiversity have the potential to reduce the negative effects of climate change.

Economic Potentials and Use Dynamics of Sorghum Food System in Ethiopia: Its Implications to Resolve Food Deficit

Agriculture continues to be vital to Africa’s future in both spatial and temporal contexts. Nonetheless, the sector keeps on confronting production challenges as a result of frequent and extended droughts, and these necessitate the use of drought-resistant crops such as sorghum. This review initiates one of the most common food grains grown in the poorest countries and the most food-insecure regions of the nation. We used deductive logical reasoning to develop a comprehensive scientific understanding of the crop that can be used to inform future research and policies. Various exclusion and inclusion criteria were used to filter the most prominent findings. Sorghum has the highest utility for its climatic adaptability and has grown for multiple purposes: From staple to industrial outcomes, its economic, social value, and health outcomes, and for animal silage. It is a gluten-free crop, has high nutritive value, and is preferred by healthy consumers. It is among the top five cereal crops worldwide in both production and acreage. This has necessitated the development of coping measures, such as the cultivation of drought-tolerant crops suitable for the affected areas. Therefore, this crop is used to ensure productivity, food security, and availability of food when other crops fail and food deficit and famine are affected in the region. This will contribute to the ongoing discussion on how to better inform private and public sector policy and investments in Ethiopia to increase sorghum and other drought-tolerant crop production, transform agriculture, improve nutrition, and food systems, and end hunger, food insecurity, and poverty.

Contributing Factors of Anemia in Pregnancy in the Twifo Atti-Morkwa District in Ghana

The exploding global population is presenting a new challenge of providing food for further billions of people against the backdrop of the challenges of already existing hunger and malnutrition, climate change, emerging destructive crop and animal diseases, and the pressure being exerted on arable lands by several other anthropological demands. Providing food for the world in the foreseeable future, therefore, requires the revolutionization of the agricultural sector as it stands today. Agricultural biotechnology has evolved over three decades and has presented itself as a critical avenue for addressing the perennial food production insecurity situations; particularly in Africa and other food-insecure regions of the world. This study sought to review agricultural biotechnology in Africa by assessing its current state and the future prospects of the technology on the African continent. The adoption and utilization of biotechnology in Africa have been faced with serious challenges of ethical, religious, environmental contamination, and health risks issues. Adoption of biotechnology and genetically modified (GM) products have only been achieved in a few countries in Africa on a small-scale basis and under a few selected crops. Inadequate legislation, unenhanced public education, and the spread of misconceptions by anti-GM technology activists remain a strong challenge to navigate around for the smooth adoption of the technology on the African continent. Smallholder farmers in Africa also harbor serious apprehension over seed monopoly and erosion of the traditional seed quality with neo-colonial intentions by the developers of the technology. Anti-GM sentiments based on misconceptions are deeply rooted in many African countries, heightening fear of its adoption. A stronger and more elaborate public education strategy that highlights the benefits of biotechnology and assures the people of the risk levels of the technology, and further research to alleviate public anxiety is critical for the adoption of biotechnology and GM products in Africa.

CO2 supplementation eliminates sugar-rich media requirement for plant propagation using a simple inexpensive temporary immersion photobioreactor

In vitro plant propagation systems such as temporary immersion bioreactors (TIBs) are valuable tools that enable production of disease-free plants with improved traits. However, TIB systems can be expensive, difficult to implement, and prone to contamination due to sugar rich propagation media. Using rapidly growing chicory root cultures to expedite design-build-test cycles, we report here an improved, low-cost version of a previously reported Hydrostatically-driven TIB (Hy-TIB) that facilitates economical use of gas mixtures. Bioreactor improvements include decreased material costs, expanded modes of operation, and a horizontal orientation of a plastic film plant growth chambers that increase propagule light exposure. To take advantage of these improvements, we describe here experiments that evaluate the impacts of elevated CO2 on propagation of cacao (Theobroma cacao) secondary embryos and nodal cultures of yam (Dioscorea spp.) during both phototrophic and photomixotrophic growth. Our experiments show that elevated CO2 during plant propagation significantly improved both cacao and yam propagule development and eliminated the need for supplemental sugars in tissue culture growth media. Thus, our improved Hy-TIB shows potential as a simple, low-cost, and scalable propagation platform with cost-effective gas composition control and reduced risk of contamination overgrowth. We provide detailed instructions for assembly of this Hy-TIB design and discuss the implications of its adoption in food-insecure regions of the world.

Characterization of rhizobia isolates from chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) root nodules of Ethiopia

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a legume crop that serves as a vital source of protein nutrition in many food insecure regions of the world, including Ethiopia. Chickpea is an important pulse crop grown widely in Ethiopia for grain production and amelioration of soil fertility for the succeeding cereal crops. The ability of the crop to enrich nitrogen poor soils due to biological nitrogen fixation with different isolate of endosymbiotic Mesorhizobium spp. However, the effectiveness of the isolate varies due to inherent Physiological and biochemical characteristics of the endo-symbionts and the host varieties. This necessitates the screening of the outstanding properties of the endo-symbionts under controlled environment. To this effect, 20 promising isolates were characterized for in vitro tolerance and nutritional diversity under laboratory under conditions on Chickpea. Cluster analysis of 61 biochemical and physiologic characteristics of isolates were grouped into four clusters at 70% similarity level. The larger cluster group (CI) contained 35% of the isolates, which reflect large compared to other classification. The isolates displayed incapable to grow at 45 °C and three isolates grow 40 °C. Few isolates grow at 5% NaCl and at pH 4.5, whereas the majority of the isolate grow in the remaining range. The tested isolates were sensitive to the Ampicilline and few resistances to Chloramphenicol. One isolate was found resistance to Pb and most of them sensitive Zn. Generally, the data provided an important complement to select representative distinct symbiont isolate for testing at under greenhouse conditions and field trials to enhance nitrogen fixation activities for chickpea production.

The impact of conflict-driven cropland abandonment on food insecurity in South Sudan revealed using satellite remote sensing

Armed conflicts often hinder food security through cropland abandonment and restrict the collection of on-the-ground information required for targeted relief distribution. Satellite remote sensing provides a means for gathering information about disruptions during armed conflicts and assessing the food security status in conflict zones. Using ~7,500 multisource satellite images, we implemented a data-driven approach that showed a reduction in cultivated croplands in war-ravaged South Sudan by 16% from 2016 to 2018. Propensity score matching revealed a statistical relationship between cropland abandonment and armed conflicts that contributed to drastic decreases in food supply. Our analysis shows that the abandoned croplands could have supported at least a quarter of the population in the southern states of South Sudan and demonstrates that remote sensing can play a crucial role in the assessment of cropland abandonment in food-insecure regions, thereby improving the basis for timely aid provision.

Culturally appropriate shifts in staple grain consumption can improve multiple sustainability outcomes

Diets exercise great influence over both human and environmental health. While numerous efforts have sought to define and identify sustainable diets, there remains a poor understanding of the extent to which such shifts are feasible when taking into account local dietary preferences. Accounting for 40% of dietary calories and 46% of global cropland, cereals offer an important food group by which culturally appropriate dietary shifts may achieve large sustainability benefits. Here we combine country-specific information on dietary cereal supply with nutrient content values, CO2 nutrient penalties, and environmental footprints to quantify the outcomes of adopting two feasible dietary shifts—maximizing the share of C4 cereals (e.g. maize, millet, sorghum) based on historical shares and increasing the share of whole grains. Our results show that increasing the share of whole grains can increase nutrient supply (+7% protein, +37% iron, +42% zinc) and overcome the nutrient-depleting effects of elevated CO2 (eCO2) and that maximizing the share of C4 cereals can substantially reduce environmental burden (−12% greenhouse gas emissions, −11% blue water demand), particularly in Africa and the Middle East. We also find that a combination of the two strategies would likely produce strong co-benefits between increased nutrient supply and reduced environmental impacts with mixed outcomes for offsetting the effects of eCO2. Such simultaneous improvements are particularly important for food insecure regions such as West Africa and Southeast Asia. These findings demonstrate important opportunities to identify sustainable diets that incorporate local preferences and cultural acceptability. Such considerations are essential when developing demand-side solutions to achieve more sustainable food systems.

Global nutrient equity for people and the planet

The industrial world has converted inert soil and atmospheric nutrients into reactive fertilizer flows that endanger water quality, biodiversity and climate. Simultaneously, poor nations starve because of the shortage of these nutrients in agricultural soils. Here we propose a redistribution of accumulated nutrients to enhance food security while counteracting the current degradation of critical Earth system processes. Residue and sediment nutrients could be processed and transported to food-insecure regions through the opposite logistics used to ship rock phosphate across the globe. Financing through trading accumulated rights could trigger the required innovations in processing, logistics and thinking. Such a socially just 'one Earth currency' could leverage a transformation towards resilience, equity and dignity across the critical Earth system processes.

An Agro-Pastoral Phenological Water Balance Framework for Monitoring and Predicting Growing Season Water Deficits and Drought Stress

Sharing simple ideas across a broad community of practitioners helps them to work together more effectively. For this reason, drought early warning systems spend a considerable effort on describing how hazards are detected and defined. Well-articulated definitions of drought provide a shared basis for collaboration, response planning, and impact mitigation. One very useful measure of agricultural drought stress has been the “Water Requirement Satisfaction Index” (WRSI). In this study, we develop a new, simpler metric of water requirement satisfaction, the Phenological Water Balance (PWB). We describe this metric, compare it to WRSI and yield statistics in a food-insecure region (east Africa), and show how it can be easily combined with analog-based rainfall forecasts to produce end-of-season estimates of growing season water deficits. In dry areas, the simpler PWB metric is very similar to the WRSI. In these regions, we show that the coupling between rainfall deficits and increased reference evapotranspiration amplifies the impacts of droughts. In wet areas, on the other hand, our new metric provides useful information about water excess—seasons that are so wet that they may not be conducive to good agricultural outcomes. Finally, we present a PWB-based forecast example, demonstrating how this framework can be easily used to translate assumptions about seasonal rainfall outcomes into predictions of growing season water deficits. Effective humanitarian relief efforts rely on early projections of these deficits to design and deploy appropriate targeted responses. At present, it is difficult to combine gridded satellite-gauge precipitation forecasts with climate forecasts. Our new metric helps overcome this obstacle. Future extensions could use the water requirement framework to contextualize other water supply indicators, like actual evapotranspiration values derived from satellite observations or hydrologic models.

Breeding Progress for Vitamin A, Iron and Zinc Biofortification, Drought Tolerance, and Sweetpotato Virus Disease Resistance in Sweetpotato

Sweetpotato is a resilient food crop with great potential to contribute to reduced hunger in the world. Sweetpotato shows significant potential to contribute to reducing the Global Hunger Index, which reflects deficiencies in calories and micronutrients based on the components of hunger, undernourishment, under-five mortality rate, stunting and wasting. Its genetic diversity has been harnessed through breeding to increase vitamin A, iron, and zinc content, virus resistance and climate resilience for the world's food needs. Africa and India are the most food-insecure regions. The main objectives of this research were to: provide information and a knowledge base on sweetpotato breeding in Africa for biofortification of vitamin A, iron, and zinc, drought tolerance and virus resistance; recommend procedures for generating new breeding populations and varieties; and develop new tools, technologies and methods for sweetpotato improvement. The research was implemented between 2009 and 2020 in 14 collaborating African countries using introduced and local genotypes. The redesigned accelerated breeding scheme resulted in increased genetic gains for vitamin A, iron, zinc contents and virus resistance, and the release by sub-Saharan African countries of 158 varieties; 98 of them orange-fleshed; 55 varieties bred by an accelerated breeding scheme; 27 drought-tolerant and two with enhanced iron and zinc content. Our experience has demonstrated that through the use of more optimized, standardized and collaborative breeding procedures by breeding programs across Africa, it is possible to speed official sweetpotato variety release and contribute to reducing the severe micronutrient deficiencies on the continent.

Fortified blended foods prepared from fermented milk and cereal: Effect of storage conditions on composition, color, and pasting behavior

Fortified blended food powders (FBF) were prepared by blending fermented milk with parboiled wheat (FBFw), barley (FBFb), or oats (FBFo), incubating the blend, drying, milling, and fortifying the powder with vitamins, minerals, and refined soya oil. FBFs were stored at 15°C, 30°C, or 37°C for 0–18 months, and evaluated for compositional and functional properties. FBFo had lower contents of lactose and galactose, and higher contents of starch and fat, water-holding capacity (WHC) and pasting viscosity than FBFw or FBFb. Storage time and temperature affected composition (lactose, galactose, and lysine), color, WHC, pasting viscosity, and flow to a degree dependent on cereal type. FBFs stored at 15°C were generally stable over the 18 months, while those stored at 37°C underwent a rapid deterioration in color, WHC, and viscosity after storage times of ≤4 months. Storage of FBF at 15°C is recommended, whereas storage at 37°C should be avoided. Novelty Impact Statement Fortified blended foods (FBFs) are supplied as specialized nutritious dietary staples to food-insecure regions where they are reconstituted and consumed as porridge. The research reports on a new process for the preparation of FBF, involving the co-fermentation of a milk–cereal blend. Additionally, it evaluated the impact of cereal type on composition, nutritive value, and reconstitution properties of the FBF, and the effect of time and temperature on storage stability. The information is relevant to the formulation of dairy plus plant-based food products, which are currently trending in the food and beverage industrial sector globally.

Vegetation Monitoring Optimization With Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Evapotranspiration Using Remote Sensing Measurements and Land Surface Models Over East Africa

The majority of people in East Africa rely on the agro-pastoral system for their livelihood, which is highly vulnerable to droughts and flooding. Agro-pastoral droughts are endemic to the region and are considered the main natural hazard that contributes to food insecurity. Drought begins with rainfall deficit, gradually leading to soil moisture deficit, higher land surface temperature, and finally impacts to vegetation growth. Therefore, monitoring vegetation conditions is essential in understanding the progression of drought, potential effects on food security, and providing early warning information needed for drought mitigation decisions. Because vegetation processes couple the land and atmosphere, monitoring of vegetation conditions requires consideration of both water provision and demand. While there is consensus in using either the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) or evapotranspiration (ET) for vegetation monitoring, a comprehensive assessment optimizing the use of both has not yet been done. Moreover, the evaluation methods for understanding the relationships between NDVI and ET for vegetation monitoring are also limited. Taking these gaps into account we have developed a framework to optimize vegetation monitoring using both NDVI and ET by identifying where they perform the best by using triple collocation and cross-correlation methods. We estimated the random error structure in Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) NDVI; ET from the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model; and ET from land surface models (LSMs). LSM ET and SSEBop ET have been found to be better indicators for vegetation monitoring during extreme drought events, while NDVI could provide better information on vegetation condition during wetter than normal conditions. The random error structures of these variables suggest that LSM ET is most likely to provide important information for vegetation monitoring over low and high ends of the vegetation fraction areas. Over moderate vegetative areas, any of these variables could provide important vegetation information for drought characterization and food security assessments. While this study provides a framework for optimizing vegetation monitoring for drought and food security assessments over East Africa, the framework can be adopted to optimize vegetation monitoring over any other drought and food insecure region of the world.

A slow rainy season onset is a reliable harbinger of drought in most food insecure regions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Since 2015, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has experienced an unprecedented rise in acute food insecurity (AFI), and current projections for the year 2020 indicate that more than 100 million Africans are estimated to receive emergency food assistance. Climate-driven drought is one of the main contributing factors to AFI, and timely and appropriate actions can be taken to mitigate impacts of AFI on lives and livelihoods through early warning systems. To support this goal, we use observations of peak Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as an indicator of seasonal drought conditions following a rainy season to show that delays in the onset of the rainy season (onset date) can be an effective early indicator of seasonal drought conditions. The core of this study is an evaluation of the relationship of the onset dates and peak NDVI, stratified by AFI risks, calculated using AFI reports by the United States Agency of International Development (USAID)-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). Several parts of SSA, mostly located in East Africa (EA), reported the “Crisis” phase of AFI—requiring emergency food assistance—at least one-third of the time between April 2011 to present. The results show that the onset date can effectively explain much of the interannual variability in peak NDVI in the regions with the highest AFI risk level, particularly in EA where the median of correlation (across all the Administrative Unit 2) varies between -0.42 to -0.68. In general, an onset date delay of at least 1 dekad (10 days) increases the likelihood of seasonal drought conditions. In the regions with highest risks of AFI, an onset delay of just 1 dekad doubles the chance of the standardized anomaly of peak NDVI being below -1, making a -1 anomaly the most probable outcome. In those regions, a 2-dekads delay in the onset date is associated with a very high probability (50%) of seasonal drought conditions (-1 standardized anomaly of NDVI). Finally, a multivariate regression analysis between standardized anomaly and onset date anomaly further substantiates the negative impacts of delay in onset date on NDVI anomaly. This relationship is statistically significant over the SSA as a whole, particularly in the EA region. These results imply that the onset date can be used as an additional critical tool to provide alerts of seasonal drought development in the most food-insecure regions of SSA. Early warning systems using onset date as a tool can help trigger effective mid-season responses to save human lives, livestock, and livelihoods, and, therefore, mitigate the adverse impacts of drought hazards.

Tubaramure, a Food-Assisted Integrated Health and Nutrition Program, Reduces Child Wasting in Burundi: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Intervention Trial

BackgroundLittle is known about the impact of food-assisted maternal and child health programs (FA-MCHN) on child wasting. ObjectivesWe assessed the impact of Tubaramure, a FA-MCHN program in Burundi, on child (0 to 24 months) wasting and the differential impacts by socio-economic characteristics and age. The program targeted women and their children during the first 1000 days and included 1) food rations, 2) strengthening and promotion of use of health services, and 3) behavior change communication (BCC). MethodsWe conducted a 4-arm, cluster-randomized, controlled trial (2010–2012). Clusters were defined as “collines” (communities). Impact was estimated using repeated cross-sectional data (n = ∼2620 children in each round). Treatment arms received household and individual (mother or child in the first 1000 days) food rations (corn-soy blend and micronutrient-fortified vegetable oil) from pregnancy to 24 months (T24 arm), from pregnancy to 18 months (T18), or from birth to 24 months (TNFP). All beneficiaries received the same BCC for the first 1000 days. The control arm received no rations or BCC. ResultsWasting (weight-for-length Z-score <2 SD) increased from baseline to follow-up in the control group (from 6.5% to 8%), but Tubaramure had a significant (P < 0.05) protective effect on wasting [treatment arms combined, −3.3 percentage points (pp); T18, −4.5 pp] and on the weight-for-length z-score (treatment arms combined, +0.15; T24, +0.20; T18, +0.17). The effects were limited to children whose mother and household head had no education, and who lived in the poorest households. The largest effect was found in children 6 to 12 months of age: the group with the highest wasting prevalence. ConclusionsFA-MCHN programs in highly food-insecure regions can protect the most disadvantaged children from wasting. These findings are particularly relevant in the context of the economic crisis due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, which is expected to dramatically increase child wasting.

“Every day it’s tuo zaafi”: considering food preference in a food insecure region of Ghana

This study takes the role of food preference in food insecurity analysis seriously. Guided by feminist political ecology, I do so by underscoring bodily relationships to tuo zaafi a cereal based porridge upheld as a culturally important meal across semi-arid West Africa. Drawing from 12 months of mixed methods fieldwork in Upper West Ghana, I look at perceptions of this salient meal as well as rates of consumption of it to uncover how food preference features in food insecurity. I use the refrain routinely evoked by my interlocutors during the height of the food insecure season—“Every day it’s tuo zaafi” as an anchoring datum point, an affectively effective statement. In this examination, I argue that when effectively acknowledged and assessed, food preference is a facet of food security that helps to not only identify hunger, but also articulate the experience with it. This articulation is important because it provides a necessarily broader perspective on the relationship between culture, food and health that challenge neo-liberal hued solutions to hunger.

Assessing the Food Availability and Food Insecurity Situation among Communities of Matam Region, Senegal

ABSTRACT Matam is one of the poorest and most food-insecure regions of Senegal. In the past years, repeated environmental shocks such as drought have limited the access to food and it is unclear whether food insecurity is more a function of food availability (FA) and accessibility at the community level (CL) or more related to FA at the household level (HL). To better understand the FA and food security (FS) situation in this region, in 2018, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 103 households living in four villages. Through focus group discussions and direct observations, data on food available at HL and CL were collected as well as on food affordability and household FS. Overall, between 49 and 64 different foods, mostly from plant source, were identified. Around 75% of households had 0 to 3 foods and 7%, 7 to 10; 64% of all households were severely food insecure. FA at HL and its socioeconomic status were positively associated with household FS whereas FA at the CL was negatively associated. Although food assistance may be required to respond to shocks in the area, investments could be made to improve households` socioeconomic level to enhance their access to food.

A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Rainfall and Drought Monitoring in the Tharparkar Region of Pakistan

The Tharpakar desert region of Pakistan supports a population approaching two million, dependent on rain-fed agriculture as the main livelihood. The almost doubling of population in the last two decades, coupled with low and variable rainfall, makes this one of the world’s most food-insecure regions. This paper examines satellite-based rainfall estimates and biomass data as a means to supplement sparsely distributed rainfall stations and to provide timely estimates of seasonal growth indicators in farmlands. Satellite dekadal and monthly rainfall estimates gave good correlations with ground station data, ranging from R = 0.75 to R = 0.97 over a 19-year period, with tendency for overestimation from the Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission (TRMM) and underestimation from Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) datasets. CHIRPS was selected for further modeling, as overestimation from TRMM implies the risk of under-predicting drought. The use of satellite rainfall products from CHIRPS was also essential for derivation of spatial estimates of phenological variables and rainfall criteria for comparison with normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)-based biomass productivity. This is because, in this arid region where drought is common and rainfall unpredictable, determination of phenological thresholds based on vegetation indices proved unreliable. Mapped rainfall distributions across Tharparkar were found to differ substantially from those of maximum biomass (NDVImax), often showing low NDVImax in zones of higher annual rainfall, and vice versa. This mismatch occurs in both wet and dry years. Maps of rainfall intensity suggest that low yields often occur in areas with intense rain causing damage to ripening crops, and that total rainfall in a season is less important than sustained water supply. Correlations between rainfall variables and NDVImax indicate the difficulty of predicting drought early in the growing season in this region of extreme climatic variability. Mapped rainfall and biomass distributions can be used to recommend settlement in areas of more consistent rainfall.