Food Security Planning Research Articles

O processo de adesão municipal ao Sistema Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional

Em 2006 o Brasil sancionou a Lei Orgânica da Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional, que instituiu o Sistema Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (SISAN). O SISAN tem como base a intersetorialidade e a participação social e é um sistema público por meio do qual o Estado e a sociedade civil organizada formulam e implementam ações com vistas a garantir o direito humano à alimentação e nutrição adequadas (DHAA) aos brasileiros. O estudo teve o objetivo de caracterizar o SISAN no âmbito municipal. Atualmente todos os estados e o Distrito Federal aderiram ao SISAN, no entanto menos de 50% possuem Plano Estadual de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional. A adesão dos municípios ao SISAN é voluntária, até o momento estudadomenos de 5% dos municípios brasileiros aderiram ao Sistema, dentre estes 54% estão em situação de insegurança alimentar e nutricional e menos de 40% possuem Planos de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional publicados. Embora o Brasil tenha avançado no combate à insegurança alimentar muitas famílias ainda sofrem com a mesma. A falta de qualificação técnica dos atores sociais envolvidos na implementação da política local de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional pode se constituir em um entrave para a consolidação do SISAN em nível local. Desta forma, o fortalecimento das instâncias estaduais do SISAN é fundamental para mobilizar, apoiar e instruir os municípios quanto a adesão ao Sistema.

Automating field boundary delineation with multi-temporal Sentinel-2 imagery

Knowledge of the extent and location of cultivated fields are critical for agricultural monitoring, food security planning and commodity trading. The increased observational capacity of remotely sensed data, such as Sentinel-2 imagery, constitutes a major advantage over in situ methods, particularly for agricultural applications that require frequent updates. However, the development of fully automated cultivated field delineation methods remains a challenge. In this study an existing object-based image analysis (OBIA) methodology, called Canny edge-detection in conjunction with watershed segmentation (CEWS), was modified to automatically identify and delineate agricultural fields from multi-temporal Sentinel-2 imagery in five diverse agricultural landscapes. The robustness of the technique was evaluated by comparing its outputs to those of standard per-pixel, supervised classifications. Reference field boundaries were manually digitised and used for quantitative accuracy assessments. Area and edge metrics were used to evaluate the accuracy of the extracted boundaries. Results show that, on average, CEWS produced significantly higher field boundary accuracies than the supervised per-pixel approach in terms of both mean absolute error (MAE) (~31 m lower) and overall accuracy (~13.8% higher). The closed field boundaries produced by CEWS, as well as its capability to operate without any a priori knowledge, was found to be its main strengths for integration into operational workflows. However, in complex landscapes (e.g. Swartland and Mooketsi) it was found that some fields had weak boundaries due to the homogeneity between adjacent fields, making edge detection problematic. The incorporation of higher resolution imagery into the edge detection process is proposed, particularly in agricultural areas with very small and irregularly shaped fields. Despite these challenges, it was concluded that the multi-temporal CEWS approach will perform well in most agricultural areas and is suitable for operational implementation.

Drought monitoring and assessment using Landsat TM/OLI data in the agricultural lands of Bandar-e-Turkmen and Gomishan cities, Iran

Investigating agricultural drought is very important in semiarid areas, and it has a significant impact on people’s livelihood, which depends on farming. This research tried to examine the capability of six Landsat surface reflectance bands, vegetation indices (VIs), and drought indices (DIs) for drought monitoring in the agricultural lands of Bandar-e-Turkmen and Gomishan cities in 1986 and 2015. Statistical analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and correlation matrices between the VIs and DIs with land surface temperature (LST) were monitored separately for each date. In addition, the spatial and temporal drought extents using the Standardized Evapotranspiration Precipitation Index (SPEI) and the Vegetation Health Index (VHI) approaches were determined and compared for both study periods. The correlations between the LST and VIs were negative and significant in both study periods. The range of VI values decreased with increasing temperature in 2015 compared to 1986. The mean surface reflectance of the visible bands (blue, green, red), NIR (near-infrared), SWIR (shortwave infrared), and MWIR (mid-wave infrared) increased in 2015 compared to 1986. A higher spectral reflectance of the visible bands indicated a reduction in vegetation cover or increase in stress in 2015 compared to 1986. Meanwhile, the SWIR and MWIR bands showed that the average surface reflectance increased in 2015, while they showed a lower reflectance in 1986. The results of the Water Supplying Vegetation Index (WSVI) implied that the crop water stress in 2015 was more than that in 1986. The VHIs were separately compared with the NDVI and LST in each period of study. The maximum LST increased from 38 °C in 1986 to 44 °C in 2015. The moderate drought extent was 65% in 2015, while the study area did not experience any drought in 1986. The SPEI maps showed that the entire study area experienced moderate drought in 2015, while no drought was observed in 1986. The results showed that the DIs and VIs and the visible, SWIR and MWIR surface reflectance bands can be effectively used by sampling plots in future drought assessment studies. The present study also emphasizes that there is a similarity between traditional and remote sensing methods and indicates that remote sensing data can be effectively used instead of traditional approaches when there is no meteorological station. The results would be useful in food security and sustainable agriculture management plans.

Mapping of Resources and Potential Development for Food-Secure Region in East Seram, Maluku Province, Indonesia

In this study, we developed agro sector mapping of current condition, problems, threats, potentials, and strategic policies in rural area in East Seram, Maluku Province especially in Bula District. The aims of the agro mapping was to make food security planning in East Seram. The mapping process was conducted through literature study, observations, and data collecting through focus group discussion. The data were analyzed with descriptive analysis. We also collected the data based on 9 indicators of food security before and after 5 years of intervention in livestock program and capacity building. The data were calculated for their indicators and composite values, then analyzed to define food security improvement. Based on the data, livestock were still raised traditionally on pastures. To enhance food-security, the resilience should be built through: (1) the improvement of land productivity, including infrastructure, facilities for intensive livestock systems, and optimization of dry land’s potential; (2) water management; and (3) capacity building for communities. After the intervention, the food security level of Bula District change from priority 2 (severely vulnerable) to priority 4 (moderately vulnerable). It means building human centered community based and local resources management become important in food security strategic in rural area especially in East Seram, Maluku, Indonesia.

Mapping high temperature damaged area of paddy rice along the Yangtze River using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data

ABSTRACT The subtropical high temperature anomaly of 2013 in China, adversely affected paddy rice physiology, especially at the heading, flowering and grain filling stages, and left untold damage and significant rice yield reductions in that year. Considering the importance of data on crop failure induced by abnormal meteorological events, in understanding the potential impacts of climate change on agriculture and food security, and in support of crop insurance policies, the current study employs satellite remote sensing data to map and estimate the areal extent of high-temperature-induced damage on paddy rice in 2013, along the Yangtze River, a major rice producing area in China. In this regard, the daily mean and maximum air temperatures were first estimated using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Land Surface Temperature (LST) products, MODIS Vegetation Indices (VI) products, altitude information from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and air temperature measurements at meteorological stations located within the Yangtze River Basin from 2000 to 2016, to derive fully covered mean and maximum daily air temperatures. Paddy rice cultivated areas were then identified based on the seasonal profiles of MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Land Surface Water Index (LSWI) in 2013, and map errors at provincial scales were no more than 8.7%. Finally, paddy rice growth characteristics were combined with MODIS VI products to identify heading and flowering stages, and the time series of daily mean and maximum air temperatures, paddy rice phenology and cultivated area, were integrated to map and estimate the rice crop area damaged by the anomalous high temperature. Our results show that all provinces along the Yangtze River, this study investigated, recorded a substantial damaged rice crop area, following the 2013 subtropical temperature high, and Anhui Province was the hardest hit with a damaged rice area of 63.6%. For the entire study area, a damage extent of about 5,656,000 ha, accounting for 35.9% of total paddy rice planted area, was recorded. This indicates a significant agro-meteorological disaster, and in an era of increasing climate variability and weather extremes, studies of this nature would greatly benefit global food security planning and management policies.

Approaches regarding the Management of Food Policies in the Context of the African Swine Fever Crisis based on a Food Sustainability Statistical Model

Food policies are focused on ensuring the consumption needs of the existing population in a given territory. In general, food policies are built on food continuity and production based on a pool of natural resources available at a given time. Critical food security incidents, particularly the epidemiological crises in livestock farming from a geographical area can significantly affect the population’s food resources and disrupt applicable local and national food policies. Thus in some cases it is necessary to adopt food security plans and biosecurity procedures in order to isolate outbreaks, and limit the spread of the epidemic, protect the unaffected food and mitigate the negative impact of the crisis on the local sources of agro food production. The main objective of the study was the analysis of food policies in Romania in the context of the recent outbreak of African swine fever epidemic. Based on bibliographic documentation and processing of official information on the effects of the epidemic on swine farms, the authors have proposed a food sustainability statistical model with practical applicability in assessing and quantifying the effects of African swine fever crisis in Romania. The results of the study showed the possibility of statistical modelling of the national food security indicators in the event of critical incidents in the agro-food chain. The model implementation simulation highlighted potential beneficial economic effects by modifying Romania's food policies. The research results are new at national level, with a potential positive impact on scientific research in the field of economic and agro-food production. The designed statistical model may be useful to economic operators and, in particular, to national authorities in order to adjust food policies in critical food security situations, to limit the phenomena of destabilizing the consumer market and to avoid possible economic disruptions due to crisis situations in the livestock production sector.

Potential impacts of extreme weather events in main maize (Zea mays L.) producing areas of South Africa under rainfed conditions

An important topic of global concern is the likely reduction of maize production in response to climate change in association with increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, which threatens food security. We quantified the response of maize yield to projected climate changes in three main maize growing areas of South Africa (Bloemfontein, Lichtenburg and Nelspruit) using two crop modelling solutions: existing (EMS) and modified (MMS) CropSyst. The MMS considers explicitly the impact of extreme heat and drought. Both solutions were run with climate data generated from two radiative forcing scenarios using six general circulation models and three time horizons representing baseline (1990–2020), near future (2021–2050) and far future (2051–2080) time periods. Reduced yields were projected with both modelling solutions especially under far future time period. Simulated maize yield using EMS with high radiative forcing for far future decreased (compared with the simulated baseline for EMS) by 30%, 25.9% and 18.3% at Bloemfontein, Lichtenburg and Nelspruit, respectively. Simulated grain yield with MMS showed reductions of 27.6%, 24.3% and 18.7%, respectively (compared with the simulated baseline for MMS). Grain yield differences between the EMS and MMS ranged between 9 and 21%. This difference showed an increasing trend as time progressed from the baseline to the far future and varied across locations. Accounting explicitly for the impact of extreme weather events (MMS) resulted in lower simulated yields compared with the model without (EMS). Findings from this study warrant the need for location-specific model simulation using MMS-type models to improve crop yield predictions under climate change for better food security planning and policy formulation.

Consumption Diversification of Local Community

The research was conducted in Waimangit Village of Buru Regency with the objectives to analyze community food security planning, make projections for diversification of local food consumption and food security in Waimangit Village. The approach used is qualitative with the basic method of descriptive analysis. The results showed that, Local food consumption is still low with the level of diversification of food consumption is also still low, factors that affect the level of diversification of food consumption is; expertise in processing, number of household members and social interaction, There is no shift of rice consumption pattern to local food, local food consumption condition only occurs at certain age segmentation, Food security level generally belong to food vulnerable where household is long term plant based farmer.

Cropland Mapping and Change Detection: Toward Zimbabwean Cropland Inventory

Accurate and spatially explicit cropland maps are crucial for many applications, which include sustainable crop monitoring, food security, and land and agriculture planning and management. Zimbabwe lacks reliable data on cropland extent of the old and new re-allocated areas for inventory purposes. Objectives of this paper are to map cropland utilizing: 1) automatic classification; 2) multi-classifier system (MCS); and 3) normalized difference vegetation index and bare-soil index (NDVI-BSI) thresholding and determine the spatiotemporal cropland changes. Change detection is implemented through a post-classification statistical method. The classified results are compared with SADC and ESA land cover products, GFSAD30AFCE cropland layer, and Google Earth imagery. Results reveal that MCS and NDVI-BSI performed the best and achieved overall accuracies of 80.54% and 79.32% for 2013, and for 2018, they attained accuracies of 87.90% and 88.56%, respectively. Automated classification, MCS, and NDVI-BSI thresholding produced average cropland areas of 3416396, 10346778, and 9788833 Ha, respectively. Visual assessment observations show that NDVI-BSI thresholding outperformed the other two techniques. Comparing further the MCS and NDVI-BSI thresholding approaches’ results of total cropland areas of Zimbabwe’s ten provinces for the years 2013 and 2018, coefficients of determination of 0.8404 and 0.9619, respectively, are achieved. Change detection shows a general increase in the cropland area due to human activities despite the prolonged drought. However, we recommend further exploration of NDVI-BSI threshold values to derive cropland layers since the method is robust and can be automated easily and faster without inputting training data. We also recommend simulation of the changes in cropland areas using cellular automata and/or agent-based modeling.

Food security outcomes under a changing climate: impacts of mitigation and adaptation on vulnerability to food insecurity

Climate change is a potential threat to achieving food security, particularly in the most food insecure regions. However, interpreting climate change projections to better understand the potential impacts of a changing climate on food security outcomes is challenging. This paper addresses this challenge through presenting a framework that enables rapid country-level assessment of vulnerability to food insecurity under a range of climate change and adaptation investment scenarios. The results show that vulnerability to food insecurity is projected to increase under all emissions scenarios, and the geographic distribution of vulnerability is similar to that of the present-day; parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are most severely affected. High levels of adaptation act to off-set these increases; however, only the scenario with the highest level of mitigation combined with high levels of adaptation shows improvements in vulnerability compared to the present-day. The results highlight the dual requirement for mitigation and adaptation to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and to make gains in tackling food insecurity. The approach is an update to the existing Hunger and Climate Vulnerability Index methodology to enable future projections, and the framework presented allows rapid updates to the results as and when new information becomes available, such as updated country-level yield data or climate model output. This approach provides a framework for assessing policy-relevant human food security outcomes for use in long-term climate change and food security planning; the results have been made available on an interactive website for policymakers (www.metoffice.gov.uk/food-insecurity-index).

Forecasting winter wheat yields using MODIS NDVI data for the Central Free State region


 
 
 Consumption of wheat is widespread and increasing in South Africa. However, global wheat production is projected to decline. Wheat yield forecasting is therefore crucial for ensuring food security for the country. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the anthesis wheat growth stage is suitable for forecasting dryland wheat yields in the Central Free State region using satellite imagery and linear predictive modelling. A period of 10 years of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index data smoothed with a Savitzky–Golay filter and 10 years of wheat yield data were used for model calibration. Diagnostic plots and statistical procedures were used for model validation and assessment of model adequacy. The period 30 days before harvest during the anthesis stage was established to be the best period during which to use the linear regression model. The calibrated model had a coefficient of determination of 0.73, a p-value of 0.00161 and a root mean squared error of 0.41 tons/ha. Residual plots confirmed that a linear model had a good fit for the data. The quantile-quantile plot provided evidence that the residuals were normally distributed, which means that assumptions of linear regression were fulfilled and the model can be used as a forecasting tool. Model validation showed high levels of accuracy. The evidence indicates that use of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data during the anthesis growth stage is a reliable, cost-effective and potentially time-saving alternative to ground-based surveys when forecasting dryland wheat yields in the Central Free State.
 
 
 
 
 Significance: 
 
 
 
 Developing a cost-effective technique based on satellite imagery for wheat yield forecasting is vital for food security planning in South Africa.
 
 
 

A systematic review of sub-national food insecurity research in South Africa: Missed opportunities for policy insights.

Food insecurity is an intractable problem in South Africa. The country has a tradition of evidence-based decision making, grounded in the findings of national surveys. However, the rich insights from sub-national surveys remain a largely untapped resource for understandings of the contextual experience of food insecurity. A web-based search identified 169 sub-national food insecurity studies conducted in the post-apartheid period between 1994 and 2014. The systematic review found that the studies used 27 different measures of food insecurity, confounding the comparative analysis of food insecurity at this level. While social grants have brought a measure of poverty relief at household level, unaffordable diets were the root cause of food insecurity. The increasing consumption of cheaper, more available and preferred ‘globalised’ foods with high energy content and low nutritional value lead to overweight and obesity alongside child stunting. Unless a comparable set of indicators is used in such surveys, they are not able to provide comparable information on the scope and scale of the problem. Policy makers should be engaging with researchers to learn from these studies, while researchers need to share this wealth of sub-national study findings with government to strengthen food security planning, monitoring, and evaluation at all levels.

Engaging Indigenous Youth to Revitalize Cree Culture through Participatory Education

ABSTRACTTraditional food harvesting is an integral part of culture and food security for Indigenous people in Canada and elsewhere. However, new generations are more inclined to consuming market foods rather than traditional foods. We report on a project in Norway House Cree Nation, northern Manitoba, Canada, to engage youth to express their thoughts about traditional food. The objective was to explore the understanding and values of Indigenous youth about traditional foods and to engage them in revitalizing culture toward long-term food security. We used participatory research approaches and engaged participants in focus group discussions followed by a collaborative art project. Our conceptual framework postulates a cycle whereby food security planning depends on engaging youth and the community, and planning in turn energizes further planning and participatory education. The findings of the article are likely of interest to Indigenous communities dealing with planning and intergenerational issues around food security.

Assessing the suitability of GlobeLand30 for mapping land cover in Germany

ABSTRACTGlobal land cover (LC) maps have been widely employed as the base layer for a number of applications including climate change, food security, water quality, biodiversity, change detection, and environmental planning. Due to the importance of LC, there is a pressing need to increase the temporal and spatial resolution of global LC maps. A recent advance in this direction has been the GlobeLand30 dataset derived from Landsat imagery, which has been developed by the National Geomatics Center of China (NGCC). Although overall accuracy is greater than 80%, the NGCC would like help in assessing the accuracy of the product in different regions of the world. To assist in this process, this study compares the GlobeLand30 product with existing public and online datasets, that is, CORINE, Urban Atlas (UA), OpenStreetMap, and ATKIS for Germany in order to assess overall and per class agreement. The results of the analysis reveal high agreement of up to 92% between these datasets and GlobeLand30 but that large disagreements for certain classes are evident, in particular wetlands. However, overall, GlobeLand30 is shown to be a useful product for characterizing LC in Germany, and paves the way for further regional and national validation efforts.

Modelling climate change risks for food security in the Philippines

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to look into the impacts brought about by climate change to the food security in Saguday, Quirino in the Philippines. Design/methodology/approach – A framework for developing community food security was utilized which identified the need to mitigate and address inherent externalities in a community such as flooding due to climate change as necessary preconditions to attaining a food secure environment. The study highlighted Saguday’s risk to externalities using risk assessment and modelling. Findings – Data from literature reviews and agency reports were validated by key informant interviews of local and national officials and focus group discussions with different stakeholder groups. Originality/value – A modification of the Urban Food Security Planning Process developed by Taylor and Carandang (2010, 2011) was utilized to address the local government unit’s need to mitigate and manage the inherent geographical risks that Saguday has in relation to its agricultural and food productivity.

Food Security: The Contribution of Livestock

Food security is discussed as that basic level of food necessary for survival, and beyond that for basic nutrition. The paper illustrates how livestock continually contribute essentially to both survival and nutritional health. It notes that the major contribution of livestock, apart from luxury animal products consumed by the wealthy middle classes, is through those pastoralists and integrated small farmers that feed themselves and their families and to the urban poor through often compromised products. It is estimated that perhaps 1.5 billion persons that currently benefit from livestock products may be compromised if extant pastoral and in particular small integrated farms are not supported in animal science research and national food security plans.

Cropland Dynamics and their Influence on the Productivity in Northern Shaanxi, China, for the Past 20 Years: Based on Remotely Sensed Data

In this paper, we mainly focused our research on northern Shaanxi district, which is a pilot area of the Grain for Green Project. We compared the spatial distribution patterns of croplands and their productivity for the past 20 years (from the end of the 1980s to 2010). Cropland dynamics for the past 20 years were Interpreted from medium- and high-resolutlon remote sensing images (Landsat TM/ETM ). In addition, using the GLO-PEM and AGRO-VPM models with a medium resolution and long time series remote sensing dataset (AVHRR/MODIS), net primary productivity (NPP) and its relationship with cropland were estimated. Finally, the effect of cropland change on productivity was analyzed. The results show that during the first decade of the research period, cropland area and productivity in northern Shaanxi experienced a small boost, while in the latter decade, both cropland area and NPP were significantly reduced. The main cause of the increase in cropland was the reclamation of large area of grassland and unutilized land to meet the food demands of the local population as well as to compensate for the occupation of urban constructions. While the main cause of the decrease in cropland was the implementation of the Grain for Green Project. In addition, urbanization was also a key factor. Overall, during the past 20 years, the total area of cropland in northern Shaanxi decreased by 42.56%, and cropland NPP dropped by 41.90%. This study is of great importance for the assessment of regional cropland security, food security and scientific planning of regional land use.

Ecohydrology of agroecosystems: quantitative approaches towards sustainable irrigation.

Irrigation represents one of the main strategies to enhance and stabilize agricultural productivity, by mitigating the effects of rainfall vagaries. In the face of the projected growth in population and in biofuel demands, as well as shifts in climate and dietary habits, a more sustainable management of water resources in agroecosystems is needed. The field of ecohydrology, traditionally focusing on natural ecosystems, has the potential to offer the necessary quantitative tools to assess and compare agricultural enterprises across climates, soil types, crops, and irrigation strategies, accounting for the unpredictability of the hydro-climatic forcing. Here, agricultural sustainability and productivity are assessed with reference to water productivity (defined as the ratio between yield and total supplied water), yields, water requirements, and their variability-a crucial element for food security and resource allocation planning. These synthetic indicators are quantified by means of a probabilistic description of the soil water balance and crop development. The model results allow the interpretation of patterns of water productivity observed in Zea mays (maize) and Triticum aestivum (wheat), grown under a variety of soils, climates, and irrigation strategies. Employing the same modeling framework, the impact of rainfall pattern and irrigation strategy on yield and water requirements is further explored. The obtained standard deviations of yield and water requirements suggest the existence of a nonlinear tradeoff between yield stabilization and variability of water requirements, which in turn is strongly impacted by irrigation strategy. Moreover, intermediate rainfall amounts are associated to the highest variability in yields and irrigation requirements, although allowing the maximum water productivity. The existence of these tradeoffs between productivity, reliability, and sustainability poses a problem for water management, in particular in mesic climates.

Food and nutrition policy: A biological anthropologist's experiences from an academic platform

Biological anthropologists within academia and in other sectors are increasingly engaged in a variety of problem-oriented research and in the design, implementation, or evaluation of policies and programs, domestically and abroad. Such work can have distinctive requirements in terms of disciplinary background, professional orientation, and professional development. This article explores these issues through the author's autobiographical account of a career in food and nutrition policy from within an academic nutrition department. The article is guided by an analytical framework that compares eight projects in terms of their mode of knowledge production, academic impact, public impacts, and personal rewards. The projects range from village-based surveys in Samoa and Malawi to food security planning in upstate New York communities, US policies on genetically engineered (GE) foods, and participant-observer research on nutrition policy development in low-income countries. The cumulative experience reveals the importance of a commitment to problem-solving, a transdisciplinary orientation, intellectual and methodological dexterity, ongoing engagement with policy actors and openness to emergent research questions, new research settings, and nontraditional funding sources.

Environmental over enthusiasm

India needs large dams for water storage, hydropower and flood control. It also needs long-distance inter-basin water transfers. However, India has a complex and strict environmental regulatory system which ignores a developing economy's needs and peoples' aspirations and is often impractical. This is used by activists to thwart infrastructure building, and, when faced with development slowdown, the government tries to thwart the laws they themselves have made. India's food, water and energy security, economic, and poverty-alleviation plans are in jeopardy unless environmental regulators realize that the regulations are being misused and that environmental over-enthusiasm is benefiting neither development nor the environment.