Food Security Resilience Research Articles

Building Resilient Food Security Against Global Crisis: New Evidence From China

ABSTRACTThe existing literature addresses the importance of food system disruptions and the risk of the global food crisis. However, there is insufficient understanding of response strategies and their effectiveness evaluations. This study offers a comprehensive introduction to China's food security policies and evaluates their effectiveness in enhancing the nation's risk resistance capability. Utilizing the Entropy Weight Method (EWM) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), we evaluated China's provincial food security resilience (FSR) from 2003 to 2020 and adopted the ArcGIS platform to map spatiotemporal trends. Our findings reveal significant improvements in FSR nationwide, with a notable average annual growth rate of 1%–5%. However, regional disparities persist, with higher resilience observed in eastern provinces compared to the west. The study emphasizes the effectiveness of China's food security policies, which have synergistically enhanced grain production, agricultural mechanization, and farmers’ economic conditions. The article offers policy recommendations aimed at bolstering China's FSR and challenges with global implications. Our study contributes to the broader discourse on global food security by offering a nuanced understanding of the effectiveness of policy interventions in a major agricultural economy.

Reviewing the impact of climate change on global food security: Challenges and solutions

This review examines the intricate relationship between climate change and global food security, elucidating the challenges posed by climate variability and exploring potential solutions to mitigate its adverse effects. Climate change presents formidable obstacles to food security worldwide, disrupting agricultural productivity, exacerbating food shortages, and deepening malnutrition. Shifts in temperature and precipitation patterns, coupled with the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, threaten crop yields, livestock health, and food distribution networks, particularly in vulnerable regions. The review identifies key challenges confronting global food security in the context of climate change, including diminished agricultural productivity, heightened food price volatility, and heightened risks of food insecurity and malnutrition. It underscores the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized communities, smallholder farmers, and low-income populations, who bear the brunt of environmental degradation and lack the resources to adapt. In response to these challenges, the review explores a range of solutions and strategies aimed at enhancing food security resilience in a changing climate. It discusses the importance of climate-smart agricultural practices, such as agroforestry, crop diversification, and soil conservation, in bolstering the resilience of agricultural systems and improving resource efficiency. Additionally, the review highlights the significance of enhancing access to climate information, investing in sustainable infrastructure, and promoting gender equity in agriculture to foster inclusive and adaptive food systems. Furthermore, the review underscores the critical role of policy interventions, international collaboration, and community engagement in addressing climate-related food security challenges and advancing sustainable development goals. By integrating climate adaptation and mitigation measures into agricultural policies, promoting research and innovation, and fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships, it is possible to build more resilient and equitable food systems that can withstand the impacts of climate change and ensure food security for all. In conclusion, the review emphasizes the urgency of concerted action to address the complex interplay between climate change and global food security. Through collective efforts and targeted interventions, it is feasible to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on food systems and pave the way for a more sustainable and food-secure future. Keywords: Impact, Climate Change, Global, Food Security, Challenges.

Perceived impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: does farm households' capability influence food security resilience in Ghana?

PurposeCOVID-19 which became a global pandemic in 2020 has had tremendous impacts on several sectors including agriculture. Farm household capability is said to play a major role in ensuring that individuals develop some level of resilience towards the pandemic. This study assesses the perceived impacts of the pandemic on livelihood activities and examines the effects of farm household capability on food security resilience.Design/methodology/approachThe factor analysis, 2SLS and RIMA methodology were employed to assess the perceived impacts of the pandemic on livelihood activities and examine the effects of farm households' capability on food security resilience. The study is based on farm households in the Northern region of Ghana.FindingsThe study revealed that on a scale of 0 (no impact of the COVID-19 pandemic) to 1 (high impact of the COVID-19 pandemic), a value of 0.641 was obtained which means that the COVID-19 pandemic had a moderate (average) impact on farm households. Farm household capability also increases the food security resilience of farm households.Practical implicationsGovernment and local leaders should ensure that basic life-sustaining conditions are provided for rural farmers, and farm household capabilities are considered during crises.Originality/valueStudies have examined impacts of the COVID-19 but little or no attention has been given to farm households' capability to remain resilient amid the COVID-19 shocks on livelihoods.

Household resilience and mitigating strategies to conflicts and shocks: evidence from household data in Uganda and Malawi

ABSTRACT We examine household food security resilience to conflict and shock in Uganda and Malawi using data from the Household Living Standards Measurement Survey. We collect data on resilience components such as education, asset ownership, dwelling characteristics, water access, and sanitation facilities. Principal component analysis is used to generate factor weights for constructing the Resilience Capacity Index, which measures overall household resilience capacity and individual resilience components. The resilience capacity is then used in regression models to assess its mitigating effects on food security during conflicts and shocks. Our results indicate that resilience capacity significantly reduces the adverse effects of conflict and shock on food security. In Malawi, household head education contributes most to food security, while in Uganda, water access is the most critical component. In Malawi, water access resilience diminishes the impact of conflict, sanitation resilience reduces the impacts of flooding, and dwelling characteristics lessen the effects of drought, although the effect size is small. In Uganda, asset ownership resilience mitigates the impacts of drought, while sanitation resilience reduces the adverse effects of conflict. These findings highlight the importance of different resilience components in enhancing food security under various adverse conditions.

Sustainable livestock production systems are key to ensuring food security resilience in response to climate change

Sustainable livestock production systems are key to ensuring food security resilience in response to climate change

A systematic review of the direct and indirect COVID-19’s impact on food security and its dimensions: pre-and post-comparative analysis

BackgroundSince its emergence, the COVID-19 pandemic has compromised the food security both directly by impacting food supply chain and indirectly by overwhelming the individual health and/or personal financial situation. The overarching aim of the current study is to assess aspects of the food security crisis that have arisen due to COVID-19 and to identify which, if any, food security dimensions were specifically compromised.MethodsPrimary research articles were initially identified through four online databases (Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science), with the references of each paper then also reviewed for additional article. The food security status of individuals and the wider community, both before and after the emergence of COVID-19, were examined.ResultsOf the 2,057 studies initially identified, a total of ten were included in the final review. The included studies confirmed that COVID-19 had substantially impacted food security, with individuals, households and the wider community experiencing food insecurity. Nine of the included studies aruged that the food accessibility dimension was the most compromised.ConclusionTo address the identified direct and indirect food security issues associated with COVID-19, it is proposed that a combination of prevention practices and proactive food security activities is required. Integrating food security interventions, supporting and facilitating food security resilience, and conducting further studies on the food security of COVID-19 are also recommended.

Integrating multi-influencing factor techniques and fuzzy methods to identify recommendation domains for out-scaling conservation agriculture in China

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is a global development strategy aimed to address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change. Expanding the implementation of conservation agriculture (CA), a vital component of CSA, is essential for enhancing agricultural and food security resilience while sustainably managing arable land. However, the extensive heterogeneity of biophysical and socioeconomic conditions presents significant complexities in promoting CA adoption. Addressing these challenges, this study carried out a comprehensive theoretical investigation of biophysical and socioeconomic factors influencing CA adoption and performance, integrating stakeholder feedback to create a systematic and robust evaluation index system for assessing CA suitability. By integrating multi-influencing factor techniques and fuzzy logic methods, we spatially identified suitable areas for CA implementation in China, providing valuable insights for land use policy. The reliability of the models was verified through a sensitivity analysis using the map removal sensitivity analysis method and the extended Fourier amplitude sensitivity test. The results indicated that 29.78% of the cultivated land was unsuitable or marginally suitable for CA, while 29.30 and 40.92% were determined to be moderately suitable and suitable zones, respectively. Suitable cultivated land was primarily distributed in the northern arid and semi-arid regions, the Loess Plateau, the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, and the Northeast China Plain. Conversely, unsuitable, and marginally suitable cultivated land was predominantly located in the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Middle-lower Yangtze Plain, Sichuan Basin and surrounding areas, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and Southern China. The topographical index, annual mean precipitation, humidity index, and population density were identified as the most significant factors influencing CA suitability. The CA suitability maps generated in this study will guide the development and extension agents targeting CA to suitable locations with a high potential impact, thereby maximizing the likelihood of adoption and minimizing the risk of failure.

Food security and coping strategies for COVID-19 disruptions among farming households in Cameroon

The uncertainty of a secure next meal has continued to bedevil global economies and undermine households’ well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected farming households’ livelihood through diverse pressures on global food systems. In this study, we assessed the association between the COVID-19 shocks and farming households’ food and nutrition security and the different coping strategies adopted in Cameroon. Focus group discussions were conducted to identify the COVID-19 shocks affecting farming households and the different response strategies implemented. A multi-stage random sampling method was employed to interview 249 households. Through the ordered probit model and other empirical strategies, we show that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced farming households’ access to food, dietary diversity, and consumption frequency of essential food groups. Our results show that male-headed and rural households are significantly more food insecure than female-headed and semi-urban households. Moreover, our analysis shows that female-headed and semi-urban households reported a positive and statistically significant association with coping strategies, indicating that female-headed and urban households contributed more to sustaining household food security than male-headed and semi-urban households. The most implemented coping strategy is consuming less preferred and less expensive food. This study provides evidence for targeted interventions such as capacity build and training to strengthen farming households’ food and nutrition security resilience to emerging and unpredictable shocks. Strengthening and improving farming households’ coping strategies through capacity building and skills acquisition in off-farm income opportunities are crucial to improving their adaptive capacity and reducing their vulnerability to food and nutrition insecurity in Cameroon.

Review article: Design and evaluation of weather index insurance for multi-hazard resilience and food insecurity

Abstract. Ensuring food security against climate risks has been a growing challenge recently. Weather index insurance has been pointed out as a tool for increasing the financial resilience of food production. However, the multi-hazard insurance design needs to be better understood. This paper aims to review weather index insurance design for food security resilience, including the methodology for calculating natural hazards' indices, vulnerability assessment, and risk pricing. We searched for relevant research papers in the Scopus database using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. Initially, 364 peer-reviewed papers from 1 January 2010 to 19 February 2022 were screened for bibliometric analysis. Then, the 26 most relevant papers from the last 5 years were systematically analyzed. Our results demonstrate that despite a significant research effort on index insurance, most papers focused on food production. However, research considering other aspects of food security, such as transportation, storage, and distribution, is lacking. Most research focuses on droughts. Other hazards, such as extreme temperature variation, excessive rainfall, and wildfires, were poorly covered. Most studies considered only single-hazard risk, and the multi-hazard risk studies assumed independence between hazards, neglecting the synergy hypothesis between hazards. Lastly, we proposed a conceptual framework that illustrates design paths for a generalized weather index insurance design and evaluation. Solutions for addressing multi-hazard problems are considered. An illustrative example demonstrates the importance of testing the multi-hazard risk hypothesis for weather-based index insurance design for soybean production in Brazil.

Food Security Resilience and Risk Management Strategy in China in the Context of "Dual Circulation"

Food Security Resilience and Risk Management Strategy in China in the Context of "Dual Circulation"

The Influence of Food Environments on Food Security Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Examination of Urban and Rural Difference in Kenya.

Hunger and food insecurity has worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The types of food environments (e.g., natural/built) that people can access may improve household resilience to food-system shocks. This paper examines (1) urban and rural differences in the perceived influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural, livelihoods, food environment attributes, diets; and (2) whether access to different food environments was associated with food security. A two-part telephonic survey (COVID-19 Surveillance Community Action Network Food Systems Tool and Household Food Insecurity Access Scale) was conducted in Western Kenya (n = 173) and an informal settlement in Nairobi (n = 144) in January/February 2021. Limitations on the acquisition of farm inputs and movement restrictions had an adverse impact on agriculture and food sales. Urban residents reported a more significant impact on livelihoods (97% vs. 87%, p < 0.001), with day laborers being the most impacted. Rural respondents reported access to significantly more food environments and lower food insecurity. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that younger respondents, ≤1 income source, had more difficulty acquiring food, decreased access to cultivated environments, and increased access to informal markets were predictors for higher food insecurity. These data indicate that access to specific types of food environments may improve household resilience.

How different COVID-19 recovery paths affect human health, environmental sustainability, and food affordability: a modelling study

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic arrived at a time of faltering global poverty reduction and increasing levels of diet-related diseases, both of which have a strong link to poor outcomes for those with COVID-19. Governments responded to the pandemic by placing unprecedented restrictions on internal and external movements, which have resulted in an economic contraction. In response to the economic shock, G20 governments have committed to providing US$14 trillion stimuli to support economic recovery. We aimed to assess the impact of different COVID-19 recovery paths on human health, environmental sustainability, and food sustainability.MethodsWe used LandSyMM, a global gridded land use change model, to analyse the impact of recovery paths from COVID-19. The paths were illustrated by four scenarios that represent different pandemic severities (including a single or recurrent pandemic) and alternate modes of recovery, including a transition of food demand towards healthier diets that result in changes to the food system: (1) solidarity and celery, (2) nothing new, (3) fries and fragmentation, and (4) best laid plans. For each scenario, we modelled the economic shocks of the pandemic and the impact of policy measures to promote healthier diets in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic, including the supply of and demand for food, environmental outcomes, and human health outcomes. The four scenarios use established future population growth and economic development projections derived from the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways 2. We quantified the outcomes from more societally cooperative pandemic responses that result in reduced trade barriers and improved technological development against less cooperative responses.FindingsRepeated pandemic shocks (the fries and fragmentation and best laid plans scenarios) reduce the ability of the lowest income countries to ensure food security. A post-pandemic recovery that includes dietary transition towards the consumption of less meat and more fruits and vegetables (the solidarity and celery scenario) could prevent 2583 premature deaths per million in 2060, whereas recovery paths that are focused on economic recovery (the fries and fragmentation scenario) could trigger an additional 778 deaths per million in 2060. The transition of dietary preferences towards healthier diets (the solidarity and celery scenario) also reduces nitrogen fertiliser use by 40 million tonnes and irrigation water by 400 km3 compared with no dietary change in 2060 (the nothing new scenario). Finally, the scenario with dietary transition increases the affordability of the average diet.InterpretationThe economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is most visible in low-income countries, where a reduction in growth projections makes a greater difference to the affordability of a basic diet. A change in dietary preferences is most impactful in reducing mortality and the burden of disease when income levels are high. At lower income, a transition towards lower meat consumption reduces undernourishment and diet-related mortality.FundingThe Global Food Security's Resilience of the UK Food System Programme project, with support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council, and the Scottish Government.

Water Profitability Analysis to Improve Food Security and Climate Resilience: A Case Study in the Egyptian Nile Delta

The food self-sufficiency policy has always featured as an unquestionable policy objective for Egypt. This is understandable when one considers both the high population growth and the social and political vulnerability associated with a dependence on food imports and world market food prices such as wheat. Intensive agriculture has led to a growing subsidy burden for the Egyptian government. In addition, the agricultural fields in Egypt are commonly distributed with relatively small sizes parcels that usually reduce the reliability of the agricultural sector, particularly in the delta region, to meet the national food policy. On top of that, climate change, through changing weather patterns and increased temperatures, is affecting agricultural yields and thus farmers’ livelihoods. A water profitability analysis was conducted for three governorates in the Nile Delta in Egypt to establish a baseline and assess the net return per unit of water of the main crops in each of these governorates; this can act as a reference of the water profitability of different crops before they are affected by climate change and other internal and external factors. The analysis was based on extensive in-person surveys in each governorate in addition to workshop discussions with farmers. The study has highlighted the impact of a lack of extension services, which limits farmers’ ability to increase their land and water productivity. Farmers with more access to subsidized production inputs managed to achieve higher levels of water profitability even on smaller lands. Finally, we drew from our findings key policy actions to improve water profitability and land productivity for farmers in the Nile Delta to achieve higher levels of food security. This will help build resilient food production systems that are reliable in the face of climate change and other drivers. In addition, an integrated nexus strategy and plan for the inter- and intra-country is recommended to address the challenges related to food and climate security.

COVID-19 and Ghana’s agri-food system: an assessment of resilience

ABSTRACT Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) intertwined with a food security resilience framework was used to understand Ghana’s agricultural food system resilience to COVID-19 from a production perspective using a qualitative approach. Agricultural production remained fairly resilient but plagued with labor mobility challenges that delayed production. Specific results showed self-sufficiency in the production of roots and tubers, deficiency in the production of cereals and poultry. Opportunities do exist in rice production. Fall Army Worm invasion threatened cereal production. The government is encouraged to increase funding investment through public-private partnerships to build warehouses and increase production in meeting domestic supply needs.

Resilience to shocks in Malawian households

Building up resilience in agricultural households has assumed a critical role in development strategies in recent years because, it is argued, the costs of strengthening resilience are less than the recurring expenditure for disaster assistance. Relying on large household datasets from 2010 and 2013, we explored the resilience of Malawian households to the exogenous shocks of flooding and currency devaluation during this period. We utilised two strategies for understanding resilience. The first, a classification framework pioneered by Briguglio and others, categorizes households into resilience and vulnerability spaces. The second approach employs econometric analysis to explore food security resilience. These two complementary analyses reveal that infrastructure, assets, education and non-agricultural employment opportunities contribute most to food security resilience

Indigenous chicken "Kolonto" and food security in Gaya

This study was initiated to characterize the economic profitability of the breeding of the local chicken "Kolonto" in the Gaya department. A survey was conducted in 15 localities in the 6 communes of the Gaya department. The results showed that 29% of "Kolonto" local chicken keepers are women. The price of local chicken "Kolonto" varies between 4 to 8 USD according to 50% of producers. This economic gain, linked to the sale of local chicken, allows producers to make family expenses and meet their health care needs. Thus, the breeding of local chicken "Kolonto" contributes greatly to household food security and community resilience. However, the breeding of "Kolonto" chicken ecotype is between many constraints whose main one is diseases (59.3%). It is clear that the development of the sector necessarily involves strengthening surveillance of avian diseases, combined with veterinary monitoring and supervision of producers.

How the choice of food security indicators affects the assessment of resilience—an example from northern Ethiopia

Using longitudinal survey data from northern Ethiopia collected over 18 months, this study shows that conclusions about household food security are highly sensitive to measurement decisions. Especially important are 1) decisions about which food security indicators and cut-offs are chosen, and 2) whether analysis focuses on food security status at a given point in time or food security resilience over time. We define resilience as the probability that a household is truly above a chosen food security cut-off, given its underlying assets, demographic characteristics, and past food security status. Our study finds that different factors determine food security status and food security resilience. We also find that the drivers of resilience vary depending on whether food security is measured by Food Consumption Score (FCS) or the reduced Coping Strategies Index (rCSI). Literacy and livestock holdings are associated with both FCS status and FCS resilience, and the latter is also predicted by access to safe water and sanitation, the dependency ratio, and debt. In contrast, only previous rCSI scores predict current rCSI status, while marital status, literacy, livestock, and other forces matter for determining rCSI resilience. We also find that conclusions about food security resilience are sensitive to the cut-offs chosen to signify a food secure state.

Case studies of female-headed farms and households in Liberia: a comparative analysis of Grand Bassa, Lofa, and Nimba counties

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study explores female-headed households in Grand Bassa, Lofa and Nimba counties to discern Liberia's smallholding, subsistence agriculture. Amid environmental and communal dynamics, addressing factors causing challenges of farming is imperative. Methodology: Using explanatory sequential methods this study collects, explains, and organizes farming and household situations qualitatively through field notes, observations, and extensive communications with 44 female farmers. Subsequently and quantitatively, Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) verifies aforementioned information, accompanied by 112 observations. Findings: Stories encapsulate female farmers in Grand Bassa, Lofa, and Nimba counties. They provide evidence of marginalized, progressive, and emerging farming in order. Children (n > 3) and inadequate support of Kuu (informal labor) and of community make food stability, availability and access insecure. Insufficient crop revenue further exacerbates the issues. Moderate- and mild food-insecure households need not worry about the problems above. However, their earnings notwithstanding, new challenges appear in credit practices and land conflict. Practical Implications: Extension agents should provide timely services for each community, with special attention to women-headed households. Findings imply ex-post evaluations to ex-ante extension services should be cyclical. Theoretical Implications: A gender-inclusive, gender-sensitive framework is vital to enhance food security and community resilience, transform subsistence agriculture into agribusiness and achieve fairness, gender equity and social justice for agrarian Liberians – especially women and children. Originality/Value: This study captures distinctive phases of farming and family life – yielding qualitative and subsequent quantitative validation of predictors of food insecurity in rural, women-headed farming households/operations. It should guide us to tailor ex-ante extension services.

Assessing the role of stakeholder platforms as drivers of resilient communities: the case of Malawi

ABSTRACT Purpose: Climate-related shocks increasingly stress food systems, making resilience-building among rural communities crucial to food security. The Strengthening Agricultural and Nutrition Extension (SANE) project in Malawi strengthens stakeholder platforms to improve farmers’ capacities towards climate change, food security, and community resilience. This paper provides empirical evidence for SANE’s Theory of Change. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods approach was used to evaluate how strengthening stakeholder platforms affects farmers’ voice and community resilience. Quantitative and qualitative data, captured via structured interviews of stakeholder platform members in SANE and non-SANE districts, was used to track changes over time and analyze how differences in platforms’ functionality relate to farmers’ voice, responsiveness to farmers’ needs, and more resilient communities. Findings: Results show tangible improvements in platform functionality in SANE districts over time as well as substantial differences when comparing the performance of these stakeholder platforms in SANE and non-SANE districts. The qualitative evidence also illustrates how stronger platforms help farmers’ advocacy and ability to deal with climate-related shocks. Practical implications: Stronger platforms not only facilitate better extension service delivery, but also reduce the need for external support as communities work to address their own problems, itself a form of resilience. Theoretical implications: The adoption of bottom-up and participatory extension approaches where farmers become active drivers of extension curricula can be instrumental in improving food security and resilience to shocks. Originality/value: This study shows that efforts directed at the extension system are part of the solution, and system-focused research can provide unique insights.

Access to agricultural technology alternatives and household resilience to food insecurity

Agriculture is the main livelihood source for rural population in ethiopia. however, the sector is blamed for its dismal performance having resulted from low level of agricultural technology utilization. to redress this bottleneck, agricultural technology alternatives were promoted to solve the long-term problem of food insecurity. Although the program has supported the introduction and use of different agricultural technologies, whether this strategy has contributed to household food security is not clear. A study was conducted in five districts of North Western ethiopia with the objective to identify and analyze most relevant agricultural technology alternatives that make rural households resilient to food insecurity and their contribution to food security outcomes. Relevant data was collected from 509 rural households using structured questionnaire, supplemented with focus group discussion and key informant interview. Factor analysis and ordinal logistic regression were used to identify relevant variables and their contribution to food security outcomes, respectively. The finding of the factor analysis revealed that chemical fertilizer, improved seeds, improved livestock breeds, artificial insemination, organic fertilizer, and veterinary service were the most important variables in building households'food security resilience, while the result of the regression analysis revealed that chemical fertilizer, veterinary service, improved livestock breeds and organic fertilizer were contributed significantly to household food security. Recommendations include strengthening intensive crop production and improving veterinary services for intensive livestock production system.