Food Security Situation Research Articles

Intenção de amamentar e associação com características sociodemográficas, obstétricas e experiência com o aleitamento materno entre mulheres grávidas

Abstract Objectives: to estimate the intention of breastfeeding (IBF) duration and its association with sociodemographic, obstetric characteristics and experience with breastfeeding among pregnant women undergoing prenatal care. Methods: cross-sectional study, with pregnant women undergoing prenatal care in public health services in Colombo, Paraná, Brazil. The duration of IBF was questioned to pregnant women. Negative binomial Poisson regression with robust variance adjustment allowed estimating crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI95%) of the association between IBF duration and exposure variables. Results: among the participating pregnant women (n = 604), 7.9% reported having IBF for less than six months, 28.0% from six to 11 months, 38.3% from 12 to 23 and 25.9% for 24 months or more. The mean IBF time was 13.5 ± 8.4 and median of 12 months. Pregnant women with moderate food insecurity (PR=1.34; CI95%=1.04-1.73), multiparous women (PR=1.13; CI95%=1.00-1.26), and who reported having been breastfed as babies (PR=1.19; CI95%=1.02-1.40) had a longer IBF time. Conclusions: food security situation, primiparity and exposure to breastfeeding in childhood are determinants of IBF during pregnancy.

Dietary Supplement Use among Iranian Households during COVID-19 Epidemic Lockdown: Less Access in Those Who May Need More National Food and Nutrition Surveillance.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic elicited the general population to use various dietary supplements (DSs) and nutraceuticals as a protective means against the disease. The present study aimed to evaluate changes and certain determinants of DS intake during the COVID-19 lockdown among Iranian households. This nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted from April 4 to April 25, 2020, during which Iran was in lockdown. To collect data, a web-based electronic self-administered questionnaire was created. The data were compared among provinces based on their food security situations. A total of 21,290 households were included in the analyses. Approximately 27% of the households were using DSs after the epidemic. The most common DSs used were vitamin D (42%) and vitamin C (20%), followed by multi-vitamin (16%), zinc (9%), omega-3 (6%), vitamin A (4%), and probiotics (3%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that DS intake was directly associated with the household income but inversely with household size and the food security status of the provinces. DS intake was positively associated with the presence of high-risk persons in the households, the education of the households' head, and the presence of a person with a history of COVID-19 within the household. During epidemic lockdown, DS use was remarkably increased among the Iranian households. Apart from the debatable usefulness of DSs against COVID-19, the inverse association of DS use with a household's income and provincial food security well indicates inequity in accessibility to DS. Actions to improve the nutritional status of the under-privileged populations including targeted supplementation are strongly recommended.

Constraints, Interventions and Prospects for Improving Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum L) Production in the State of Eritrea - A review

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is the second most important cereal grown in Eritrea after sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) grown under low input systems by small scale farmers. The crop utilizes soil moisture efficiently and has ability to tolerate soil toxicity and extreme temperatures than other cereals. It is a sustenance and food security crop important for its nutritive and cultural value and provides dietary energy and nutrition. However, despite the positive attributes and qualities of pearl millets for the present and future agriculture, production has been low. We attribute this to inadequate rainfall distribution, poor crop management by poorly resourced farmers, unavailability and high prices of farm inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides and low adoption of improved varieties by the farmers. This review outlines the constraints, interventions the government/ farmers have and can implement and the prospects of actions that can improve pearl millet production. As much as there have been efforts by the government and stakeholders to address these challenges and improve productivity of pearl millet, more needs to be done to meet the increasing demand of the increasing populations. This will enable farmers to intensify and diversify their agricultural systems and improve food security situation in the country. Unless a combined effort in soil fertility improvement, policies to promote use of modern varieties and conservation of and promotion of this crop biodiversity, the potential of this crop as famine and poverty alleviation among the rural poor will not be realized.

Formation mechanism and sustainable productivity impacts of non‐grain croplands: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China

AbstractNon‐grain cropland is a typical phenomenon with some common characteristics globally. As the most populous country, China's non‐grain cropland threatens global food supply stability and affects food production sustainability under the current complex situation of international food security. This paper used Sichuan Province, China, to explore the formation mechanism of non‐grain cropland and its potential impact on sustainable productivity, given the regional environment complexity and socioeconomic representativeness. High‐precision land survey data were used to detect multiscale non‐grain influencing factors and discuss non‐grain impacts on soil state to fill the knowledge gap on microlevel development of non‐grain issues. Results show that rotation type is the region's most abundant and widely distributed cropland type, accounting for about 59.38% of the total cropland area; the second is abandonment type. Urbanization indicators are the common factors affecting the non‐grain spatial distribution on the global scale; environmental variables' impact on non‐grain shows significant differences in geographical locations on the local scale. Overall, cash type and intercrop type aim at improving production conditions. Rotation type and fallow type mostly occur in areas with low production capacity and are prominently driven by policies. Abandonment type is subject to terrain constraints, production conditions, and social economy. Additionally, non‐grain trends have not caused significant damage to soil sustainable productivity except for the positive promotion of field biodiversity. Non‐grain cropland can be divided into three clusters according to the corresponding average soil fertility state, rotation, intercrop, cash, abandonment, and fallow. Policymakers must implement specific policies for different cropland types and formulate more refined farming management plans.

Food insecurity in households with persons with disabilities in a situation of extreme vulnerability in Brazil: a secondary cross-sectional analysis

Inequities in access to education, work and health care are striking among persons with disabilities, making this population more vulnerable to poverty, lack of access to basic services and violation of rights such as access to food. Household food insecurity (HFI), marked by precarious income, has increased among persons with disabilities. In Brazil, the Continuous Cash Benefit (In Portuguese, Benefício de Prestação Continuada - BPC) is the guarantee of a minimum wage for persons with disabilities as a measure to promote social security and access to income in a situation of extreme poverty. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess HFI among persons with disabilities in extreme poverty in Brazil. A cross-sectional study with national representation was carried out with data from the 2017/2018 Family Budget Survey, with moderate and severe food insecurity as the dependent variable, and the situation of food insecurity measured using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. Prevalence and odds ratio estimates were generated with 99% confidence intervals. Approximately 25% of households experienced HFI, with a higher prevalence in the North Region (41%), receiving up to 1 income quintile (36.6%), with a female (26.2%) and black person (31%) as a reference. The analysis model found that region, per capita household income, and social benefits received in the household were statistically significant factors. The BPC proved to be an important source of household income for persons with disabilities living in extreme poverty in Brazil: in almost three-quarters of the households, it was the only social benefit received, and, for most of them, it represented more than half of the total household income. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Trends and Prospects of Change in Wheat Self-Sufficiency in Egypt

Egypt is the largest wheat importer in the world; however, it produces only half of the 20 million tons of wheat that it consumes annually. The population of Egypt is currently growing by 1.94% per year, and projections predict that the demand for wheat will be nearly doubled by 2050. Russia and Ukraine are major wheat exporters to Egypt and globally, shipping grains from ports in the Black Sea. The ongoing conflict aggravates the already precarious food security situation in Egypt and many other import-dependent countries in Africa and Asia by disrupting supplies and accelerating food price hikes. Wheat is a strategic commodity in Egypt. Its production is a question of political stability. Against this backdrop, the Egyptian government declared gaining wheat self-sufficiency as a strategic aim. This study provides an overview of the degree and trends of cultivated wheat area, yield, production, and wheat self-sufficiency in Egypt between 2000 and 2020, followed by a qualitative analysis determining external pressures and system-immanent drivers that had an impact on wheat self-sufficiency in the past two decades in view of predicting future pathways to achieve wheat self-sufficiency in a sustainable way. The study underlines some critical external pressures such as agricultural policies, (subsidized) production inputs, climate conditions, global wheat supply chains, and system-immanent drivers such as domestic wheat supply prices and yields influencing the area of wheat cultivation and its productivity. There is a significant need to implement more effective and long-term sustainable agricultural policies in order to make wheat production in Egypt (more) attractive and feasible for smallholders again.

Policy-oriented food insecurity estimation and mapping at district level in Pakistan

Purpose. Food insecurity maps reveal the spatial variability of relevant indicators in relevant units in geographically disaggregated levels. This study is based on a systematic analysis of the least studied areas related to food insecurity in Pakistan, such as district-level Small Area Estimation (SAE) analysis of food insecurity by integrating several well-established datasets, including PSLM 2014–2015 and HIES 2015–2016.
 Methodology / approach. We investigate the food insecurity situation at the district level in Pakistan by applying the household level technique of SAE method. The geographically disaggregated indicators of welfare are estimated by using SAE that integrates the census and survey datasets. This study estimates incidence and density indictors at the district level of food insecurity. The accessibility aspect of food security is taking into account by calculating monthly equivalent food expenditure per adult. In addition, the food insecurity headcount ratio is calculated to identify the food insecurity incidence at district level, and density are visualized using ‘spmap’ in STATA 14.
 Results. The results of this study indicate that the districts with low food insecurity incidence are dense in terms of food insecure people. The second least food insecure district, according to food insecurity incidence estimates, has become the most food insecure in terms of food insecurity density. However, the most food insecure district with respect to food insecurity incidence has been identified as one of the least food insecure districts in terms of food insecure people. For instance, Washuk district in Balochistan, has been identified as the most food insecure district with almost 93 % food insecurity incidence. However, Washuk has only 0.17 million food insecure people according to food insecurity density estimates.
 Originality / scientific novelty. The study highlighted the importance of food insecurity density estimates in addition to the food insecurity incidence for targeted policy interventions. In this study we have integrated a large and relatively smaller data set that covers most of the districts from all provinces of Pakistan for addressing the small sample issue which have been identified in previous studies. The variables that are common to both data sets are included after a screening process that include Variance Inflation Factor for multicollinearity, forward – backward selection criterion with model adjustment criterion either adjusted R2, Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) or Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO).
 Practical value / implications. The results of the study indicate that the policy makers should consider both the density and incidence of food insecurity for targeted policy interventions. This is because several districts with low food insecurity incidence are found to be dense with food insecure people. Moreover, the obtained results can be complemented by the results of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) which is based on relatively very small samples from few districts of three provinces. This can be useful in efficient implementation of food security policy and programs in targeted areas. Furthermore, the results highlight that the efforts reduce food insecurity should be targeted at district level in Pakistan.

Changing multi-scale spatiotemporal patterns in food security risk in China

Food security was not only an important cornerstone of China's national rejuvenation, but also a matter of achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The spatial explicit and multi-scale comparative study of China's food security risk pattern was insufficient. Therefore, this study explored the spatio-temporal evolution and scale differences of food security risk pattern in China at micro- (pixel: 1km × 1 km), meso- (county) and macro (provincial) scales by constructing Food Security Risk Assessment models and Food Security Indexes (FSI) that were applicable to various scales, and provided theoretical basis and data support for the country and governments at all levels to formulate food security guarantee strategies. The results showed that the food security risk is quite different on different sides of Ejina-Longhai Line in 2018 at micro-scale. The food security situation in the area east of the Ejina-Longhai Line was generally good, while the area west of the Ejina-Longhai Line had higher food security risks. From 1990 to 2018, China's food security risks were spatially positively correlated and have significant global spatial agglomeration characteristics. In 1990, 2000 and 2018, the local spatial autocorrelation of food security risk at micro- and meso-level was similar. In the last decade of the 20th century, the food security situation in China showed a deteriorating trend due to the difference in the growth rate of total grain output and total population. Since the beginning of the 21st century, rapid increase in grain yields significantly reduced food security risks in China. The changes in food security index at micro- and meso-scales had a high similarity, however, the evaluation results at the meso-scale would underestimate the national food security risks. In addition, the larger the range (scale) of the evaluation unit, the more drastic the temporal variation in food security index, that is, the lower the stability. Scale differences and lower stability lead to evaluation results at the macro-scale that underestimate food security risks in the year of good harvest and overestimate food security risks in the year of poor harvest.

Impact of land acquisition for large-scale agricultural investments on food security status of displaced households: The case of Ethiopia

Food insecurity has been high on the agenda since the worldwide food crisis around the mid-2000 s. Since then, Large-scale Agricultural Investments (LSAIs) have been introduced to respond to this crisis and contribute to national food security. However, under several circumstances, the LSAIs undermined local food security by displacing smallholders from their farmlands. Available researches exploring the impact of LSAIs on the food security status of displaced households are scanty. Therefore, this study aimed to empirically investigate the impact of LSAIs on household food security using survey data collected from 521 sample households from September to November 2019 in two districts in Ethiopia. The sample comprises 49% displaced households and 51% non-displaced households. The propensity score matching method (PSM) was applied to analyze the impact of LSAIs on the food security status of displaced households. The result indicated a significant deterioration of food security among the affected households. The daily food energy intake of displaced households declined by 23% (793 kilocalories per adult equivalent) compared to that of the non-displaced households, which is significant at 1%. Similarly, the annual food consumption expenditure of affected households declined by 40% compared to the non-affected households with a 1% significance level. The finding implies displacement due to the LSAIs has contributed to worsening the food security situation of the displaced smallholders in Ethiopia. Policymakers should reconsider the conventional approach to LSAIs that emphasizes land transfer and compensation and encourage inclusive and empowering methods to reverse the situation. This subject is often neglected and, therefore, can be considered a key value addition of this study.

Improving Food Security for Vulnerable Communities

The food crisis of 2007-2008 and the renewed surge in food prices in 2010-2011 have exposed deep structural problems in the global food system and the need to increase food production. The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing "when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life". Despite Nepal has no worse food and nutrition security situation among SAARC countries, there are some districts where food is always in shortage. Also some ethnic groups who are bit away from this type of food security system gaining. Some activities are also done by some organizations to them but in few needed term only. The explicit constitutional recognition of the right to food and other related provisions in articles 36 and 42 of the new constitution will be instrumental for implementing food security programs in the country. The food security for the poor people is based on sustainable food production. Many proven technologies and improved practices have promise to boost agricultural production and ensure food security in developing countries like Nepal. Food and Nutrition security program (FANUSEP) is one of the flagship programs of Agriculture Development Strategy 2015-2035 (ADS), which is at the first phase of its implementation. It aims at improving food and nutrition security of the most vulnerable groups of the population

Family Farming Systems in Northern Central Cameroon: Challenges and Prospects for Food Security

If family farming is supported, it can serve as a foundation for growth and food security. One of Cameroon's biggest development challenges is still food insecurity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the situation and key determinants of food security in the northern forest-savanna transition zone of the Central Cameroon Region. To do this, 180 family farmers from Mbangassina, Ntui, Batchenga, and Obala participated in a survey and field observations (January-March 2020; March-May 2021, and July-September 2021). According to this survey and these findings, the useful agricultural area is 4.55 ± 0.21 hectares. Cocoa, yam, cassava, maize, plantain, sweet potato, and peanut are the principal crops mentioned. With a mixed workforce, the vast majority of agricultural work is performed manually (machetes, daba, etc). (Family and external). Seven significant challenges face family farming in these areas: poor market organization, bad road/track conditions, a lack of inputs, seasonal uncertainties/rainfall deficits, challenging access to irrigation, unstable land tenure, challenging access to credit, and challenging access to agricultural equipment. Each community faces unique challenges. The family agricultural industry, which these people rely on for their food security, needs to be saved to overcome these obstacles. According to the findings, expanding access to financial and commercial services will help agricultural operations in the study area increase food security. This will be in line with initiatives made by both governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance agricultural technologies as a way to address the issue of food insecurity.

Can nutrition-sensitive intervention and programmes reduce household's food insecurity among the communities affected by Boko-Haram insurgency in Nigeria?

Dwindling food security situations that arose from Boko-haram insurgence experienced in the northeast of Nigeria has led to an urgent need to respond to the food and livelihood requirements of families who were affected by the conflicts in this region. This is necessary in order to enhance their food and nutritional security and livelihood activities. Thus, examining the status of malnutrition of households in the intervening communities is imperative. Therefore, primary data were collected from some selected households within the region using multi-stage sampling procedure. Descriptive statistics, Dietary Diversity Score (DSS), Heckman and Tobit Models were the analytical tools employed. The study revealed that food aid constitutes an integral proportion of the total expenditure of households on food in the intervening communities. Level of malnutrition also reduces from 40.58 to 16.7% due to the impact of the sensitization programme on households' consumption of nutritious foods. However, there is still a high level of malnutrition (68.79%) among the children that are 5years and below. Social capital formation and group-specific nutritional policy strategies directed at the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and children that are 5years and below are panacea to reducing malnutrition in the region.

A Research on the Evaluation of China’s Food Security under the Perspective of Sustainable Development—Based on an Entropy Weight TOPSIS Model

Food safety is an important basis for promoting economic development, ensuring social stability and maintaining national security. Research on the evaluation of food security is the basis by which to accurately grasp the food security situation and to establish national food security policies in a scientific manner. Based on China’s agricultural economic data from 2001 to 2020, this research uses an entropy weight TOPSIS model to start from the new connotations and goals of food security in the new development stage, takes quantity security, structural security, ecological security of resources, economic security and policy security as the breakthrough points, builds a food security evaluation system containing 25 indicators, and aims to conduct evaluation and research on the evolution and current situation of China’s food security. The results show that China’s food security level drops first and then rises, that China attaches increasing importance to the ecological security and policy security of food resources, and that China’s food security level is restricted by such factors as resources, modes of production, circulation, storage, transportation, trade and structure. This article puts forward some policies and suggestions in terms of resources, technology and foreign trade to safeguard China’s food security.

Reversing Years for Global Food Security: A Review of the Food Security Situation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

All around the world, inequalities persist in the complex web of social, economic, and ecological factors that mediate food security outcomes at different human and institutional scales. There have been rapid and continuous improvements in agricultural productivity and better food security in many regions of the world during the past 50 years due to an expansion in crop area, irrigation, and supportive policy and institutional initiatives. However, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the situation is inverted. Statistics show that food insecurity has risen since 2015 in Sub-Saharan African countries, and the situation has worsened owing to the Ukraine conflict and the ongoing implications of the COVID-19 threat. This review looks into multidimensional challenges to achieving the SDG2 goal of "End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture" in Sub-Saharan Africa and the prosper policy recommendations for action. Findings indicate that weak economic growth, gender inequality, high inflation, low crop productivity, low investment in irrigated agriculture and research, climate change, high population growth, poor policy frameworks, weak infrastructural development, and corruption are the major hurdles in the sustaining food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Promoting investments in agricultural infrastructure and extension services together with implementing policies targeted at enhancing the households' purchasing power, especially those in rural regions, appear to be essential drivers for improving both food availability and food access.

MOF-Based Mycotoxin Nanosensors for Food Quality and Safety Assessment through Electrochemical and Optical Methods.

Mycotoxins in food are hazardous for animal and human health, resulting in food waste and exacerbating the critical global food security situation. In addition, they affect commerce, particularly the incomes of rural farmers. The grave consequences of these contaminants require a comprehensive strategy for their elimination to preserve consumer safety and regulatory compliance. Therefore, developing a policy framework and control strategy for these contaminants is essential to improve food safety. In this context, sensing approaches based on metal-organic frameworks (MOF) offer a unique tool for the quick and effective detection of pathogenic microorganisms, heavy metals, prohibited food additives, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), toxins, veterinary medications, and pesticide residues. This review focuses on the rapid screening of MOF-based sensors to examine food safety by describing the main features and characteristics of MOF-based nanocomposites. In addition, the main prospects of MOF-based sensors are highlighted in this paper. MOF-based sensing approaches can be advantageous for assessing food safety owing to their mobility, affordability, dependability, sensitivity, and stability. We believe this report will assist readers in comprehending the impacts of food jeopardy exposure, the implications on health, and the usage of metal-organic frameworks for detecting and sensing nourishment risks.

Potential impacts of Ukraine-Russia armed conflict on global wheat food security: A quantitative exploration

Violent conflict is a major cause of acute food crises. In 2021, at least 155 million people in 10 countries were severely food insecure and eight of those countries were experiencing armed conflict. On February 24, 2022, an armed conflict between Russian Federation (Russia) and Ukraine escalated. As Russia and Ukraine are major wheat exporters, this will aggravate the already precarious food security situation in many developing countries by disrupting wheat production and export and by accelerating price hikes in import-dependent developing countries. This study examines the potential impacts of this ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine on wheat price, consumption, and calorie intake from wheat. In doing so, it applies the conditional mixed process estimation procedure using information collected from 163 countries and territories for the years 2016–2019 from online database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The study shows that, on average, a 1% decrease in the global wheat trade could increase the producers' price of wheat by 1.1%, and a 1% increase in the producers' price could reduce the yearly per capita wheat consumption by 0.59%, daily calorie intake by 0.54% and protein intake by 0.64% in the sampled countries. Based on this, the study demonstrates that a 50% reduction in wheat exports by Russia and Ukraine could increase the producers’ price of wheat by 15%, which would induce a reduction in wheat consumption and dietary energy intake by at least 8%. Since wheat export has reduced from both Russia and Ukraine, to avoid a food crisis in developing countries, policies are suggested, including near term improvement of domestic wheat production by promoting improved agronomic practices to close yield gaps to meet a substantial portion of wheat self-sufficiency goals. In the long run, countries in Africa, East Asia and South America can explore expanding wheat into new land area. International donor agencies can play a key role in supporting the ongoing wheat research and development activities.

Effects of COVID-19 on dietary behavior of urban consumers in Nairobi, Kenya

The disruptions wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic on food systems worldwide have endangered food and nutrition security for many consumers. The resource-poor, especially those in urban areas, are more susceptible to pandemic-related disturbances. This study uses primary data collected from 2,465 households located in and outside of informal settlements (slums) in Nairobi, Kenya to assess how COVID-19 and related public-health measures have influenced diets of urban consumers, their purchasing patterns and overall food security. Questions about food security and consumption behavior, including household dietary diversity scores, were used to capture the pre- and mid-pandemic situation. The data show that low-income households in the informal settlements were more affected than middle-income households. About 90% of slum households reported dire food insecurity situations, including being unable to eat preferred kinds of food, eating a limited variety of foods, consuming smaller portions than they felt they needed, and eating fewer meals in a day. With a score of four food groups out of nine, household in the informal settlements have lower dietary diversity than middle-income households, whose score is five out of nine. The consumption of nutritious foods, including fruits, vegetables, and animal products, fell among people living in slums during the pandemic. In addition to assessing dietary changes, this study highlights the factors associated with quality food consumption during the pandemic period such as household income levels and male-vs-female headed households. Our research demonstrates the need to attend to slums and vulnerable, poor consumers when enacting mitigation measures or designing and implementing policy.

Food Insecurity in the Households of Polish Elderly: Diversity in the Perception of Its Causes by Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics

The aging of societies and the quality of life of the elderly may be accompanied by food insecurity. The aim of the study was to find the relationships between the perceptions of various causes of food insecurity, i.e., financial, social, health, and spatial, and then between those and the selected sociodemographic characteristics. The survey was conducted in late 2018 and early 2019 among 760 people aged 65 and older in two regions of Poland. Factor analysis with the use of principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify the main causes of the prevalence of food insecurity. Cluster analysis using Ward’s hierarchical classification and logistic regression analysis were used to assess the relationship between the identified reasons for food insecurity, demographic characteristics, and socioeconomic status (SES). Two groups of causes that favor the experience of food insecurity among the elderly were identified, i.e., economic–social reasons and spatial–health reasons. They relate to such situations of food insecurity as concerns about food shortages, lack of staple foods, limited size or frequency of meals, and skipping meals. The high importance of economic–social (HE-S) reasons was associated with the low importance of spatial–health (LS-H) reasons, and conversely, the high importance of spatial–health (HS-H) causes was associated with the low importance of economic–social (LE-S) causes. HE-S and LS-H reasons were combined with low SES and residence in a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants. HS-H causes, on the other hand, were associated with LE-S causes and living in rural areas or towns of fewer than 100,000 inhabitants, as well as high SES. This specificity should be considered in the development of strategies and interventions aimed at reducing the phenomenon of experiencing food insecurity in the elderly population.

Effect of passive solar drying on food security in rural Mozambique

Achieving food security in Mozambique is critical, since 80% of the population cannot afford an adequate diet. While increasing agricultural production is a necessary effort to address this challenge, inadequate post-harvest treatment leads to storage losses and quality degradation, with repercussions for food security. The use of solar drying is promoted as a solution to provide efficient and reliable access to food preservation that improves the food security situation in rural communities. However, there is a lack of clear evidence on how the use or access to solar drying affects food security. This study identifies the determinants of farmers’ choice to use solar drying and evaluates the effect of a passive solar dryer on food security using survey data from 634 households. We allocated solar dryers to selected communities and all interested individuals belonging to these communities were eligible to use it. Propensity score matching and endogenous switching poisson regression are used to estimate the average effect. The use of solar drying with associated training significantly increases the food security status of participants by increasing household food availability, women’s dietary diversity, and months of adequate household food provision and by decreasing the household food insecurity access scale.

Understanding the Food Insecurity and Coping Strategies of Indigenous Households during COVID-19 Crisis in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A Qualitative Study.

This study examined the food insecurity and coping mechanisms among the indigenous Bangladeshi population of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region to extract empirical evidence on the ongoing discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic-exacerbated food-insecurity situation. The study adopted a qualitative approach by interviewing 60 indigenous households. Data were collected in two phases between 15 June 2020, and 30 July 2021 in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region. Thematic data analyses were performed using the Granheim approach and NVivo-12 software. The authors used Huston’s social–ecological theory to explain the indigenous coping mechanisms. The research evidence revealed that most households experienced challenges over daily foods, manifesting in the decreasing consumption of them, the increased price of food items, a food crisis due to an income shock, malnutrition, the shifting to unhealthy food consumption, starvation and hunger, and food insufficiency, thereby leading to mental stress. This study further revealed that the indigenous population took crucial coping strategies to survive the pandemic. In response to COVID-19, they took loans and borrowed foods, reduced expenses, changed their food habits, avoided nutritional foods, relied on vegetables, sold domestic animals and properties, collected forest and hill foods, and depended on governmental and societal relief. This study also provides the in-depth policy actions for the urgent intervention of government, stakeholders, policymakers, NGOs, and development practitioners to take necessary initiatives to enhance the quality of life of the people that were affected by the post-pandemic recovery period.