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This chapter examines the idea and emerging norm of food security in the context of Africa. It begins with an elaboration of the concept of food security. It evaluates the state of food insecurity in Africa. It then analyses some of the legal, policy, and institutional frameworks addressing food insecurity in Africa.

This chapter examines the state of food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), based on analysis of a selection of indicators of food security and nutritional well-being during the period 1990-2002 within the context of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. It argues that it may be advisable for those SSA countries with both static and dynamic comparative advantage in agriculture to pursue policies towards ‘food self-sufficiency’ as a means to attain food security, considering their large rural farming population, at least until such time that international trade in agriculture is fully integrated into the WTO disciplines. This is particularly relevant in view of the fact that high agricultural protectionism in the north currently distorts price signals and thus the opportunity costs of allocating factors of production in these economies. The SSA countries that lack comparative advantage in agriculture may want to aim for a ‘food self-reliance’ strategy to attain food security.

This chapter examines the use of the concept of environmental justice in various global movements, including the anti-globalization, food security, indigenous rights, and climate justice movements. In each of these movements' use of the discourse of environmental justice, there are elements of equity and distribution, individual and cultural recognition, political participation, and individual and community functioning.

Whilst traditional food security analysis offers an ex post view on who the food insecure are and why they are so, looking at food insecurity from a vulnerability perspective provides a dynamic and forward looking way of analysing causes, and more importantly options for reducing food insecurity. This can help improve policy responses to food insecurity. The chapter expands a standard food security analytical framework by including risks and the ability at different levels to manage these risks to reduce the probability of people being food insecure in the future. It looks at how different shocks can impact on availability, access and utilization and, using a twin-track approach, identify policy options for reducing vulnerability.

The importance of supermarkets in the world food economy has increased radically since the early 1990s. They are now major sellers and buyers of food items not only in developed but also in developing countries. Urbanization and the liberalization of the services sector have been important facilitators of this process. This chapter examines the emerging importance of supermarkets in Latin America, and their impact on both producers and consumers.

Implementation of various provisions of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture causes serious concern with regard to the performance of the agriculture sector and food security, and South Asian countries have become quite sensitive to the consequences of future WTO agreements. The cautious approach towards the WTO is mainly caused by the increased dependence on food imports and deterioration in self-reliance in agriculture in the post-WTO period because of a much higher growth in food import as compared to exports. Decline in international prices and trade distortions are the underlying causes for an adverse impact on agriculture during the post-WTO period. South Asian countries should address these two issues in future negotiations.

This chapter considers some of the challenges that agriculture is facing now or will face in the near future, including resource-use efficiency and food security. It begins with a discussion of the goals of agriculture, such as improving productivity (yield per acre, to use no more land than necessary), efficiency in the use of scarce resources (to use no more water than necessary, for example), stability over years (to prevent even occasional famines), and sustainability (to maintain all of these benefits over the long term). It then examines the effects of agriculture on everyone, not just farmers, as well as agriculture's underlying long-term problems such as those relating to food supply, food production, and transportation. It also looks at threats to sustainability, particularly those farming practices that lead to long-term decreases in crop yield. Finally, it offers suggestions for limiting the negative environmental impact of agriculture.

This chapter addresses Afghanistan's history of food security and how it changed after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Food security is built on three main aspects—food availability, food access, and food utilization. The rural economy and agrarian sector in Afghanistan are relatively resilient, even in the face of conflict and drought. However, this does not mean that all people have adequate food or can be classified as food-secure. Afghan households are spending high amounts on food. Although food prices dropped in 2009, allowing Afghan households to have an easier time putting food on their tables, food insecurity still affects many households. The chapter then considers the links between insecurity and access to food. Female-headed households are often the most food insecure, and one can posit that their access to markets or to credit is even more constrained in Taliban-held areas than in other parts of the country.

This chapter focuses on food and agriculture. Topics discussed include health and nutrition, foodborne diseases and food poisoning, food quality criteria, food quality assurance, global food production capacity and food security, and environmental and occupational health hazards in agriculture.

This chapter considers the food security challenge to 2030 and its implications for the sustainable development agenda. It first outlines three proposed food security targets that integrate sustainability and must be achieved by 2030: reduce the rate of food loss and waste by 50 per cent; reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from food production by 25 per cent; reduce the water-intensity of agricultural production by 30 per cent. It then discusses the grand challenge as well as opportunity at the nexus of food security, economic development and the environment and proceeds by introducing six core propositions aimed at meeting the food security challenge and how this challenge affects the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Finally, it explains how proposed food security targets would help feed the growing global population in a manner that results in poverty alleviation and economic development while reducing pressure on natural resources.

The world faces a fundamental challenge in the coming decade. Growth in the demand for food appears likely to continue to outstrip agricultural productivity gains, generating rising real prices and occasional food price spikes. Without appropriate action, food insecurity may worsen and sociopolitical instability may rise. This chapter and the volume it introduces explore the complex interaction between food security and sociopolitical stability. The book emphasizes that private and government responses to the food price signals wrought by immutable demand-side pressures lie at the heart of the complex relationship between food security and sociopolitical instability. While some of those responses can inflame latent tensions, several coordinated policy mechanisms can help meet the looming food security challenge without inadvertently compromising sociopolitical stability.

This chapter analyzes the food grain supply chain in India and China. It starts by examining the changing contexts of food security in both countries, and the implications for domestic reforms of agricultural institutions. It then reviews how these reforms have impacted the ability of these countries to provide food grain availability to poorer sections of the population. It introduces a supply chain methodology to map out how food grain procurement and distribution takes place within the agricultural institutional framework in India and China. The existing supply chains in the agricultural sector are subsequently reviewed to identify capacities and constraints in the supply chain. Finally, the chapter comments on the future implications of changes in the agricultural supply chain in both countries for food security and poverty reduction.

This chapter looks at the challenges presented by hunger and malnutrition. After all, despite significant advances, severe hunger and malnutrition are all too common. Hence, the chapter explains that detailed nutrition and food security surveys can provide valuable information on how to reduce vulnerability and food insecurity. Undoubtedly the most shocking statistic of all is the incidence of child malnutrition, often referred to as “hidden hunger,” which measures the lack of essential micronutrients. This complex challenge involves distinct disciplines and agencies, but in recent years there have been successes by experts in health, nutrition, and agriculture working together over the life of the child to intervene in various ways and at different stages in the child's life. At the same time, Africa is urbanizing rapidly. A steep surge in the growth of the African middle class has taken place, especially in the 2000s. The effect of such an increase is rising urban demand for more and better food, which provides opportunities to increase and diversify food production in rural areas, resulting in greater value capture and rising incomes for smallholder farmers.

This chapter examines possible options to reconcile the goals of human rights instruments providing a right to food, and in particular food security, with WTO agreements, in particular the AoA. It starts with a brief account of the legal framework for trade in agriculture followed by a look at current agricultural trade policies and the instruments applied. It then analyses their impact on human rights, in particular the right to food. Finally, recommendations for shaping agricultural trade policies to enhance the right to food are presented.

The challenges countries confront in achieving and maintaining food security evolve during the course of economic development, but rarely do they disappear. Food insecure populations exist in all countries, rich and poor alike. This introductory chapter highlights the human elements of hunger and malnutrition, resource use in agriculture, and food politics. It begins by defining key aspects of global food insecurity, and then provides a road map for the rest of the volume, illustrating how food security in all parts of the world is linked to energy, water, health, environment, and national security. The chapter establishes the connection between four major areas of study within the food security field: the political economy of food and agriculture; feeding the poorest billion; agriculture’s dependence on resources and the environment; and the national and international security consequences of malnutrition. The integration of these sub-sets of the food security field is what makes this volume unique and important. Telling the story from personal experiences in countries around the world is what makes the volume interesting.

Energy policies and innovations can have profound impacts on food systems, and vice versa, as countries strive to meet growing demands for both food and energy. Energy also plays a critical role in raising land and labor productivity in agriculture. During the past decade, a new, and very strong, link has emerged: biofuel development in the United States, Brazil, and Europe has caused food prices to rise and become more closely tied to oil prices than ever before. Over the longer term, greenhouse gas emissions from energy use drive global warming, which will have potentially large impacts for food security. From a policy perspective, changes in agricultural emissions, particularly those associated with deforestation, will likely constrain total emissions allowable from energy systems as countries strive to meet negotiated climate targets. Overall, increasingly tight links between food and energy provide both new risks and opportunities for improving food security.