Food Insecurities
Agricultural Productivity and Food Security Stability in Sub-Saharan Africa: LSDV and SYS-GMM Approach
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ayodeji Ogunlesi, Koye Gerry Gerry Bokana
Food supply fluctuations remain a major challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In this regard, this study empirically examined the impact of agricultural productivity on food security stability in 37 selected countries in SSA from 1990 to 2016, using the pooled, Least Square Dummy Variable (LSDV), random and System Generalized Methods of Moment (SYS-GMM) models. The study adopted Per-capita Food Supply Variability (PCFSV) as a measure of food security stability while agriculture value-added contribution to GDP (AGVA) and crop production (CRPROD) were selected indicators of agricultural productivity. The LSDV and SYS-GMM model estimations revealed that agricultural productivity and the control factors contributed significantly, though with a mix of positive and negative effects, to food security stability in the selected countries in SSA during the period under review. The LSDV model showed that AGVA had no statistically significant positive effect on food security stability, however, this was corrected in the SYS-GMM model, but with a positive impact. The study concludes that stability in food security is achieved and sustained by improving agricultural productivity. Based on the findings, the study recommended that food security stability should be improved by enhancing agricultural productivity through ensuring effective implementation of pro-agriculture growth policies in SSA.
Incorporating Gender in Food Systems Research Design: An argument for sharing an equitable plate
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Wendy Short
This presentation highlights the urgent need to consider the influence of gendered social characteristics and roles when designing research into food systems and health, particularly research focusing on the impact of dietary choices on the incidence of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCD) in low-middle income countries. Globalization of food webs, transnational media, and the increasing prevalence of multinational food conglomerates have contributed to significant dietary changes within low-middle income countries and related increases in obesity and epidemiologic changes. While often NCD progression is not contingent on biological-sex, social constructions of appropriate gendered behaviors, dietary choices, stigmas, and responsibilities, heighten disease-risk profiles for specific gendered groupings within wider populations. Based on a targeted review, literature was readily identified that considered linkages between food choices, obesity and NCD, and some of this literature provided sex-disaggregated data. However, what was not so evident was research that considered local social constructions of gender that resulted in vulnerabilities in food-system participation, or the origins in local gendered norms that contributed to diet-based NCD risk. The urgency of remedying this gap stems not only from data reporting that approximately 70% of the world’s malnourished are girls and women, but critically because food choices and advertisements, preparation tasks, and consumption priorities are gendered. Adopting a gender-lens from development of the research design allows exploration of nuanced causes of gendered dietary choice restrictions and influencers, and inequalities in differential NCD incidence among women and girls, men and boys.
Does It Matter Where the Tomato Originates?: Limitations of Current Approaches to Reduce Food Insecurity
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Whitney Fung, Dell De Chant
In the past decade, food insecurity funding has surged to support projects in urban agriculture, emergency food assistance, local farmer’s markets, community gardens, and nutrition education. These efforts are a response to the alarming rates of food insecurity in the United States - in 2016, 12.3% of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during the year. Concurrent with the increase in funding has been an increase in academic attention given to the subject. Curiously, neither increased funding nor increased academic attention appear to have mitigated the problem of food insecurity, with insecurity rates showing little change over the past two decades. This paper offers a critical analysis of responses to food insecurity based on a review of approaches used in the public sector and in professional research. The analysis will be supported with a case study using secondary data from the Tampa Bay region. We explore limitations in efforts to reduce food insecurity rooted in the lack of recognition of the broader cultural context of the issue. We will assess the persistence of food insecurity as a cultural issue, current approaches to tackle this problem, and limitations of existing research. Finally, we advance recommendations for interdisciplinary approaches offering a more comprehensive engagement with the issue and a more holistic response to promoting food security.
