This open access book compiles a series of chapters written by internationally recognized experts known for their in-depth but critical views on questions of resilience and food security. The book assesses rigorously and critically the contribution of the concept of resilience in advancing our understanding and ability to design and implement development interventions in relation to food security and humanitarian crises. For this, the book departs from the narrow beaten tracks of agriculture and trade, which have influenced the mainstream debate on food security for nearly 60 years, and adopts instead a wider, more holistic perspective, framed around food systems. The foundation for this new approach is the recognition that in the current post-globalization era, the food and nutritional security of the world’s population no longer depends just on the performance of agriculture and policies on trade, but rather on the capacity of the entire (food) system to produce, process, transport and distribute safe, affordable and nutritious food for all, in ways that remain environmentally sustainable. In that context, adopting a food system perspective provides a more appropriate frame as it incites to broaden the conventional thinking and to acknowledge the systemic nature of the different processes and actors involved. This book is written for a large audience, from academics to policymakers, students to practitioners.
This is an open access book.
Author(s): Christophe Béné, Stephen Devereux
Series: Palgrave Studies in Agricultural Economics and Food Policy
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 425
City: Cham
Contents
Editors and Contributors
About the Editors
Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Resilience, Food Security and Food Systems: Setting the Scene
Preamble: What This Book is About
Clarifying the Concepts
Food Security
Resilience
Food Systems
Linking Resilience, Food Security and Food Systems—Some Initial Remarks
Food Security, Shocks and Resilience…
Food Security, Resilience and Food Systems
Outline of the Volume
Part I: From Concepts to Policy and Narratives
Part II. Specific Issues and Empirical Analyses
Concluding Chapter
References
2 Achieving Food Security Through a Food Systems Lens
Introduction
The Evolution of Food Security and Its Framing
Achieving Food Security Has Become More Complex in the Modern World
Food Systems Lens to Tackling Food Security
Functional Food Systems Do Not Always Equate to Food Security
Conclusion
References
3 The Global Food System is Not Broken but Its Resilience is Threatened
Introduction
The Global Food System is Resilient in Terms of Food Supply
Many Reasons Why the Global Food System Needs a Profound Transformation
How to Move Towards such a Transformation?
Reticence and Obstacles Despite Alerts
The Engagement of Science to Help Moving Beyond Obstacles
Two Avenues to Illustrate the Journey From Obstacles to Transformation
Impacting at Scale Through “Cross Scales Contamination”
Generating a New Action Regime to Ensure the Convergence Between the Production of Private and Public Goods
Conclusion
References
4 Food Security and the Fractured Consensus on Food Resilience: An Analysis of Development Agency Narratives
Introduction: Clarifying the Policy Language
Aims, Methods and Approach
Findings: ‘Fractured Consensus’ in What the Agencies Say They Mean
Bilateral Development Agencies
Food Security and Food Resilience Narratives
Regional Development Banks
Food Security and Food Resilience Narratives
Multilateral Development Agencies
Food Security and Food Resilience Narratives
COVID-19, Food Resilience and Agency Responses
Discussion
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Bilateral Development Agencies—Key Aspects of Food Security Narrative
Appendix 2: Bilateral Development Agencies—Key Aspects of Resilience/Food Resilience Narratives
Appendix 3: Regional Development Banks—Key Aspects in Food Security Narratives
Appendix 4: Regional Development Banks—Key Aspects in Resilience/Food Resilience Narratives
Appendix 5: Multilateral Agencies—Key Aspects in Food Security Narratives
Appendix 6: International Agencies—Key Aspects of Resilience/Food Resilience Narratives
References
5 Food Security and Resilience: The Potential for Coherence and the Reality of Fragmented Applications in Policy and Research
Introduction
Toward an Integrated Conceptual Model of Food Security Resilience
Food Security: From Pillars to Systems and the Importance of Agency
Resilience: Shocks, Stressors, and Resilience Capacities
Toward an Integrated Model of Food Security and Resilience
A Case Study: Lexical Analysis and Content Analysis of Food Security and Resilience
Methods
Document Selection
Procedures for the Lexical Trends Analysis
Procedures for Content Analysis
Results of the Lexical Trend Analysis of SOFI Reports
Results of Lexical Trends in Representative Peer-Reviewed Journals
Results from the Content Analysis of the Use of “Resilience” in SOFI
Content Analysis Results: The Use of “Resilience” in Global Food Security Articles
Conclusion
Appendix
References
6 Food Systems, Resilience, and Their Implications for Public Action
Introduction
Building Blocks
Linking Resilience to Food Systems
Food Production Resilience
Resilience in the Food Processing Sector
Resilient Food Markets
Food Security Resilience
Implications for Public Action
References
7 Food Security Under a Changing Climate: Exploring the Integration of Resilience in Research and Practice
Introduction
Resilience in the Academic Literature on Food Security and Climate Change
Agricultural Food Production
Distribution, Processing, and Marketing
Food Preparation and Consumption
Capacity Building in Institutions and Governance
An Operational Problem
Resilience in Practice—The Case of Projects Implemented Through the Adaptation Fund (AF)
Discussion
Conclusion
References
8 Gender, Resilience, and Food Systems
Introduction
Conceptual Framework
Application of the Framework to the Literature
Gender Differences in Exposure and Sensitivity to Disturbances
Gender and Exposure
Gender and Sensitivity
What Does a Food System Lens Add?
Gendered Resilience Capacities in Food Systems
Access to and Control Over Resources for Women’s Empowerment and Resilience
Livelihood Roles, Employment, and Income
Access to Services: Extension, Information, and Financial Services
Time Burden and Resilience
Food Security and Nutritional Status
The Decision-Making Space and Responses to Disturbances
Decision-Making in Household and Community Spaces
Gendered Preferences for Response Choices and the Implications for Food Security
Pathways from Response Choices and Interventions to Differential Well-Being Outcomes
Impact Pathways
Well-Being Outcomes, Trade-Offs, and Feedback Loops
Gender-Responsive Policies and Programs for Greater Resilience
Conclusions
References
9 COVID-19, Household Resilience, and Rural Food Systems: Evidence from Southern and Eastern Africa
Introduction
Conceptual Framework
Contexts and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Rural Malawi, Madagascar, and Kenya
Malawi
Madagascar
Kenya
COVID-19 and Policy Responses
Malawi
Madagascar
Kenya
Food Security Outcomes and Identified Mechanisms
Food Security Outcomes
Meso-Level Mechanism 1: Health Shocks
Findings from Our Sites
Meso-Level Mechanism 2: Mobility Restrictions
Findings from Our Sites
Meso-Level Mechanism 3: Livelihood Disruptions
Findings from Our Sites
Meso-Level Mechanism 4: Price Shocks
Findings from Our Sites
Discussion and Conclusion
References
10 Place-Based Approaches to Food System Resilience: Emerging Trends and Lessons from South Africa
Introduction
Food Systems, Place and Resilience
Experiences of Territorial Approaches to Food System Management
Place-Based Food System Governance: Recent Experience in South Africa
Conclusion: The Spirit of Place
References
11 Urban Food Security and Resilience
Introduction
Urban Food Resilience and the 2nd Urban Transition
Evolving Global Governance Positions
Emerging Concepts and Positions
Urban Agriculture as a Source of Food System Resilience
Localized Food Systems as a Source of Resilience
City Regional Food System as a Way of Building Resilience
The Water-Energy-Food Nexus
Understanding Resilience in the African Urban Food System
Discussion and Conclusion
References
12 Reflections and Conclusions
The Elusiveness of Concepts
The Food System is Broken…
…Or Is It?
Climate Changes Everything
Food System Paradoxes
Action for Resilience
Food Security and COVID-19
Measuring Resilience
Disaggregating Vulnerabilities
Disaggregating Places
Conclusion
References
Index
