FOOD SECURITY - Science for Agriculture and Rural Development in Low-income Countries - page 28

would have the biophysical capability to produce food of the quality and quantity
required by the people, its farmers would have access to capital, credit, and technology,
and consumers would have enough purchasing power to acquire food (Aggarwal
et al. 2001; ACC/SCN, 2004; Heidhues et al. 2004; Falcon and Naylor 2005).
While this definition of food security was widely accepted, in parallel
developments, it was increasingly realized that food security is a necessary, but not
sufficient condition to guarantee adequately nourished children. Fair intra-household
distribution of food, adequate sanitary conditions and access to safe drinking water
and to health facilities are additional conditions for sufficient intake of food of
adequate quality, guaranteeing sufficient and effective absorption of nutrients, leading
to healthy individuals. The consequences of this concept are that a fully integrated
and inter-sectoral approach is needed to ultimately realize the objective of a healthy
productive population. In addition to agricultural and economic development, social
development, education and health should be integral components of integrated
development initiatives. This concept is illustrated in Figure 1, the UNICEF Con-
ceptual Framework that is currently widely accepted and implemented.
Food insecurity or malnutrition, caused by a combination of insufficient food
intake (quantity and quality) and lack of good care practices, health services and
sanitary conditions, may be acute, chronic or hidden. Acute food insecurity is
commonly associated with acute hunger and starvation occurring during famines and
disasters. This type of hunger accounts for roughly 10% of the global prevalence of
food insecurity, while 90% of the world's hungry are chronically undernourished,
due to recurrent lack of availability of or access to food of sufficient quality. Conse-
quences of chronic hunger and malnutrition are, among others, underweight, stunted
growth and poor health, resulting in high morbidity and mortality for children. Child
malnutrition at a young age is irreversible and translates into poor health (both
physical and mental) and reduced labour productivity at the adult stage. The third
form of hunger and malnutrition, known as 'hidden hunger', affecting more than two
billion people (Von Braun et al. 2005), is associated with micronutrient (minerals,
vitamins) deficiencies.
Issues
The world population has doubled since the 1950s, currently surpassing 6.5 billion,
and is expected to increase by another 2 billion during the next 25 years - mostly in
regions stricken by poverty and hunger. Currently, between 15 and 20% of the world
population suffers from hunger and malnutrition. Regional food shortages, mainly in
South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa persist and acute and chronic undernourishment
still affects some 800 million people (UN Millennium Project 2005; FAO State of
Food Insecurity in the World 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005; Pingali et al. 2006). At the
same time, different studies and data, including the FAO Food Balance Sheets, agree
that in the last three decades, at global scale, food supplies have been adequate and
average food energy availability per capita is gradually increasing (by almost 1% per
annum) (Smil 2000; Von Braun et al. 2005). Till recently, most scenario studies on
future food prospects have suggested that this trend will not significantly change in