Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
aid, FEWS NET has developed a broad and comprehensive set of monitoring tools for all
aspects of food security (FAIS, 2012). The datasets developed and maintained by the organ-
izationarecriticalinputsfortheresearchpresentedinthisbook.FEWSNETalsoisuniquely
situated to make use of the relationships between environmental dynamics and food prices in
food insecure areas to ensure improved outcomes.
FEWS NET has been reporting on food security since the mid-1980s, when the system
pioneered the use of satellite remote sensing to monitor droughts and their impacts on food
production (Brown, 2008). FEWS NET was designed to provide information on the food
security status of communities in semi-arid regions of the West African Sahel and has expanded
to work in southern and eastern Africa, Central America and south Asia. It has cultivated a
broad cadre of experienced personnel that include social and physical scientists, internation-
ally known experts as well as personnel in each country with experience in the health, agri-
culture and nutrition fields.
The most visible parts of FEWS NET are its field offices and field representatives in
roughly 23 countries, and a contractor office in Washington DC located near USAID that
manages and technically directs them. Each office has a country representative and deputy
who provide national and sub-national information on the food security status and trends on
amonthlybasis(
Plate
3
).AcontractorisresponsibleforemployingitscountryandWashing-
ton DC personnel, integrating FEWS NET's global early warning information, resources and
training activities, and delivering finished products to information-gathering and decision-
making processes of USAID, as well as to a broad range of partners.
FEWS NET works to use the information in monthly food security updates provided by
each country office to create clear messages for decision makers at USAID about the situation
inaparticularregion.Theorganizationestimateslocalfoodavailability,accessandutilization
with a wide variety of datasets, including remote sensing data, ground measurements of food
production measuring the supply of food, and a wide range of other indicators meant to
measure food demand in concert with political and economic pressures that may affect a
region's food security (Schmidhuber and Tubiello, 2007). Although the early and actionable
information that is provided by FEWS NET can result in food security interventions (Davies
et al
., 1991; Wisner
et al
., 2004), FEWS NET is not directly involved in humanitarian response,
asthisismanagedbytheUnitedNations'WorldFoodProgrammeandlocal,nationaland
international NGOs. Local FEWS NET representatives work to create coalitions through
collaborating with groups at the local, regional and international level with common interests,
forming alliances that strengthen the combined ability to advocate for the desired outcomes.
Environmental and weather data and forecasts have been embraced by the early warning
community, who use it in a risk management framework enabling the incorporation of informa-
tion about likely impact of growing season climate conditions on food security before the season
begins. A fairly low level of certainty is required before further investigation or attention is paid
to a region, and enhanced reporting initiated. The humanitarian community, however, requires
both quantitative analysis and political pressure before initiating a large-scale humanitarian
response. The media and public sentiment feeds into this scenario, with the “driver” of images
and stories of human suffering broadcast widely forcing hard decisions that divert resources to
an emergency when budgets are tight. A much more systematic, national or regional emergency
fund and insurance-based approach would avoid these crisis-based decisions for all involved.
Planningaheadandensuringthatresourcesalreadyintheregioncanbeusedlexiblytoaddress
urgent needs is possible, but must be put into place before the onset of a crisis.
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