Course

Livelihoods, Food security and Nutrition

Programme Implementation: UPEACE Somalia, Mogadishu, Somalia

Course Facilitator: Prof. Ernest L. Molua, Professor of Agricultural and

Applied Economics, Resource Person for UN University for Peace, Africa
Regional Programme
 University for Peace
Université pour la Paix
A United Nations University

UPEACE AFRICA REGIONAL INSTITUTE, PO BOX 2794, ADDIS ABABA CODE 1250 ETHIOPIA, Tel: +251-11-667-0547, www.africa-upeace.org

COURSE OUTLINE
Course Title: Livelihoods, Food security and Nutrition
Course code:
Programme Implementation: UPEACE Somalia, Mogadishu, Somalia
Course Facilitator: Prof. Ernest L. Molua, Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Resource
Person for UN University for Peace, Africa Regional Programme

1. Course Description
This is an advanced course which encourages critical, evidence-driven analysis of food and nutrition security
as well as effective government policy responses to food security and nutrition challenges in low-income
countries. During the course, there are discussions on the range of policy levers that are used to enact national
food security policy in developing countries; describe evidence of the effectiveness of these policies and
programs in improving food security, poverty, and nutrition in different contexts; analyse key sources of food
and socio-economic data to understand and inform policy-relevant decisions; and produce reasoned and
critical writing to influence critical policy debates. The course also examines food insecurity and nutritional
deficiencies as they appear in different types of humanitarian emergencies. The course further discusses the
profiles of international relief organizations that are involved in nutrition and food assistance are presented
and common nutrition and food assistance interventions in emergency settings. Factors contributing to food
insecurity are considered and various response modalities, including in-kind assistance and cash-based
approaches, are discussed.

2. Course Objectives
To train students on
 Identify the core concepts of livelihoods, food security and nutrition and how they are applied in policy
making and humanitarian Assistance
 Define the major pillars of food security and identify examples and applications of each
 Understand the purpose and application of the Food and Nutrition Security Conceptual Framework

3. Methodology and Pedagogy

The trainings are delivered using a blended learning approach such as Lectures, presentations, group work,
and guided sessions of practical exercise. Students are expected to do the readings each day before class and
be prepared to discuss issues arising from the material. This course is research-led teaching and is interactive

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using power-points for each in-class session. The course uses a substantial number of case studies from around
the world to give students a grounded experience of how disasters impact on people and their societies, their
political cultures and institutions. Recognizing that adults are self‐directed learners, the methodology for this
course assumes a strong partnership between students and the instructor. Students will be expected to do a
lot more than participate, for the course to succeed, they will have to become their learning process. Students
should have read the assigned texts carefully prior to class in order to understand the main concepts and
arguments put forth by the authors and to discuss these in class. In the first part of each session, the Professor
will lead the class discussion based on a critical analysis of the assigned readings. This exercise should enable
the class to discuss the substance of the readings and their implications within the overall theoretical
framework of course.

4. Course requirements and Evaluation

4.1 Course requirements

 Class attendance is compulsory – Less than 75% attendance will prevent the student from
participating in examinations and validating the course
 It is obligatory to read the required reading and students are encouraged to read the
recommended reading.
 Students may be invited without warning to lead a 20 minute discussion on the reading of the
day. Each student is expected to do this at least ones before the end of the course.

4.2 Evaluation
 Participation (20%). Participation includes discussion during seminars and acting as the
seminar leader when so assigned.
 Critical Essays (30%). Each student is required to write one short critical analysis (4-5 pages)
 Final Examination (50%)

5. Main topics

Topic 1: Food Security Concepts and Frameworks

- What is Food Security? Defining food security
- Concepts related to Food Security
- Key dimensions of food security.
- Food security and vulnerability, hunger, malnutrition and poverty.
- Food Security Analysis

Topic 2: Nutrition, Food Security and Livelihoods

- Food and Nutrition related concepts and definitions.
- Nutrient requirements and balanced diet.
- Different forms of malnutrition.
- Causes of malnutrition.
- Food Security and Livelihoods.

Topic 3: Resilience in Food Security Analysis

- What is Resilience?
- Resilience Analysis

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 - Resilience approach to food security analysis
- Role of resilience resides in a food system
- Analytical framework for resilience analysis
- Information needed for resilience-based food security analysis
- Methodologies for resilience-based food security analysis
- Main types of interventions aiming at addressing resilience issues
- Policy implications of a resilience-based approach to food security
- Policy Implications

Topic 4: Food Security Information Systems and Networks

- Food Security Information Systems
- The Institutional Context
- Improving Food Security Information Systems
- Objectives and components of food security information systems.
- Identification of the main users of and applications for food security information products.
- Organizations responsible for food security data collection, analysis and reporting.
- Assessing and improving food security information systems.
- Importance of strengthening networking and collaboration.

Topic 5: Food Security Assessments

- Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis
o What is Vulnerability?
o Vulnerability Assessment
o Vulnerability Indicators
o The concept of vulnerability
o Using vulnerability assessments for decision making
o Tools available for conducting vulnerability assessments
o Selecting vulnerability indicators

- Baseline Food Security Assessments

o Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments
o Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method
o Monitoring changes in food security
- Availability Assessment and Analysis
o Assessing Availability
o Availability Indicators
o Methods and tools to assess food availability at regional, national and local levels.
o Estimating crop production and methods for calculating household level food stocks.
o Planning an availability assessment.
o Availability indicators used at national and household levels.
o Selecting availability indicators.

- Markets Assessment and Analysis

o Markets and Food Security
o Assessing Markets

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 o Market Indicators
o Definition of markets and how they relate to food security.
o Methods to assess markets for improving food security analysis.
o Indicators for creating market profiles or baselines.
o Price analysis

Topic 6: Livelihoods and Food Security in emergencies

- Assessment of Food Security in Emergencies
- Human Rights-Based Approaches
- Nutrition Interventions in Emergencies
- Health Interventions in Emergencies
- Food Security and Livelihoods Interventions

Topic 7: Nutrition in Emergencies

- Introduction to Nutrition in Emergencies
- Common Nutrition Related Problems in Emergencies
- Causes of Malnutrition in Emergencies
- Vulnerability and Targeting in Emergency
- Methods of Nutrition Assessment in Emergency
- Nutrition Information Systems in Emergencies

Topic 8: Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation

- Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework
- Institutional Framework for Food Security Policies
- Policy Monitoring and Evaluation
- Policy Formulation and Implementation
- Nutrition and food Security
o Agricultural Approaches for Creating Food Security
o Intervention during Chronic Food Insecurity
o Food Policies and Food Balance Sheets

Topic 9: Recent Developments in Food Security, Nutrition and Livelihoods (Pre-session, Post-Session
Reading and Group Assignments)
- Global Challenges to Food Security and Nutrition
- Food Sovereignty’ and Socio-Political Stability
- Sustainable Development and the ‘Right to Food’
- Interactions between Biodiversity, Food Security, Climate Change, Water and Health
- Impact of Land Grabbing on Food Security
- Towards Sustainable Agriculture Development
- Nutrition, Infectious and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)
- Peace, Conflict and Food Security

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READINGS

Affoh, R., Zheng, H., Dangui, K., & Dissani, B. M. (2022). The Impact of Climate Variability and Change on Food Security
in Sub-Saharan Africa: Perspective from Panel Data Analysis. Sustainability, 14(2), 759.

Ahmadi A, Essar MY, Lin X, Adebisi YA, Lucero-Prisno DE, 2020. Polio in Afghanistan: the current situation amid COVID-
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Aliber, M. & Hart, T.G.B., 2009. Should subsistence agriculture be supported as a strategy to address rural food
insecurity? Agrekon Vol. 48:4

Ali Mohamed, E. M., Alhaj Abdallah, S. M., Ahmadi, A., & Lucero-Prisno, D. E. (2021). Food Security and COVID-19 in
Africa: Implications and Recommendations. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 104(5), 1613–1615.
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-1590

Anderson, W., Taylor, C., McDermid, S., Ilboudo-Nébié, E., Seager, R., Schlenker, W., ... & Markey, K. (2021). Violent
conflict exacerbated drought-related food insecurity between 2009 and 2019 in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature Food, 2(8),
603-615.

Arndt C, Davies R, Gabriel S, Harris L, Makrelov K, Robinson S, Levy S, Simbanegavi W, van Seventer D, Anderson L, 2020.
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Barrett, Christopher B. “Food Security and Food Assistance Programs.” Chapter for Bruce L. Gardner and Gordon C.
Rausser, eds., Handbook of Agricultural Economics, Cornell University (June 1999):
www.cals.cornell.edu/dept/arme/staff/cbb2/handbook.pdf

Baquedano, F. G., Zereyesus, Y. A., Valdes, C., & Ajewole, K. (2021). International Food Security Assessment 2021-31 (No.
1962-2021-2203).

Blanke J, 2020. Economic Impact of COVID-19: Protecting Africa’s Food Systems from Farm to Fork. Available at:
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2020/06/19/economic-impact-of-covid-19-protecting-africas-food-
systems-from-farm-to-fork/. Accessed December 10, 2020. [Google Scholar]

Casey, P.H., Szeto, K., Lensing, S., Bogle, M., and Weber, J. (2001). Children in food-insufficient, low-income families—
Prevalence, health, and nutritional status. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 155, 508–514.

Chavas, J-P. “The Microeconomics of Food Security.” The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 44
(1): 1-29

Chukwudum, Q. C., & Dioggban, J. (2022). Food Security: An Analysis of Food Systems within Africa. International Journal
on Food System Dynamics, 13(1), 69-84.

Cook, J.T., Frank, D.A., Berkowitz, C., Black, M.M., Casey, P.H., Cutts, D.B., Meyers, A.F., Zaldivar, N., Skalicky, A.,
Levenson, S., et al. (2004). Food insecurity is associated with adverse health outcomes among human infants and
toddlers. Journal of Nutrition, 134, 1432–1438.

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Dado MK, 2020. Understanding African’s Food Security Challenges. International Academy of Social Sciences. Available
at: https://www.intechopen.com/books/food-security-in-africa/understanding-africa-s-food-security-challenges.
Accessed February 16, 2021. 10.5772/intechopen.91773.

Derrickson, J.P., Sakai, J.M., and Anderson, S.A. (2001). Interpretations of the “balanced meal” household food security
indicator. Journal of Nutrition Education, 33(3), 155–160.

Dinyo DGA, Ahmadi A, Okereke M, Essar MY, Lucero-Prisno DE, 2020. South Sudan: a young country’s fight against
COVID-19. Pan Afr Med J 37: 49.

Ebenezer, M. (2022). URBAN HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CORRELATES OF MICRONUTRIENT-
SENSITIVE DIETARY DIVERSITY. Journal of Developing Areas, 56(2), 119-140.

FAO , 2008. An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security. Available at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-al936e.pdf.
Accessed December 7, 2020.

HLPE , 2020. Impacts of COVID-19 on Food Security and Nutrition: Developing Effective Policy Responses to Address the
Hunger and Malnutrition Pandemic. Available at: www.fao.org/3/cb1000en/cb1000en.pdf. Accessed December 10,
2020.

Hussein, M., Law, C., & Fraser, I. (2021). An analysis of food demand in a fragile and insecure country: Somalia as a case
study. Food Policy, 101, 102092.

Juma CA, Mushabaa NK, Abdu Salam F, Ahmadi A, Lucero-Prisno DE, III, 2020. COVID-19: the current situation in the
Democratic Republic of Congo. Am J Trop Med Hyg 103: 2168–2170.

Laborde D, Martin W, Vos R, 2020. Poverty and Food Insecurity Could Grow Dramatically as COVID-19 Spreads.
Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Available at: https://www.ifpri.org/blog/poverty-
and-food-insecurity-could-grow-dramatically-covid-19-spreads. Accessed December 10, 2020. [Google Scholar]

Lucero-Prisno DE, et al. 2020. Drug shortage crisis in Sudan in times of COVID-19. Public Health Pract.
10.1016/j.puhip.2020.100060.

Lucero-Prisno DE, 3rd, Adebisi YA, Lin X, 2020. Current efforts and challenges facing responses to 2019-nCoV in Africa.
Glob Health Res Pol 5: 21.

Mohamed, E. M. A., Abdallah, S. M. A., Ahmadi, A., & Lucero-Prisno III, D. E. (2021). Food security and COVID-19 in Africa:
implications and recommendations. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 104(5), 1613.

Ntenkeh, B. T., Fonchamnyo, D. C., & Yuni, D. N. (2022). Women's Empowerment and Food Security in Cameroon. The
Journal of Developing Areas, 56(2), 141-153.

Ofori, S. A., Cobbina, S. J., & Obiri, S. (2021). Climate Change, Land, Water, and Food Security: Perspectives From Sub-
Saharan Africa. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5.

Pais G, Jayaram K, Wamelen AV, 2020. Safeguarding Africa’s Food Systems Through and Beyond the Crisis. Available at:
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/middle-east-and-africa/safeguarding-africas-food-systems-through-and-
beyond-the-crisis. Accessed December 10, 2020.

Pinstrup-Andersen, Per, Pandya-Lorch, Rajul and Rosegrant, Mark W. “The World Food Situation: Recent Developments,
Emerging Issues, and Long-Term Prospects.” Food Policy Statement 26 (December 1997):

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www.ifpri.cgiar.org/checknames.cfm/fpr24.pdf?name=fpr24.pdf&direc=d:\webs\ifpri
\pubs\fpr.

Sileshi, G. W., & Gebeyehu, S. (2021). Emerging infectious diseases threatening food security and economies in Africa.
Global Food Security, 28, 100479.

Singh, R., & Khanna, V. (2021). Climate change and food systems: implications on food security. In Climate Change and
Resilient Food Systems (pp. 73-111). Springer, Singapore.

Staatz, John M., D’Agostino, Victoire C. and Sundberg, Shelly. “Measuring Food Security in Africa: Conceptual, empirical,
and Policy Issues.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics ( ): 1311-1317.

Timmer, C. Peter. “The Macro Dimensions of Food Security: Economic Growth, Equitable distribution, and Food Price
Stability.” Food Policy 25 (2000): 283-295.

Viana, C. M., Freire, D., Abrantes, P., Rocha, J., & Pereira, P. (2022). Agricultural land systems importance for supporting
food security and sustainable development goals: A systematic review. Science of The Total Environment, 806, 150718.

Warsame, A. A., Sheik-Ali, I. A., Ali, A. O., & Sarkodie, S. A. (2021). Climate change and crop production nexus in Somalia:
an empirical evidence from ARDL technique. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(16), 19838-19850.

Warsame, A. A., Sheik-Ali, I. A., Hassan, A. A., & Sarkodie, S. A. (2022). Extreme climatic effects hamper livestock
production in Somalia. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-13.

World Bank , 2019. Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Africa: In Five Charts. Available at: Accelerating Poverty Reduction
in Africa: In Five Charts (worldbank.org). Accessed December 10, 2020.

Websites:
https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=194
https://actionafricainstitute.org/course/diploma-in-livelihoods-and-food-security/.

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 Food Security Information for Action

Food Security Concepts and Frameworks

Lesson 1

What is Food Security?

Learner’s Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and developed

by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations

© FAO, 2008
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

Table of Contents

Learning objectives .............................................................................................. 1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 2

Definition of Food Security .................................................................................... 3

Duration and severity of food insecurity ................................................................. 7

Summary ........................................................................................................... 11

- Learners’ Notes - I
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• define food security as a broad concept used to determine people’s general well-being;

• understand four key dimensions used to analyze people’s food security status; and

• appreciate how the duration and severity of people’s food insecurity status may vary.

- Learners’ Notes - 1
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

Introduction
This course is about how decision making in the formulation and implementation of food
security policies, strategies and action can be strengthened based on relevant information
about people’s food security status. The overall theme is about linking food security
information to action.

As a starting point, we will clarify and define the concept of food security.

We will then examine what is unique about a food security approach to decision-making
and achieving development objectives.

Learners’ Notes 2
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

Definition of Food Security

How would you define food security?

You may already be an experienced professional with knowledge of what food security is.
However, depending on your professional background and the context that you work in,
your opinion on action needed to achieve food security will most likely differ.

This is because, while food security is a multi-dimensional concept, we usually specialize

in addressing one aspect of the larger food security problem.

Agricultural production, trade, income, food quality, clean water, sanitation, governance
and political stability are all factors influencing one’s food security status.

It is useful to step back from our own personal experience and examine the multi-
dimensional nature of the food security concept.

The concept of food security has evolved significantly over time. The definition of food
security used in this course is the one adopted at the 1996 World Food Summit held in
Rome.

This definition, which has been formally endorsed at the global level, reads as follows:

FOOD SECURITY
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to
sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for
an active and healthy life.

This definition introduces four main dimensions of food security:

• Physical AVAILABILITY of food;
• Economic and physical ACCESS to food;
• Food UTILIZATION;
• STABILITY of the other three dimensions over time.

Let’s look at the meaning of each of these terms.

Learners’ Notes 3
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

One way to understand these four dimensions of the broad food security concept is to
examine how the meaning and common understanding of food security has evolved over
time.

In modern times the interest in “food security” was reignited following the world food crisis
of 1972-74. The crisis originated from a combination of factors, including adverse
conditions in several parts of the world, which reduced global grain supplies.
Subsequently, a dramatic increase in demand for grain imports doubled international grain
prices, which threatened the food security status of food importing nations.

As a result, the first World Food Conference held in 1974 focused on the problem of global
production, trade and stocks. Hence, the original food security debate focused on
adequate supply of food and ensuring stability of these supplies through food reserves.

Subsequent food security efforts focused primarily on food production and storage
mechanisms to offset fluctuations in global supply and ensure the ability to import food
when needed.

Food availability addresses the “supply side” of food security and is determined by the
level of food production, stock levels and net trade.

However, it became obvious that an adequate supply of food at the national or

international level does not in itself guarantee household level food security.

For example, the Green Revolution in Asia of the 1960s and 1970s, with its package of
improved seeds, farm technology, better irrigation and chemical fertilizers, was highly
successful at augmenting food supplies, but this was not automatically translated into
improvements in food security of all people.

This insight highlighted the problem of a lack of effective demand.

From the early 1980’s, the importance of food access was increasingly recognized as a
key determinant of food security.

Hence, food production is just one of several means that people have to acquire the food
that they need.

Learners’ Notes 4
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

Other means to access food

Food can be accessed through trade, barter, collection of wild foods and community
support networks; it can also be received as a gift (or even through theft).
Remember that access to food is influenced by market factors and the price of food as
well as an individual’s purchasing power, which is related to employment and livelihood
opportunities.

Concerns about insufficient food access have resulted in a greater policy focus on
incomes and expenditure in achieving food security objectives.
This has brought food security closer to the poverty reduction agenda.

A third dimension – food utilization – has become increasingly prominent in food security
discussions since the 1990s. Utilization is commonly understood as the way the body
makes the most of various nutrients in the food. This food security dimension is
determined primarily by people’s health status.

General hygiene and sanitation, water quality, health care practices and food safety and
quality are determinants of good food utilization by the body.
Sufficient energy and nutrient intake by individuals is the result of good care and feeding
practices, food preparation, diversity of the diet and intra-household distribution of food.
Combined with good biological utilization of food consumed, this determines the nutritional
status of individuals.

Food security was traditionally perceived as consuming sufficient protein and energy (food
quantity). The importance of micro-nutrients for a balanced and nutritious diet (food
quality) is now well appreciated.

The phrase “All people, at all times” is integral to the definition of food security, and is key
to achieving national food security objectives.

All people
Different people are food secure to varying degrees and will be affected by adverse events
differently. We must assess variations in food security status between different groups of
Learners’ Notes 5
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

people. Most commonly, humanitarian and development agencies differentiate between

groups according to their main livelihood (source of food or income), in addition to other
factors such as geographical location and wealth.

All times
This recognizes that people’s food security situation may change. Even if your food intake
is adequate today, you are still considered to be food insecure if you have inadequate
access to food on a periodic basis, risking a deterioration of your nutritional status.
Adverse weather conditions (drought, floods), political instability (social unrest), or
economic factors (unemployment, rising food prices) may impact on your food security
status.

The phrase “at all times” refers to the stability dimension of food security. It emphasizes
the importance of having to reduce the risk of adverse effects on the other three
dimensions: food availability, access to food or food utilization.

The realization of the importance of each dimension has added value to our earlier
understanding. For food security objectives to be realized, all four dimensions must be
fulfilled simultaneously.

For example, while there has been a growing realization of the importance of the food
access dimension, it has not displaced earlier concerns about adequate food availability.
Even if people have money, if there is no food available in the market, people are at risk of
food insecurity.

Similarly, the importance of food utilization has further enriched our understanding. Food
security is not just about quantity of food consumed, but also about quality, and that your
body must be healthy to enable the nutrients to be absorbed.

Finally, these three dimensions should be stable over time and not be affected negatively
by natural, social, economic or political factors.

Learners’ Notes 6
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

Duration and severity of food insecurity

Let us now look at aspects of the nature of food insecurity.
There are important differences in how the duration and severity of food insecurity impact
on people’s lives.

Understanding these variations is important since various factors influence the choice of
intervention to address food insecurity concerns.

A specific vocabulary has been developed to describe the duration of food insecurity and
the severity of the level of food insecurity.

Duration

Not all households or people suffer inadequate food consumption for the same period of
time. This may vary from a short-term experience to a life long condition.

However, food security analysts have found it helpful to define two general types of food
insecurity:

1. Chronic food insecurity

2. Transitory food insecurity

In addition to the observable differences in duration, chronic and transitory food insecurity
are also distinguished by the different causes.
The distinction between different causes is useful, as the two forms of food insecurity
demand different response measures.

Table 1: Characteristics of Chronic and Transitory food insecurity

Chronic food insecurity Transitory food insecurity
Description It is taken as long-term or It is short-term and temporary.
persistent. It occurs when people It refers to a sudden drop in the ability
are unable to meet their minimum to produce or access enough food to
food requirements over a maintain a good nutritional status.
sustained period of time.

Learners’ Notes 7
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

Causes It is often the result of extended It is primarily caused by short-term

periods of poverty, lack of assets shocks and fluctuations in food
and inadequate access to availability and food access, including
productive or financial resources. year-to-year variations in domestic
food production, food prices and
household incomes.
Response It can be overcome with typical It is relatively unpredictable and can
measure long term development measures emerge suddenly.
also used to address poverty, such This unpredictability makes planning
as education or access to and programming more difficult and
productive resources, such as requires different capacities and types
credit. On the other hand, of intervention, including early
chronically food insecure people warning capacity and safety net
may need more direct access to programmes.
food to enable them to raise their
productive capacity.

An intermediate type of food insecurity is seasonal food insecurity.

Seasonal food insecurity occurs when there is a cyclical pattern of inadequate availability
and access to food. This is associated with seasonal fluctuations in the climate, cropping
patterns, work opportunities (labour demand) and/or prevalence of diseases.

For example, food shortages may occur in the pre-harvest period, when on-farm stocks
are depleted and other sources of food (e.g. wild foods) are not available. In rural
communities it is common to talk of “hungry periods” and “periods of plenty” related to the
agricultural calendar and/or cyclical availability of employment.

The concept of seasonal food security falls between chronic and transitory food insecurity.
It is similar to chronic food insecurity as it is usually predictable and follows a sequence of
known events.

However, as seasonal food insecurity is of limited duration it can also be seen as a

recurrent, transitory food insecurity.

Learners’ Notes 8
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

Recognizing the appropriate duration of food insecurity has policy and programme
implications. Also, to adequately assess food security, where seasonality is an important
factor, it may be necessary to compare food security indicators not only against annual
averages, but with reference to a baseline for the same season (or month) in previous
years.

Severity

When analyzing food insecurity, it is not enough to know the duration of the problem that
people are experiencing, but also how intense or severe the impact of the identified
problem is on the overall food security and nutrition status.
This knowledge will influence the nature, extent and urgency of the assistance needed by
affected population groups.

Food security analysts/professionals may use the term acute food insecurity to describe a
severe and life threatening situation.
The most extreme situations, usually associated with substantial loss of life will warrant the
description of famine.

Different ‘scales’ or ‘phases’ to ‘grade’ or ‘classify’ food security have been developed by
food security analysts using different indicators and cut-off points or ‘benchmarks’.
Let’s look at a few examples. At this point, we are not interested in the precise thresholds,
but rather in the classes and the general indicators used.

Example 1

The intensity of food insecurity may be measured in terms of levels of food intake.
One option is to relate the severity of food insecurity to how consumption falls below a
threshold of 2,100 kcal per day:

Food security status Indicators

Food secure
Mild food insecurity Energy intake (measured in calories)
Moderate food insecurity
Severe food insecurity

Learners’ Notes 9
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

The measure for hunger compiled by FAO, defined as undernourishment, refers to the
proportion of the population whose dietary energy consumption is less than a pre-
determined threshold.
People suffering from undernourishment are referred to as the undernourished.
Besides being a measure of hunger, the undernourished are also referred to as suffering
from food deprivation.

Example 2

Another example is the Integrated Food Security and Humanitarian Phase Classification
Framework.
This provides a classification system for food security and humanitarian crises based on a
range of livelihood needs:

Phase classification Indicators

Generally food secure • Crude Mortality Rate
Chronically food insecure • Malnutrition prevalence
• Food Access/ Availability
Acute food and livelihood crisis • Dietary Diversity
Humanitarian emergency • Water Access/Availability
• Coping strategies
Famine / humanitarian catastrophe • Livelihood Assets

Learners’ Notes 10
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 1 - What is Food Security?

Summary
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to
sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for
an active and healthy life.

From this definition four main dimensions of food security can be identified:

• physical availability of food

• economic and physical access to food
• adequate food utilization
• stability of the other three dimensions over time

There are also important differences in the duration and severity of the way in which
people experience food insecurity.

Understanding the various dimensions of food security is important when establishing

priorities in food security policy and programme formulation, making long term investment
decisions, and in evaluating response options when responding to food emergencies.

Learners’ Notes 11
 Food Security Information for Action

Food Security Concepts and Frameworks

Lesson 2

Concepts related to Food Security

Learner’s Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and developed

by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations

© FAO, 2008
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 2 - Concepts Related to Food Security

Table of Contents

Learning objectives .............................................................................................. 1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 2

Vulnerability ......................................................................................................... 3

Hunger, malnutrition and poverty........................................................................... 5

Summary ........................................................................................................... 12

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 2 - Concepts Related to Food Security

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• understand the concept of vulnerability and how it is applied to food security; and

• comprehend the relationship of food security to the concepts of hunger, malnutrition

and poverty.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 2 - Concepts Related to Food Security

Introduction
Vulnerability is a well established concept that has more recently been applied to the
analysis of food security.

By incorporating an understanding of vulnerability, food security policy and programs

broaden their efforts from addressing the current constraints to food consumption, to
include actions that also address future threats to food security.

In this lesson, other concepts that relate to or depict human well-being in one way or
another will also be introduced, including:

 Hunger
 Malnutrition
 Poverty

It is important to understand how these concepts are different from, but related to, food
insecurity.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 2 - Concepts Related to Food Security

Vulnerability
The dynamic nature of food security is implicit when we talk about people who are
vulnerable to experiencing food insecurity in the future.

These are people who are able to maintain an acceptable level of food security today, but
may be at risk of becoming food insecure in future.

Achieving food security requires not just achieving an adequate level of food consumption
and good nutrition, but maintaining this level at low risk over time.

Vulnerability is defined in terms of the following three critical dimensions:

1. vulnerability to an outcome;
2. from a variety of risk factors;
3. because of an inability to manage those risks.

The term “vulnerability” is not used consistently in food security analysis and literature.

You may find it used to describe an outcome such as hunger, food insecurity or famine, or
used to emphasize the susceptibility of a population to explicitly-identified hazards that
could lead to these outcomes.

The bottom line is that it is important to be clear on precisely what is meant by vulnerability
in any food security analysis that you read or write.

Example: Analyzing the risk of becoming food insecure

For example, we may be interested in analyzing the risk of becoming food insecure as a
result of a flood.

If a household lives outside a flood plain then the exposure to flooding is low and
therefore the risk of a flood causing the household to become food insecure is low (unless
their crops are in the valley!).

However, if they live on the flood plain, but they have the ability to cope with the hazard,
for example by being very mobile, and being able to move their animals and/or food crops
to safety, then the risk may still be low.

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The practical value of vulnerability analysis is that it helps to design better food security
responses. Vulnerability analysis has implications for both emergency programming and
for longer-term food security policies.

For example, a severe drought may trigger an immediate humanitarian response. A simple
analysis may recommend a response that is proportionate to the severity of the drought
through a general food distribution to all households in the affected area.

However, vulnerability analysis may recommend interventions that are based on a deeper
understanding of the impacts of the food shock on individuals and households with
differential abilities to cope. This allows for a more precisely targeted response than a
simple estimation of the aggregate food gap.

Vulnerability analysis is important in influencing the design of ‘developmental’ interventions

that precede or follow a shock.

Understanding the dynamic nature of food security opens up new intervention

opportunities. The insight of why and how people become food insecure suggests ways of
preventing this happening. If interventions are designed in ways that increase resilience –
by enhancing the ability to manage risk over time – then the very need for a humanitarian
intervention when a hazard occurs will diminish.

Vulnerability analysis suggests two main intervention options: either to reduce the degree
of exposure to the hazard, or to increase the ability to cope.

Resilience
Resilience is defined as the ability of the household to keep within a certain level of well-
being (e.g. food security) withstanding shocks and stresses, depending on the options
available to the household to make a living and its ability to handle risks.

To give a simple example, vulnerability to drought might be reduced by introducing

drought tolerant varieties, improving soil and water management, or introducing crop
insurance schemes.

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Lesson 2 - Concepts Related to Food Security

Hunger, malnutrition and poverty

Let’s now focus on the concepts of hunger, malnutrition and poverty.
It is important to understand how these concepts are related to food insecurity. To what
extent do they overlap? In what ways do they differ?

This understanding can highlight how achieving food security can contribute to other goals,
such as the reduction of poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
Moreover, understanding these linkages can clarify how poverty reduction programmes
and fighting malnutrition can contribute to building food security.

Hunger

Reducing hunger is often used as a policy goal. It is an emotive term that has been used
as a rallying cry for action.

The 1996 World Food Summit set out to halve the number of hungry people by 2015;
similarly, the hunger target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) calls for the
prevalence of hunger to be cut in half by the same target date, 2015.

But how does hunger differ from food insecurity?

Hunger is usually understood as an uncomfortable or painful sensation caused by

insufficient food energy consumption. Scientifically, hunger is referred to as food
deprivation.

Undernourishment
In this context, the measure for hunger compiled by FAO, defined as undernourishment,
refers to the proportion of the population whose dietary energy consumption is less than a
pre-determined threshold.
People suffering from undernourishment are referred to as the undernourished.
Besides being a measure of hunger, the undernourished are also referred to as suffering
from food deprivation.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 2 - Concepts Related to Food Security

Hidden hunger
Sometimes, you may also hear reference to ‘hidden hunger’.

This occurs when people meet their protein-energy needs, but not their micronutrients
needs, due to low dietary diversity and/or as a result of chronic disease.

Simply put, all hungry people are food insecure, but not all food insecure people are
hungry, as there are other causes of food insecurity, including those due to poor intake of
micro-nutrients.

Malnutrition

Food insecurity and malnutrition are also closely related, but distinct, terms.
Malnutrition results from deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in the consumption of
macro- and/or micro-nutrients.

The vast majority of malnourished individuals in the developing world experience

undernutrition (a deficiency of proteins, carbohydrates and fats and/or vitamins and
minerals) as opposed to overnutrition (an excess of certain food components such as
saturated fats and added sugars in combination with low levels of physical activity,
normally resulting in obesity).

The consequence of malnutrition is poor infant and child growth and an excess of
morbidity and mortality in adults and children alike.

Nutritional status is determined by the quantity and quality of foods consumed and by the
ability of the body to use them.
These factors are influenced by the interaction of diet, care, and health status.

Hence, malnutrition may be an outcome of food insecurity, or it may relate to non-food

factors, such as inadequate care practices for children, insufficient health services and an
unhealthy environment.

The relationship between malnutrition and food insecurity can be visualized as overlapping
domains:

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Lesson 2 - Concepts Related to Food Security

Food Insecure
Malnourished

3. Temporary
food
insecurity
2. Malnourished 1. Malnourished
due to non food and food insecure
reasons
4. At risk of
future food
insecurity

Table 1: Relationship between malnutrition and food insecurity

1. Malnourished and food There is a large degree of convergence where people

insecure
may be both food insecure and malnourished.

2. Malnourished due to non Some people may be malnourished for non-food

food reasons
reasons – for instance due to poor health and/or caring
practices.
3. Temporary food insecurity Amongst the food insecure are those who are
temporarily food insecure and hungry – but this has
not yet manifested itself as malnutrition.
4. At risk of future food Finally, the category of food insecure also includes
insecurity
those at risk of future food insecurity, but who are not
currently hungry or malnourished.

Poverty

Food insecurity and poverty are deeply interrelated phenomena. Any attempt to define,
measure, or combat them requires that the relationship between them should be explicitly
taken into account.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 2 - Concepts Related to Food Security

It is relatively easy to subjectively assess who is poor within a particular society. However,
it has proven to be much more difficult to develop an objective description of poverty.

As with the concept of food security, there has been an evolution in the way that poverty is
generally understood.

A current and widely used definition of poverty is that:

“Poverty encompasses different dimensions of deprivation that relate to human capabilities
including consumption and food security, health, education, rights, voice, security, dignity
and decent work.”
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – OECD)

From this definition we see that poverty is understood as having many dimensions. It is not
defined purely in economic terms, but includes a variety of non-income components which
interact with and reinforce each other.

However, many of these dimensions are individually difficult to measure. Furthermore, it is

unclear how these different dimensions can be combined into a single composite measure
of poverty.

Consequently, at an operational level, poverty is most often defined in terms of income.

The most common measures of poverty are national income poverty lines and an
individual income of less than US$1 per day.

Poverty lines
A food poverty line indicates the per capita cost of purchasing a specific basket of food
items which yields a certain nutritional “minimum.”
A household is regarded as poor if its consumption expenditure is below this minimum
level.
National income poverty lines are usually based on the cost of purchasing a food basket
to satisfy the requirement for a healthy existence and adding an allowance for non-food
expenditures.

This methodology introduces a link between household poverty and food insecurity, as
poverty is implicitly seen as the inability to adequately provide for the household’s food

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Lesson 2 - Concepts Related to Food Security

needs.

However, the poverty measure is based on the potential for the household to satisfy these
needs – it does not look into the actual food consumption level.

The relationship between food insecurity and poverty is quite complex and can be seen as
a vicious cycle:

Poverty

Low Food insecurity,

productivity hunger and
malnutririon

Poor physical and

cognitive development

While poverty is undoubtedly a cause of hunger, lack of adequate and proper nutrition
itself is an underlying cause of poverty.

Hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition prevent poor people from escaping poverty
because it diminishes their ability to learn, work, and care for themselves and their family
members. Chronically hungry people may not be able to build the necessary assets to
enable their exit from poverty.

How food insecurity increases poverty

Several links can be identified:

 At the most basic level, a person requires sufficient energy intake and an adequate
nutritional status to be able to work and be productive. Malnourished people do not
have the capacity for sustained work, and hence cannot live “an active and healthy
life”.

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Lesson 2 - Concepts Related to Food Security

 Poor nutrition is associated with poor school performance. Because of hunger, the
child is tired and inattentive. Cognitive ability itself is impaired, sometimes irreversibly,
as a result of prolonged and severe malnutrition. The result is that children do poorly
at school, thereby damaging their future economic prospects.

 People who are food insecure are risk averse, as a fluctuation in income could be
catastrophic to their future livelihoods. As less risky investments tend to have lower
returns, the tendency is for poor nutrition to be associated with lower income.

However, the poverty measure is based on the potential for the household to satisfy these
needs – it does not look into the actual food consumption level.

It is argued that a strategy for attacking poverty in conjunction with policies to ensure food
security offers the best hope of swiftly reducing mass poverty and hunger.

This provides the justification for maintaining the focus on hunger reduction and food
security in strategies and policies. Specific action to fight hunger and malnutrition are
needed, in conjunction with other anti-poverty measures, to most effectively tackle both.

It is interesting to note that the first Millennium Development Goal is not simply about
reducing poverty – it also maintains a distinct focus on reducing hunger.

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Target 1: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less
than one dollar a day.

Target 2: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from
hunger.

While there is no doubt that sustainable poverty reduction is an essential precondition for
reduction in hunger and malnutrition, income growth, even if sustainable and equitable, is
not sufficient to achieve food security without complementary public interventions.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 2 - Concepts Related to Food Security

Example: Changing level of child malnutrition

A recent global study analyzed the determinants of changing levels of child malnutrition
between 1970 and 1995, as measured by the percentage of underweight children under
five.
The most important factor in explaining reductions in malnutrition was the growth in per
capita income.
However, this factor alone could only explain roughly half the reduction in child
malnutrition over this period.
The remainder was explained by improvements in health, clean water, sanitation, and
education (particularly women’s education).

The implication is that economic growth alone will not take care of the problem of food
security. What is needed is a combination of income growth, supported by direct nutrition
interventions and investments in health, water and education.

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Summary
Vulnerability is defined in terms of the following three critical dimensions:
 vulnerability to an outcome;
 from a variety of risk factors;
 because of an inability to manage those risks.

Vulnerability analysis has implications for both emergency programming and for longer-
term food security policies.

Hunger is usually understood as an uncomfortable or painful sensation caused by

insufficient food consumption, specifically to insufficient food energy consumption.

Malnutrition results from deficiencies, excesses or imbalances of energy, protein and other
nutrients.

Poverty encompasses different dimensions of deprivation that relate to human capabilities

including consumption and food security, health, education, rights, voice, security, dignity
and decent work.

- Learners’ Notes - 12
 Food Security Information for Action

Food Security Concepts and Frameworks

Lesson 3

Food Security Analysis

Learner’s Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and developed

by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations

© FAO, 2008
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Table of Contents

Learning objectives .............................................................................................. 1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 2

The justification for action ..................................................................................... 3

Food Security Analysis ......................................................................................... 4

Conceptual frameworks ........................................................................................ 7

Summary ........................................................................................................... 14

Annex 1: Progress in reducing the incidence of food insecurity .............................. 15

Annex 2: The Right to Food ................................................................................ 19

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• appreciate the importance of food security analysis to trigger appropriate action to

address food insecurity;
• understand the need for identifying the underlying causes and characteristics of food
insecurity; and
• interpret and use conceptual frameworks for analyzing food security.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Introduction
This lesson introduces why food security analysis is important for decision-making in food
security policy and program formulation and to trigger appropriate action.

Despite increasing global prosperity, large numbers of people remain hungry and
malnourished. The agreement that this situation cannot be allowed to persist is reflected in
global agreements, which set out targets for the reduction of hunger and food insecurity.

Translating these commitments into action requires political will and resources, as well as
a comprehensive understanding and analysis of food security.

FAO estimates of hungry people

There are many possible means of estimating the number of people who are food
insecure. As food security is a complex phenomena no one indicator can capture it
precisely. A widely used indicator at the global level is produced by FAO.
The FAO measure of hunger or food deprivation, referred as ‘undernourishment’, is
based on a comparison of usual food consumption expressed in terms of dietary
energy (kcal) with minimum energy requirement norms. The part of the population
with food consumption below the minimum energy requirement is considered
undernourished.
FAO estimates that in 2001–03 there were a
massive 854 million undernourished (or hungry)
people worldwide: 820 million in the developing
countries, 25 million in transition countries and 9
million in the industrialized countries.

From this data, the largest concentrations in

terms of numbers of food insecure people occur
in South-East Asia (particularly India and China)
and in sub-Saharan Africa.

In terms of the proportion of the population

affected, the prevalence of hunger is by far the
worst in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

The justification for action

A number of global agreements, such as those reached at the 1996 World Food Summit
and the year 2000 Millennium Summit, have set goals and specific targets for collective
action in reducing the incidence of hunger and food insecurity.

In reality there has been little progress towards achieving these targets.
What is even more worrying is the lack of recent progress, when global attention has been
specifically on combating food insecurity.

The widespread occurrence of food insecurity, the severity of the consequences

and insufficient progress in reducing the numbers of the food insecure all point to
the need for further urgent action.

See the Annex 1: Progress in reducing the incidence of food insecurity

Achieving development goals and targets set by major summits depends largely on the
commitment and accountability demonstrated by governments.

Commitment and accountability can be reinforced by international agreements, such as

those on human rights. Specifically, the right to adequate food recognizes the basic human
right of everyone to eventually be free from hunger.

The right to adequate food underpins the formulation of food security policies and
programs with legal aspects associated with human rights. It imposes a responsibility on
states to work towards the progressive realization of the right to adequate food for all
people under its jurisdiction. It also provides a strong platform to advocate for states to
adopt a variety of legal, administrative, financial or other measures.

See the Annex 2: The Right to Food

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Food Security Analysis

Assuming the political will exists to make food security a priority, the practical question
emerges of what can, and should, be done.

Decision-makers at all levels need accurate information on who is food insecure, how
many, where they live and importantly, why they are food insecure.
They also need to understand the nature of the food insecurity: the duration and severity of
the problem, and the vulnerability to future food insecurity.
Duration
Not all households suffer inadequate food consumption over the same period of time.
Decision makers need to know whether the food insecurity experienced by different
people or households is persistent and chronic, or whether it is of short term duration, and
hence would relate to a transitory food crisis.
Depending on the actual or anticipated duration of the food crisis, different measures will
have to be taken.

Severity
It is also important to know the intensity or severity of the food insecurity being
experienced. This knowledge will influence the quantity and urgency of the assistance
provided to beneficiaries.

Vulnerability
The definition of food security emphasizes that we must strive towards people being food
secure “at all times”. Therefore, we should be aware of who might be at risk of future food
insecurity.

In the food security context, vulnerability is defined as the probability of an acute decline
in food access or consumption, often in reference to some critical value that defines
minimum levels of human well-being.

Decision makers require information on both who is currently food insecure and who is
vulnerable to experiencing food insecurity in future. The vulnerability analysis should
provide information on:
 Who is vulnerable and where are they located?
 What are the major risks that they face?
What risk management strategies are used and how effective are they?

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Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

In practice, measuring and analyzing food security is technically challenging. Data on

various food security dimensions is still scarce and poorly integrated.

Food security is a complex concept so that no one indicator can adequately describe who
is food secure and who is not.

Hence, decision makers will need complementary and multiple methods to assess the
incidence of food insecurity in different contexts.

Table 1: Advantages and disadvantages of examples of three different methods

Prevalence of We have already seen that a widely-used indicator for food
undernourishment
insecurity is the head count of persons undernourished or
deprived of food used by FAO.
This estimate is made at the national level and is most useful for
inter-country comparisons and measuring progress towards
global hunger targets. However, it is less useful for developing
detailed national food security policies and programs.
It is a measure of energy deficiency (not enough food) and does
not say anything about food quality.
Household Food The household food economy approach to analyzing food
Economy approach
security was developed by the international NGO Save the
Children – UK. It has since been applied by several development
organizations to estimate the ability, at the household level, to
access sufficient food to meet the minimum dietary requirements.
The household food economy approach uses a model to
estimate who is at risk of future food insecurity.
The HFE method has mainly been used to assess food crises,
where temporary shocks have left large numbers of people food
insecure. It has not been widely applied to assess chronic food
insecurity.
Malnutrition Nutritionists have several well-developed indicators of
assessments
malnutrition. The main ones look at the nutrition of young
children, and compare their height against age (‘stunting’), their
weight against height (‘wasting’), or their weight for age (a

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

combination of stunting and wasting). In addition there are

specific indicator levels for deficits of the main micronutrients,
including iron, vitamin A and iodine (also known as ‘hidden
hunger’).
There may be a poor correlation between the nutritional outcome
and other measures of nutritional intake. The difference may be
explained by the health status and care practices. So, for
example, while measures of food intake indicate the most
pressing problems are in sub-Saharan Africa, child
anthropometry highlights that Asia has the most pressing
nutritional problems.

The results of food security assessments are often presented geographically. Maps are
useful to summarize the number and location of food insecure people, the duration and
severity of the problem and the estimated incidence of food insecurity.

This information can then be used to:

 advocate and raise awareness of the need for action;

 gauge the severity of the problem and the urgency of response required;
 determine the need for further detailed assessments;
 target the available resources to those most in need;
 monitor changes over time and adjust interventions accordingly; and
 evaluate the impact of interventions.

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Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Conceptual frameworks
Data and information on the incidence and nature of food insecurity is highly relevant to
designing effective policies and programs. However, this by itself is not sufficient.

In order to plan appropriate interventions decision makers also need to appreciate why
people are food insecure, by understanding underlying causes. Without this analysis there
is the danger that response recommendations will not be appropriate.

Example
For example, we may know that a certain population is malnourished. However, this
information alone would not help to guide a decision on whether it is appropriate to
improve:
 food availability (e.g. by a food fortification campaign),
 food access (e.g. by providing cash transfers),
 care practices (e.g. by nutritional education), or the health environment (e.g. through a
vaccination campaign).

Frameworks are tools to improve our understanding of complex realities, processes and
linkages, often through an illustration of these complexities in a simplified diagram.

Given the complex nature of the broad food security concept, different frameworks have
been produced to help understand linkages among various food security dimensions, while
also explaining linkages with underlying causes and outcomes, as well as related concepts
and terms. A food security conceptual framework also presents itself as a useful tool for
conducting food security analysis.

Food security frameworks also:

 help stakeholders with different perspectives to engage in structured and coherent
debate about the many factors that affect livelihoods, household food security and
nutrition, their relative importance and the way in which they interact.
 help identify appropriate entry points for support to strengthened livelihoods, household
food security and nutrition.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Let us start by looking at a food security conceptual framework in some detail.

The diagram below illustrates the FAO-FIVIMS framework (FIVIMS = Food Insecurity and
Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems):

1. Socio-economic, political, institutional, cultural and natural environment

The FIVIMS framework highlights the need to consider underlying socio-economic,
political, institutional, cultural and natural factors, as they impact on different dimensions
of food security (food availability, food access, stability, food utilization), while also
affecting care practices, in addition to conditions related to health and sanitation.

This is referred to as the overall “vulnerability context”.

2. Food consumption
Food consumption is shown as being determined by the following:

 Food access at household level (as determined by relative poverty/incomes,

purchasing power, income transfers, as well as the quality of transport and marker
infrastructure).
 Care practices (including intra-household food allocation, cultural practices and
knowledge related to food preparation).

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Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

3. Food utilization
Efficient and effective food utilization by the body is understood to be primarily dependent
on a person’s health status, which in turn is dependent on general health and sanitation
conditions.

4. Nutritional status
This FIVIMS framework shows the relationships and interactions of the main issues that
affect an individual’s nutritional status.

The nutritional outcome is understood to be dependent on two main sub factors:

 food consumption (food intake in terms of energy and nutrients) and the biological
utilization of this food (determined by a person’s health status).

Note
The terminology used to describe the dimensions of food security is evolving and
consequently varies. Traditionally care practices have been thought of as a sub-set of the
dimension of food utilization. However, as this framework demonstrates, it can be helpful
to group and distinguish practices that impact on food consumption rather than biological
utilization.

You should also be aware that the terms “care practices” and “food use” may be used
interchangeably to describe this group of factors.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

A second framework that is relevant to analyzing food security is the causality model of
malnutrition, originally developed by UNICEF in 1990. This model has many similarities to
the FIVIMS framework.

1. Immediate causes
In this framework, the immediate causes of malnutrition are understood to be inadequate
food intake, ill health or a combination of these factors.

2. Underlying causes
Underlying immediate causes there is a need to understand the relative roles of food,
health and care factors. The framework shows that causes of malnutrition are multi-
sectoral, embracing food, health and caring practices.
It is also important to realize that these three underlying causes are not completely
discrete, but interact in important ways as depicted by the overlapping circles in the
framework.

3. Basic causes
This conceptual framework clearly recognizes that human and environmental resources,
economic systems and political and ideological factors are basic causes that contribute to
malnutrition.

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Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Note
The causes are classified as immediate, underlying and basic, whereby factors at one
level influence other levels.
The manifestation and immediate causes of malnutrition affect the individual, whereas the
underlying causes may operate at the household or community levels and basic causes
at higher levels (national, regional, global).

The standard food security conceptual framework draws on the idea of a hierarchy of
needs. The assumption is “food first” where food security is a primary need that
supersedes other human needs.

However, evidence on people’s behavior is challenging this assumption. It is increasingly

recognized that protecting food intake, especially in the short-term, is only one objective
that people pursue.

Example: Sudan famine of 1984-85

For example, in the Sudan famine of 1984-85 it was found that people were quite prepared
to put up with considerable short-term hunger to protect assets and livelihoods.

They would rather go hungry than sell an animal or consume their planting seed.

For this reason livelihoods frameworks have emerged over the last decade.

A livelihoods framework is people-centered and attempts to analyze the diversity of poor

people’s livelihoods holistically. It stresses the inter-relationship between community-level
activities and the broader policy and institutional framework. It acknowledges that
“sustainability” encompasses economic, environmental, institutional and social
parameters.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

The sustainable livelihoods framework was originally developed by DFID:

Note
A livelihoods perspective assumes that the main objective of a household is to ensure a
secure and sustainable livelihood. Ensuring access to food is just one part of a more
complex jigsaw of livelihood needs. The central objective for a household is the
management of risk and vulnerability. This analytical perspective influences the
recommendation of appropriate interventions.

A detailed description of livelihoods is given later in this course. Don’t worry too much
about the precise meanings of the various elements of the framework. At this point we
would like you to appreciate why a livelihoods analysis is relevant to food security
analysis.

Livelihoods frameworks have contributed to understanding the ways in which people strive
to protect livelihoods as central to understanding food crises.

People’s vulnerability to food insecurity and their coping mechanisms to deal with the
hazards they face, have become key points of interest. The bottom line is a view of food
security that focuses on the long-term viability of the household.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Adopting a livelihoods approach means drawing attention to the way people live, why they
live that way, and why and how this way of life changes.
This approach indicates likely entry points for interventions, both short- and long-term, and
their likely impact on people’s lives.

Any conceptual framework is a simplification of reality. It will inevitably help analysts to

focus on specific aspects of the problem, but will neglect other issues. Each framework
brings important and differing aspects of food security analysis to the fore.

The frameworks vary in what they highlight. They also vary in their complexity – more
elaborate frameworks provide a more inclusive representation of reality but have the
downside of sacrificing simplicity and ease of use.

Despite the differences these frameworks have much in common: they recognize the
many causes of the problem, the multiple ways that these may interact in specific
circumstances and the heterogeneity of the problem.

In summary, the following important lessons can be learned about the importance and use
of such frameworks:

 Issues which lead to food security of households and individuals in countries are
numerous and span a range of sectors. Each factor impacts on household and
individual food security in different ways.

 The relative importance of these factors in determining food security varies across
households, locations and over time.

 A well defined conceptual framework is critical for:

 identifying appropriate entry points for the design of interventions; and
 assisting in the interpretation of food security indicators.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Summary
Achieving food security for all at all times remains a major global challenge.

Where food insecurity problems remain, there may be severe consequences. Concerns
over food insecurity and hunger have generated global debate and have resulted in well-
defined political commitment to reduce food insecurity through agreed-upon targets.
However, progress has been disappointing.

Improved food security information and analysis can accelerate progress:

 Firstly, it is important to measure the incidence and nature of food insecurity; this
information helps prioritize action to address food insecurity, target interventions and
monitor progress; however, measurement is technically challenging and great care is
needed in selecting and interpreting indicators.

 Secondly, it is important to understand the causes of food insecurity; you should now
understand how various conceptual frameworks – specifically the food security,
malnutrition and sustainable livelihoods frameworks – can help with this analysis; an
understanding of the underlying problems is a first step in selecting appropriate
interventions.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Annex 1: Progress in reducing the incidence of food insecurity

The Targets
The World Food Summit (WFS) in 1996 established the target of halving the number of
undernourished people by no later than 2015. FAO uses the average of the period 1990-
92 as the baseline for monitoring progress towards this target.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are an important set of targets for global
development action. One of the two targets of the first Millennium Development Goal
(MDG-1) set in 2000 is to halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who
suffer from hunger.

These targets may sound similar, but they are very different as a consequence of the WFS
target insisting that the number of hungry people must be halved in spite of population
growth, while the MDG target allows for population growth. Hence, the WFS target is the
more ambitious of the two:

If the MDG-1 target is achieved by 2015 for all developing countries, current population
projections suggest that we will still be left with around 585 million hungry people, only
29% less than in 1990-92. In comparison, the WFS target aims to reduce the number of
hungry people in 1990 by half to no more than 412 million people.

Therefore, based on current estimates, achieving the WFS target would result in 173
million less hungry people than the MDG-1 goal.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
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The progress
There has been little progress towards the WFS target of halving the number of
undernourished people by 2015.
Since 1990–92, FAO estimates that the undernourished population in the developing
countries has declined by only 3 million people: from 823 million to 820 million.
Statistically, this is an insignificant number – it means that we are not making progress.
‘SOFI’ - the FAO Hunger Report

FAO has been reporting progress towards WFS and MDG targets at global and country
levels in its annual report on the State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI), which
was first issued in 1999.

SOFI provides the latest estimates of the number of chronically hungry people in the
world and reports on progress and setbacks in global and national efforts to reach the
hunger targets set by the World Food Summit and the Millennium Summit.

SOFI draws on ongoing work carried out by FAO and its international partners in
monitoring the food security status of people and analyzes underlying causes of hunger
and malnutrition experienced by people worldwide. The report also presents issues and
actions that are fundamental in fulfilling commitments made in the World Food Summit
Plan of Action, in addition to those needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

What is even more worrying is the lack of recent progress. It is estimated that in the 1970s,
the number of hungry people fell by 37 million and in the 1980s this number was reduced
by an additional 100 million. However, FAO estimates that since the mid 1990s, hunger
reduction has stagnated.

The good news is that because of population growth, there has been progress against the
first Millennium Development Goal (MDG 1) of halving the percentage of undernourished
(hungry) people by 2015. Long term estimates suggest that the proportion of
undernourished people in the developing countries has fallen by 3 percent – from 20
percent in 1990–92 to 17 percent in 2001–03.

However, even by this measure progress is slowing considerably. The prevalence of

hunger in the world declined by 9 percent (from 37 percent to 28 percent) between 1969–

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71 and 1979–81 and by a further 8 percentage points (to 20 percent) between 1979–81
and 1990–92.

SOFI, 2007

- Learners’ Notes - 17
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Regional changes
Progress in reducing hunger has been geographically imbalanced with much more
progress achieved in some regions than in others.

There has been a good reduction in both the number and prevalence of undernourished
people in Asia and the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean in the last 10 years.
However, in both regions the rate of improvement remains insufficient to meet the WFS
goal.

In contrast the number of hungry people has risen significantly in sub-Saharan Africa over
the past 11 years, increasing from 169 million to 206 million. This is the continuation of a
trend that has been apparent over the last three decades. However, due to population
growth, the prevalence of hunger fell also in sub-Saharan Africa from 35 percent in 1990–
92 to 32 percent in 2001–03.

- Learners’ Notes - 18
 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
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Annex 2: The Right to Food

Definition of the Right to Food

International law recognizes the right of everyone to adequate food and the fundamental
right to be free from hunger. This is of crucial importance for the enjoyment of all other
human rights.

The term “Right to Adequate Food” is derived from the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The right to adequate food is defined as:

“to have regular, permanent and unrestricted access, either directly or by means of
financial purchases, to quantitatively and qualitatively adequate and sufficient food
corresponding to the cultural traditions of people to which the consumer belongs, and
which ensures a physical and mental, individual and collective fulfilling and dignified life
free of fear.”

This definition entails all normative elements explained in the ICESCR, which states that:

“The right to adequate food is realized when every man, woman and child, alone or in
community with others, have the physical and economic access at all times to adequate
food or means for its procurement.”

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Ratification of the Right to Food

To date, 153 States have ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and thus have an obligation to progressively realize the right to
adequate food.

International instruments on human rights are legally binding: it is obligatory for states that
have ratified them to observe the provisions and apply them within the national legal
system.

The legal aspects enable an individual to hold the government accountable for its
obligations and to seek redress for violation of their human rights.

In countries not having ratified the ICESCR the people, nevertheless, are human rights
holders, since all human rights are universal and inherent to all people, regardless of
specific policies of governments.
Their hope lies in taking responsibility to organize themselves and join other civic society
groups committed to the right to adequate food to put pressure on their government.

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State obligations
States are required to take steps towards the realization of the right to food, within a
reasonably short time after ratification of the ICESCR.

The obligation to take steps may mean, for a given State, the adoption of legal,
administrative, financial, social or other measures.

Individuals should live in conditions that allow them either to produce food or to buy it.
National legislation that specifies concrete entitlements, on which individuals or groups can
rely, contributes to the realization of the right to food and its enforcement.

Examples of concrete entitlements

Concrete entitlements may include, for example: an equitable access to publicly distributed
food, a certain level of income sufficient for a basic food basket, access to adequate food
storage facilities, a certain minimum price for the main local crops, access to skills and
knowledge.

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The three levels of state obligations

The state has three levels of obligations. These levels are the following:

 Obligation to respect - A State cannot take any measures which may result in
preventing the capacity of individuals or groups to provide food for themselves.

 Obligation to protect - The State must act to prevent third parties (individuals, groups,
enterprises and other entities) from interfering or violating the right to food that people
do have.

 Obligation to fulfil - The State must create conditions allowing for the effective
realization of the right to food, and provide food directly to individuals or groups who
are not able to procure food on their own.

Let’s see what these obligations imply in practice.

Obligation to respect

A State is required to ensure that none of its own agencies or public officials violate or
impede the effective enjoyment of the right to food by their policies or actions.

Examples: Obligation to respect

For example, a State cannot:
 confiscate land or water resources;
 prevent or limit access of individuals or groups to plant or animal resources necessary
for ensuring their food security; or destroy people’s food resources (agricultural areas
for food production, crops and livestock) without a valid reason and adequate
compensation.

According to the obligation to respect, States cannot suspend legislation or State policies
that allow people to have access to food (e.g. social welfare legislation, nutrition-related
programmes). In many instances, the obligation to respect does not require specific efforts
or resources from a State.

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Obligation to protect

The obligation to protect individuals from third parties is particularly important for food
insecure persons.

Examples: Obligation to protect

The State should prevent private parties (enterprises or other entities) from destroying
people’s food sources by their activities, such as:

 clearance of the forest for transport purposes;

 building sport facilities on small farmers’ land;
 polluting lakes or rivers by dumping of hazardous or dangerous agricultural or
industrial products; and waste (wrong use and storage of fertilizers and pesticides
polluting land, water and air) etc.

The obligation to protect also includes ensuring that food put on the market is safe and
nutritious. States must therefore establish and enforce food quality and safety standards,
and ensure fair and equal market practices.

Obligation to fulfil

The obligation to fulfil encompasses the obligation to facilitate and the obligation to
provide.

Obligation to facilitate
The obligation to facilitate requires more far-reaching measures on the side of the
government in that it has to create conditions (enabling environment) allowing for the
effective realization of the right to food. Typical measures include initiating land reform
where needed, improving measures of production, harvesting, conservation, processing,
retailing and consumption of food.

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 Course - Food Security Concepts and Frameworks
Lesson 3 - Food Security Analysis

Obligation to provide
The obligation to provide relates more particularly to the fundamental right of everyone to
be free from hunger. For example a State can distribute food aid to concerned individuals
or groups, or provide them with income subsidies, financial assistance, food stamps or
other social security schemes that will enable them to feed themselves. The obligation to
provide is the last resort when government efforts to respect, to protect and to facilitate
have proven inadequate and insufficient.

- Learners’ Notes - 24
Food Security Information for Action

Livelihoods Assessment and Analysis

Lesson 1
Introduction to Livelihoods

Learner Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and developed

by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

© FAO, 2007
 Course: Livelihoods Assessment and Analysis
Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes

Table of contents
Learning objectives ......................................................................................... 2

Definitions of livelihoods .................................................................................. 2

Components of the livelihoods framework ......................................................... 3

The role of the market in livelihoods ............................................................... 13

Summary...................................................................................................... 15

If you want to know more.............................................................................. 16

Learner Notes 1
 Course: Livelihoods Assessment and Analysis
Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• define the concept of livelihoods;
• identify the livelihoods components in real examples; and
• understand the role of the market in livelihoods.

Definitions of livelihoods

What are livelihoods?

In simple words, livelihoods are ‘means of making a living’, the various activities and
resources that allow people to live.
Different people have different lifestyles and ways of meeting their needs.
Understanding those lifestyles will help you when you look at food security and access to food.
The introduction of the right to adequate food concept into the various ongoing development
efforts provides hope for turning this situation around.
One of the earliest and most often cited definitions1 of livelihoods is that:

“it comprises the capabilities, assets (including both material and social) and activities
required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover
from stress and shocks (drought, flood, war, etc.), maintain or enhance its capabilities and
assets, while not undermining the natural resource base” (Chambers and Conway, 1992).

1
Other livelihoods definitions
There are many other definitions. For example, livelihoods are the “ways in which people access and mobilise resources that enable
them to pursue goals necessary for their survival and longer-term well-being, and thereby reduce the vulnerability created and
exacerbated by conflict” (Young. H et al, 2002). Oxfam state that “A livelihood comprise the capabilities, assets and activities
required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from shock, maintain itself over time
and provide the same or better opportunities for all, now and in the future.”

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Livelihoods are similar for groups of people doing similar things.

We call a “livelihood group” a group of people who access similar resources, share similar
social and cultural values and have a comparable economic status. Moreover, people of the
same livelihood group share the same risks and kinds of vulnerability. It is common to see more
than one livelihood group in a geographical area.
For example, in Benin, an FAO study divided artisanal fishers into four sub-groups: inland,
lagoon, migrant coastal and sedentary fishers. Each of these sub-groups used the same kinds of
activities and resources to live.

The focus on livelihoods in emergency programming originates from the late 1980s following
the African famines in the middle of that decade. At that time, emergency response started
when people were destitute, malnourished and had migrated to famine camps.
The actors involved in the response realized that if the response had started earlier, it would
have been possible to prevent large-scale loss of livelihood assets and migration to camps -- in
other words, that lives could be saved in the longer term by saving livelihoods.

Components of the livelihoods framework

As livelihoods are determined by multiple factors, a combination of different types of

information is needed to understand them.
This information includes:
1. Vulnerability context
2. Livelihood resources or assets
3. Policies, institutions and processes
4. Livelihood strategies
5. Livelihood outcomes or goals

All these types of information are components of the livelihoods framework. We will now
consider each one of these components.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes

1. Vulnerability context.
The vulnerability context refers to the full range of factors that can impact on people's
livelihoods and place them at risk of becoming food insecure. Vulnerability must be considered
from two perspectives: the structural or underlying vulnerability of a population and the
vulnerability to particular external shocks.
It includes the following factors, over which people have limited or no control:
• long-term trends like population pressures on land, land degradation, climate change,
price inflation and spread of HIV.
• shocks that will impact livelihoods like drought, floods, pest attack, market collapse and
conflict/insecurity.
• seasonal stresses such as disease burden, water shortages or food shortages in the
hungry season.

It is important to distinguish between risk factors originating from outside the community, which
affect all people in the same locality, and those principally affecting only individual households.
It is often assumed that poor people are most vulnerable, as wealthier households will have
assets and resources to withstand shocks and longer-term vulnerability trends.
However, while this may be true in many cases, it is also true that in situations of political
instability and war, it is ethnic or political affiliation that determines risk and vulnerability,
irrespective of wealth. People's ability to cope with the shock will also depend on the options
open to people in response to a shock, and may depends on assets including social networks. It
is therefore important to understand both the political context and livelihood coping
strategies in order to understand the vulnerability context.

2. Livelihood resources or assets

People require a range of assets to achieve positive livelihood outcomes.
Livelihoods assets encompass what people have, i.e. human, social, natural, physical and
financial resources. These five asset categories are interlinked. No single category on its own is
sufficient to yield all the many and varied livelihood outcomes that people seek.

Human assets
Human assets represent the skills, knowledge, education, ability to work and good health
that enable people to pursue different livelihood strategies and achieve their livelihood
objectives.

Learner Notes 4
Social assets Course: Livelihoods Assessment and Analysis
Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes
Social assets refer to status in society, as well as access to an extended family and other
social networks. It also includes relationships of trust and reciprocity that facilitate co-
operation, reduce transaction costs and can provide the basis for informal safety nets
amongst poor people.

Natural assets
They comprise natural resource stocks, which people can access and use to build their
livelihoods, e.g land, forests, water resources.

Physical assets
They include livestock, land, shelter, tools, equipment, but may also be community-
owned, e.g. road infrastructure.

Financial assets
They include income, but also access to credit and investments.
They may include available stocks, which can be held in several forms, e.g. cash, bank
deposits, livestock and jewellery. They may also include regular inflows of cash, including
pensions and remittances.

The resilience of people’s livelihoods is largely determined by the resources or assets available
to them and how these have been affected by disaster. However, assets can be transformed
into life-threatening liabilities. For example, for numerous populations who live in resource rich
areas (e.g. oil and diamond rich Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Angola) this asset
has turned into a liability.

3. Policies, institutions and processes

are an important set of man-made external factors that shape the options that people have in
achieving their livelihood goals.
They influence access to assets and vulnerability to shocks, and operate at all levels, from the
local to the international level, and in all spheres, from the most private to the most public.
Agricultural, land tenure or land use policies can be instrumental in increasing or reducing
vulnerability to disasters. At international level, structural adjustment programmes often make it
difficult for countries to support the development of local enterprise by preventing subsidies.
The agricultural subsidies of western countries and international trade rules undermine the
production and export of agricultural products from developing countries.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes

Institutions include civic, political and economic agencies. People’s protection and welfare
depend on accountable political systems, rule of law, functioning judicial systems and the
provision of public services.

The role of informal governance often becomes more important where formal governance is
weak or collapsed. Local institutions can play a positive role in maintaining public order; for
example, in Somalia through customary law and sharia courts.
Processes determine the way institutions and people operate and interact. They can include
changes in the economy, employment patterns, markets, culture, and long-term processes of
social, economic and political marginalization.

Livelihood strategies
Livelihood strategies are the range and combination of activities and choices that people
normally make or undertake in stable and peaceful times in order to achieve their livelihood
goals (e.g. productive activities, investment strategies, reproductive choices).
Livelihood strategies can be divided into:
• natural resource-based activities, e.g. cultivation, livestock-keeping, weaving,
collection and gathering; and
• non-natural resource-based activities, e.g. trade, services, remittances.
Most households employ a combination of the two. Even in urban settings many households will
use limited land space around or near the compound for small-scale crop production and will
also keep small livestock.
The more choice and flexibility that people have in their livelihood strategies, the greater their
ability to withstand – or adapt to – the shocks and stresses of the vulnerability context.
Coping strategies, in contrast, are temporary responses to food insecurity, although in many
protracted emergencies they become livelihood strategies.
Initially, people choose coping strategies that are not damaging to livelihoods, e.g. sale of a
few small livestock, labour migration and collection of wild foods.
However, as more people adopt the same strategies, the value of these strategies become
diminished, e.g. prices of livestock fall and wages become squeezed.
Households then have to resort to more damaging strategies that can undermine long-term
livelihood viability, e.g. selling off key assets, taking out loans at exorbitant rates, re-mortgaging
land. In political or conflict-related emergencies, options may include engaging in violent, illegal,
unsafe or degrading activities.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes

Livelihood outcomes or goals

Livelihood outcomes can be categorized under three headings: economic, biological and social.
Food and income security, i.e. the ability to acquire sufficient food and income to meet basic
needs, is essentially an economic outcome. Mortality and malnutrition rates or levels are
essentially biological measures of livelihood outcome. Dignity is an all-encompassing term that
includes notions like choice and control over one’s future, sense of self-worth and status. It is
clearly a social measure and as such is hard to quantify. The right to life with dignity is one of
the fundamental principles in the Humanitarian Charter but in the rush to respond to
emergencies, people’s dignity is often forgotten.

The figure below, from the Department for International Development (DFID), helps to
understand how household livelihood systems interact with the outside environment – both the
natural environment and the policy and institutional context.

Key: F = Financial Capital

H = Human Capital S = Social Capital
N = Natural Capital P = Physical Capital

• The framework considers five types of capital - the “asset pentagon”- and how these
assets are transformed by policies and institutions into livelihoods strategies.
• The vulnerability context impacts on the livelihood assets.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes

• Livelihood strategies produce livelihood outcomes which consequently bring either an

improvement or deterioration in assets at household level.

Learner Notes 8
 Course: Livelihoods Assessment and Analysis
Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes

Let’s now consider three examples to better understand how a real situation can be ‘read’ using
the livelihoods framework.
Example I

Example I: Artisanal fishers in Benin

Full-time sedentary fishers in Benin live without land in settled fishing communities on the
seacoast, where sandy soil precludes agricultural activity and fishing is the main source of family
income. The worst-off in this group own no equipment nor gear, receive very low wages as
members of fishing crews and have limited cash to cover basic expenses.
Livelihoods components:
A. Vulnerability context:
Changing factor: Depletion of fish stocks and destruction of natural sea habitats.
Devaluation of African Financial Community franc caused many boat owners costs to increase
substantially more than the price of fish. As a result this now consumes a greater percentage of
earnings.
Seasonality: Income declines in the rainy season and diet is less varied, while malaria and acute
respiratory tract infections are more frequent.
B. Livelihood Assets:
Assets of this livelihood group can be broken down as follows:
Human capital: a typical household has two income earners and four or five dependents.
Social capital: Women are members of a tontine, a traditional social insurance and micro-credit
society for women, while men have strong links with other members of the fishing unit.
Natural capital: Access to sea and landing areas on the beach is free. Mangroves provide fuel-
wood for cooking and smoking fish. Coco tree trunks are used for shelter.
Physical capital: Households live in shelters made of coco trunks. Women keep kitchen gardens
in which they grow tomatoes, etc. Water is available from wells in the village.
Financial capital: Most households have no savings but women tend to own a share in the
revolving fund of the tontine.
C. Policies/processes/institutions:
There are regulations restricting overuse of large nets. There are also regional projects to
support artisanal fishing in coastal West Africa funded by the UK Department for International
Development (DFID).
D. Livelihood strategies:
Dry season (high fishing). Boat owner gives male adults a small share of cash earned from sale
of day’s catch, while women earn cash from the fish they buy, smoke and resell.

Learner Notes 9
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Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes

Example I-CONT

Rainy (low fishing) season. Male adults migrate with the fishing crew to look for work in
Cotonou port and occasionally remit small amounts of money, while women sell garden
produce, as well as prepare and sell coconut oil and artisanal salt.
Diet: In the dry season, households eat maize with sauce of tomatoes, palm oil, onion and
green vegetables. Fish is usually cooked in sauce or smoked. In the rainy season, cassava with
sauce is the main food and fish is occasionally eaten.
Expenditures: In the dry season, main expenditures are on food, loan repayments and tontine
payments, while in the rainy season the main expenditures are for food, tontine payments and
health care.
E. Measurable outcomes:
Malaria and diarrhoea incidence are high and stunting rates >25%, with 52% anaemia in under
2 year olds.

Learner Notes 10
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Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes

Example II

Example II: Pastoralists in southern Somalia

The following example provides only information about vulnerability, assets, and
policies/processes/institutions.
Pastoralists in southern Somalia derive the majority of their food needs from the purchase of
cereals, sugar and oil. Milk and milk products from cattle comprise a significant additional food
source. Income is mainly obtained from sale of livestock and livestock products.
Poorer wealth groups with their smaller herd sizes obtain a significant amount of food/income
from activities such as petty trade, bush product collection and casual labour.
Intra-community gifts to the poor, such as lactating livestock, food and cash, are also common.

Livelihoods components:
A. Vulnerability context
Seasonality: The long dry jilaal season is usually the most difficult time for pastoralists and their
animals, when energy needs are high (during the seasonal search for water and pasture) and
milk production and livestock prices are low.
Vulnerability and risk: Factors undermining livelihoods include restricted grazing mobility due to
insecurity, population expansion and sedentarization, breakdown of traditional pastoral
environmental management systems, and poor livestock health care systems in an unregulated
drug market. Many pastoralists also face poor terms of trade in some areas due to distance
from markets.
Sudden shocks can also occur, e.g. conflict-induced asset depletion, border closures and trade
disruptions such as livestock import/export bans.
B. Livelihood Assets
Social: Households can send their children to better-off relatives in times of hardship and they
can also borrow from within the community.
Physical: Livestock herd - size varies significantly.
Natural: Bush products, e.g. firewood, charcoal, aromatic gums.
Financial: Through petty trade and sale of livestock and products. There is also significant rural-
to-urban migration.
C. Policies/processes/institutions
Factors which impact on this livelihood system include livestock import/export bans, NGO
livestock health programmes and water interventions.

Learner Notes 11
 Course: Livelihoods Assessment and Analysis
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There is also education and some income diversification in localized areas focused on
rehabilitation of water-related infrastructure.

Example III
Example III: Agro-pastoralists in southern Somalia
Agro-pastoralists in southern Somalia derive the majority of their food from their own crop
production, livestock milk production and some purchase.
Income comes from the sale of livestock and livestock products, the sale of crops and, for
poorer groups, a variety of petty trade, casual labour and collection of bush products. Intra-
community redistribution is also important for poorer groups.
This livelihood group is highly vulnerable to a combination of natural and man-made factors.
Members of this group primarily come from politically and militarily marginal clans and have
been amongst the greatest victims of violence since the collapse of Siad Barre’s regime in 1991.
A combination of poor rains and harvests, the resulting asset losses (of both food stocks and
livestock) and displacement have resulted in large-scale food deficits.
Livelihoods components:
A. Vulnerability context
This includes poor rains and consecutive seasons of crop failure, conflict-induced asset depletion
of fixed and immobile assets (e.g. land), trade disruption due to conflict and border closures.
Many households also face physical isolation from ports and services in main urban centres, lack
of security from violence and economic exploitation, increasing commercial and communal debt,
crop pests, disease and bird attacks. At the same time, the level of assistance from
humanitarian agencies has gradually been decreasing.
B. Livelihood Assets
Livelihood assets of this group include the following:
• Livestock and land, farm implements and dwellings.
• Natural resources from bush products.
• Financial resources from selling livestock assets and food stocks, and seasonal migration
to urban areas for employment.
• Intra-community social support.
C. Policies/processes/institutions
The main institutional support has come from agencies that have distributed seeds and tools,
and supported agricultural extension activities and livestock and human health programmes.
There have also been long-term water interventions and vegetable production support in some
areas.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes

The role of the market in livelihoods

Access to markets and how the market functions can be critical to the success or failure of
livelihoods.
In rural settings, very poor households may have higher dependence than richer households.

Example: Kitui

Source: SCF-UK Food Economy Assessment Team, July 1997

Even rural subsistence farmers who cultivate sufficient food for annual household needs may
have sporadic involvement in the market. In normal years there may still be ‘extraordinary’
needs for income, e.g. for purchasing drugs, funeral expenses, school fees. For many rural
households, income required for additional food as well as essential non-food items may be
derived from selling assets or surplus crops/livestock and periodic wage labour.
In emergencies, markets come to play an even more significant role in livelihoods.

In ‘bad years’ when crops fail, rural households may be increasingly forced into the market to
acquire food. Income for food purchase may be obtained by selling off small livestock, increased
labour (involving migration), petty trading, etc.

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Urban populations may be especially vulnerable to market disruption caused by emergencies

unless government and parastatals (large state-owned enterprises) intervene to control market
price fluctuations.
Case study: Congo

Case study – Congo: How markets can dramatically affect livelihood outcomes.
The African Financial Community franc was devalued by 50% on 12 January 1994 in 14 sub-
Saharan African countries. In 1993, prior to the devaluation, a survey had been conducted on
infant feeding practices, quality of complementary food and nutritional status of children and
their mothers. A follow-up survey in two districts of Brazzaville was conducted of households
with children aged 4-23 months. The survey found that daily food expenditure increased
considerably between 1993 and 1996, with numerous households declaring that they had
entirely abandoned certain foods which had become too expensive. Also, complementary foods
given to infants had declined in quality, e.g. gruels were being made from local ingredients
rather than imported flours, as occurred previously, and therefore had half the energy density.
Between 1993 and 1996 prevalence of stunting increased significantly, from 12.1% to 15.5%.
Wasting also increased from 6.0% to 8.8%.
Mean body mass index of mothers decreased by 1.28 kg/m2. This corresponds to a weight loss
of nearly 3.3kg in three years for a woman of average height. As a consequence, the number of
women exhibiting thinness (BMI < 18.5 Kg/m2) increased very significantly, from 11.3% to
15.6%. The study authors concluded that the impact of the devaluation on nutritional status
resulted not only from reduced access to food, but also poorer health care and general caring
practices as women became increasingly engaged in income-generating activities to offset their
reduced spending power.

The form of market disruption will depend on the type of emergency2.

2
Market and emergencies
Production losses will affect supply to markets, and loss in income or assets will reduce demand for goods. In conflict, cutting off
access to markets may be a deliberate strategy of warring parties, or a consequence of conflict due to insecurity. Similarly, floods
and earthquakes may destroy or block roads.
In situations of localized food deficit, traders may be reluctant to move food from surplus areas due to uncertainty of markets in
the deficit area or because they lack sufficient information to alter trade routes.
Markets can also be affected by the aid interventions themselves. Local purchase of food can increase food prices in areas of
relative surplus, and conversely, imported food aid may have negative impacts on market prices. Even the use of transport vehicles
by aid agencies can have a negative impact on trade if there is a limited supply of trucks.

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 Course: Livelihoods Assessment and Analysis
Lesson 1: Introduction to Livelihoods - Learner’s Notes

The impact of emergencies is often clear to see in market price behaviour and food availability.
Food shortages or surplus asset disposal become apparent through staple price rises and falls in
livestock prices. As a result, terms of trade begin to decline, thereby impacting livelihoods.
Declining terms of trade can be fuelled by real shortages and distress sales and/or speculation.
Speculation by traders and impact on terms of trade is most likely to occur where markets are
not competitive and information flows are poor.
At worst, markets can collapse so that rural and urban populations experience sudden crises
and complete lack of access to key foods.

Summary

Livelihood means in simple words ‘means of making a living’. In a food security context it refers
to people, their capabilities, their assets (both material and social), their income and activities
required for a means of living (including ways to obtain food).
As livelihoods are determined by multiple factors, a combination of different types of
information are needed to understand them.
The following are the component of the livelihoods framework:

• Vulnerability context
• Livelihood resources or assets
• Policies, institutions and processes
• Livelihood strategies
• Livelihood outcomes or goals

The market plays an important role in livelihoods, especially in emergency contexts. Access to
markets and how the market functions can be critical to the success or failure of livelihoods.

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If you want to know more...

Online resources
• Forum on Operationalizing Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches. Inter-agency Experiences and
Lessons. Pontignano (Siena) 7-11 March 2000 http://www.fao.org/docrep/x7749e/x7749e00.htm
• DFID Sustainable Livelihoods Guidance Sheets
www.livelihoods.org/info/info_guidancesheets.html
• Callens & Seiffert 2002. Methodological Guide: Participatory Appraisal and Analysis of Nutrition
and Household Food Security Situations and Interventions from a Livelihoods Perspective
http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/ad694e/ad694e04.htm
• Livelihoods Approaches Compared: A Multi-Agency Review of Current Practice (Karim Hussein,
with contributions from the agencies studied. DfID, ODI, Oct 2002)
http://portals.wdi.wur.nl/files/docs/ppme/Comparing_SLAs.pdf
• A Handbook for trainers on participatory local development
http://www.fao.org/sd/dim_pe2/pe2_050301_en.htm
• Food Insecurity and Vulnerability in Viet Nam: Profiles of Four Vulnerable Groups [FAO/ESA,
2004] http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/ae066e/ae066e00.htm
Additional readings
• Corbett. J (1988): Famine and household coping strategies. World Development 16 (9)
• Jaspars. S and Shoham. J (2002): A critical review of approaches to assessing and monitoring
livelihoods in situations of chronic conflict and political instability. ODI Working Paper 191
• WFP (2005): Emergency Food Security Assessment Handbook
• Young. H et al (2001): Food security assessment in emergencies: A livelihoods approach. ODI
HPN Network Papers 36. ODI, London
• Jaspars. S (2006): From food crisis to fair trade. Livelihoods analysis, protection and support in
emergencies. ENN Special Supplement No 3
• Narbeth. S and McLean. C (2003): Livelihoods and protection. Displacement and vulnerable
communities in Kismaayo, southern Somalia. HPN Network paper No 44, December 2003
• Pain. A (2002): Understanding and monitoring livelihoods under conditions of chronic conflict:
Lessons from Afghanistan. ODI working paper 187
• Boudreau.T and Coutts. P (2002): Food economy in situations of chronic political instability. ODI
working paper 188
• WFP (2003): Key issues in emergency needs assessment. Volume 1: Report of the Technical
Meeting. 28-30 October 2003, Rome, Italy
• F. Pittaluga, E. Corcoran, and J. Senahoun: Poverty profiles of artisanal fishers: methods based
on the SLA model
• Food Insecurity and Vulnerability in Nepal: Profiles of Seven Vulnerable Groups [FAO/ESA, 2004]

Learner Notes 16
Food Security Information for Action

Livelihoods Assessment and Analysis

Lesson 2
Assessing Livelihoods

Learner Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and developed

by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

© FAO, 2007
 Course: Livelihoods Assessment and Analysis
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Table of contents
Learning objectives............................................................................................2

Introduction ......................................................................................................2

Livelihoods assessment principles .......................................................................2

Supporting livelihoods in different contexts .........................................................3

Common approaches for assessing livelihoods .....................................................7

Selecting approaches in different contexts and in emergency situations .............. 24

Selecting approaches in stable situations. ......................................................... 25

Staff capacity and experience ........................................................................... 26

Credibility and transparency of findings............................................................. 27

Food, health and nutritional crises .................................................................... 28

Summary ........................................................................................................ 28

If you want to know more… ............................................................................. 29

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Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• recognize how assessing livelihoods improves the analysis of food security;
• identify the main features of eight livelihoods assessment approaches; and
• understand how different livelihood assessments help to plan interventions in different
food security contexts.

Introduction

During the course of this lesson, we will see how assessing livelihoods brings essential
information to the analysis of food security.
Adopting a livelihoods approach to food security means to pay attention to the way people live,
why they live that , and why and how this way of life changes.
We will also learn about the principles and framework elements underlying livelihoods
assessment and how these are applied in different approaches.

Livelihoods assessment principles

Livelihood assessments serve to identify the most appropriate livelihood interventions, which
should be:

1. People centered:
Livelihoods assessments identify programme needs based on the priorities and goals defined by
people themselves, and supports their own livelihoods strategies.

2. Multi level and holistic:

Assessments recognise multiple influences on people at the macro and micro level as well as the
multiple actors influencing livelihoods.
Assessments seek to understand the relationships between these multiple influences and their
joint impact upon livelihoods. Assessments consider influences at the macro level (national and
international) and at the micro level (community and household).

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They also recognise the multiple actors (from the private sector to national level ministries)
influencing livelihoods.

3. Dynamic:
Livelihoods change over time so that assessment must help understand and learn from change.
Assessment should support positive patterns of change and help mitigate negative patterns.
It recognizes people’s strengths and opportunities in order to build on these for solving
problems. Livelihood assessment approaches explicitly recognise the effects on livelihoods of
external shocks and the longer-term processes that may erode livelihoods, such as climate
change, HIV and AIDS, and economic decline.

4. Sustainable:
Understanding the sustainability of livelihood patterns involves analysing:
• resilience in the face of external shocks,
• whether populations are dependent upon external support and if this support is
economically and institutionally sustainable,
• whether the pattern maintains the long-term productivity of natural resources, and
• whether their livelihoods undermines the livelihoods of others, or compromises their
livelihoods options.

Supporting livelihoods in different contexts

In emergencies, the objectives of livelihood support may vary according to the stage and
severity of an emergency.
Different types of livelihood support can be implemented at different stages of an emergency
and can be carried out at the same time as life saving interventions.
This is even true in situations of chronic conflict and political instability (SCCPI).
Let’s have a look at the Aceh case study to see how different actions can be combined
simultaneously.

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Case study: Supporting livelihoods while saving lives in Aceh, Indonesia

In the first two weeks following the tsunami on December 26th 2004, many displaced families in
Aceh wanted to return home. The proportion of internally displaced people (IDPs) who wanted
to go home varied by location.
Assistance was requested first for burying bodies, then for water and food. People then wanted
to be able to rebuild houses and recover farmland, followed by livelihood recovery. At the same
time, the vast majority of IDPs had lost everything and were depending on emergency relief to
meet their immediate food and non-food needs.
While implementing emergency water, sanitation, health and food distribution programmes,
international agencies started cash for work (CFW) programmes almost immediately. The CFW
programmes aimed to provide cash to meet immediate needs (such as food and kitchen
utensils), stimulate markets, and ensure essential work activities. Work started with clearing
roads and solid waste disposal. This allowed some people to return home immediately as they
had road access. Once back in their home areas, further work was carried out on clearing
waste, burying bodies and later on, building houses. Subsequently, CFW was used to
rehabilitate farms and rebuild fishing boats. Cash grants were provided to people who wanted
to re-establish businesses and to purchase assets essential to their livelihoods.
As well as emergency livelihoods programmes, work was initiated in the first month on land
rights issues, and promoting sustainable access to markets for small scale timber producers.

In the most unstable situations, the main aim of emergency interventions is to save lives and, if
possible, provide livelihood protection.
As stability increases, programmes may be able to build or recover assets as well as protect
existing ones. Livelihoods will only become truly sustainable, however, if people have power in
local, national and international markets.
The table below shows the different objectives of livelihoods programming:
Stage of crisis Objective of livelihoods programming
Early Livelihoods protection/mitigation (prevent erosion or destruction of assets)
Acute Save lives and livelihood protection.
Livelihood recovery/rehabilitation (process of protecting and promoting
Post crisis livelihoods of people recovering from emergencies, restoring productive assets).
Development Livelihood promotion (improving resilience of household livelihoods,
diversification of livelihood strategies, improving access to markets).

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There is a range of livelihoods interventions that can theoretically be considered in

emergencies interventions, regarding food distributions, employment schemes, market and
production support, and advocacy.

Examples of livelihoods interventions in emergency contexts include:

• general food distributions;
• income and employment schemes: Food For Work (FFW), CFW, cash grants and micro-
finance;
• market support: commodity and cash vouchers, monetisation and subsidised sales,
market infrastructure, and de-stocking; and
• production support: agricultural support, livestock support and fishing support.

Working in conflict may require advocacy on respect for international humanitarian law to stop
warring parties destroying or undermining livelihood strategies and assets.
However, until recently most livelihoods interventions in emergencies have not extended beyond
food aid and seeds and tools provision.

In stable development contexts1, capacity building and working in partnership are key
objectives of livelihood support. This can include building the capacity of local institutions such
as local non-governmental organisations and other forms of civil society or government
institutions.
Livelihoods support may also include interventions to address the policies, institutions and
process that are part of the livelihoods framework. For example, agricultural support will often
need to be accompanied by policy work on increasing access to land and land rights issues.

Support for assets and strategies is often more effective if combined with policy and advocacy
work to address the policies, institutions and process that limit peoples livelihood options.

1
Stable contexts: Stability essentially means situations in which there is peace, basic respect for human rights and that food
security, malnutrition and mortality are at acceptable levels.

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Case study: Building national coordination in Afghanistan

To support household food security, nutrition and livelihoods, an FAO-led household food
security and nutrition project in Afghanistan has been successfully working in a close two-way
coordination process:
 a horizontal process to build bridges across the various sectors concerned
(Agriculture, Education, Health, Rural Development, Economic and social affairs),
 a vertical process, whereby local knowledge, information & experience from the
field is fed back to provincial and central levels to inform policy and planning, and where
central and provincial levels provide policy frameworks and technical support for
project implementation at community & household levels.
Activities of the Bamyan province project (with the Aga Khan Foundation) show how nutrition
was integrated in local development by building local capacities and working in
partnerships: ‘training cum planning’ workshops enabled local staff to see by themselves how
sectors integrate through malnutrition problem & solution trees for 3 different vulnerable groups
in the areas where they work.
Communities designed their own projects including: nutrition education through Community
Health Workers; greenhouses to increase vegetable availability; a livestock group providing
sheep for women to increase milk availability; digging of wells to provide safe water.
Other similar partnerships in the province have built ownership and commitment to nutrition
issues amongst communities, NGOs and government departments.

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Common approaches for assessing livelihoods

We will now compare eight livelihoods assessment approaches to inform food security
analysis:
1. Household and Livelihoods Security (HLS) Approach
2. Livelihoods Approach to Emergency Food Security Assessments
3. Household Economy Approach (HEA)
4. Economic Security Analysis Approach
5. Early warning Approach in Food Security Analysis
6. Food and Health Analysis of Food Insecurity
7. Vulnerable Group Profiling
8. Integrated Food Security Analysis System

It is important to notice that there is no single way to conduct livelihood assessments.

There are many other approaches that also contain a livelihoods element. Moreover, approaches
are sometimes taken by different agencies and applied or modified to suit particular situations.
While some approaches refer specifically to livelihoods in their methodology, other approaches
consider only some elements of livelihoods.
All approaches are based to some degree on the assumption that food shortages, crises and
famine are due to lack of food accessibility rather then food availability.

Most approaches include a number of stages in assessment:

1. Information gathering on context that includes a description of macro-economic and
social factors.
2. Identification of livelihood groups or food economy groups (population groups that
employ the same means of attaining food and income).
3. An assessment of different food and income sources in normal times and the changes as
a result of a particular shock. Some approaches also involve an assessment of nutritional
status.
4. An assessment of coping strategies.

When applied in emergencies, all the assessment approaches generally include:

• estimation of the severity of food security;
• identification of vulnerable groups; and
• identification of appropriate interventions.

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1. Household and Livelihoods Security (HLS) Approach

The Household and Livelihoods Security Approach is the only one that makes use of all aspects
of the livelihoods framework.

Objective The objective is to provide a multi-dimensional view of livelihoods

and peoples goals to identify programming priorities.

Context of This approach is mostly applied in development and stable

application situations.

Data sources Data sources are primary and secondary.

This approach uses quantitative and qualitative data.

Methods of primary data collection are:

• key informant interview
• focus groups
Methods of data • proportional piling
collection • ranking
• mapping time trends
• seasonal calendars
• transect walks
• direct observation
• household interviews
• nutrition surveys

This approach first determines the feasibility of different livelihood

Analysis strategies leading to identifying key leverage points that allow CARE
to have maximum impact on people’s livelihoods.
The identification of risks and opportunities is done by the
community.

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HLS has been used to identify livelihood support in stable contexts,

although it is increasingly being used to identify needs in chronically
vulnerable areas.

It may identify four phases of programming, according to objectives

of livelihood support:
• livelihoods protection to prevent loss of assets;
• livelihoods provisioning to save lives and protect or improve
nutritional and health status;
Use • livelihoods recovery to rehabilitate livelihoods; and
• livelihoods promotion to improve production and income-
earning opportunities.

Reference agency: CARE

Strengths  Well developed holistic livelihoods framework.

 Assessments able to identify a broad range of interventions.

• Limited application in situations of chronic conflict and

Weaknesses political instability (SCCPI); it has not undergone adaptations
to deal with constraints of working in conflict.
• Takes 4-6 weeks to implement, so not ideally suited to
emergency contexts.

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2. Livelihoods Approach to Emergency Food Security Assessments.

The Livelihoods Approach to Food Security Assessments in Emergencies refers specifically to
livelihoods in the description of its methodology.

The objectives are:

Objectives • to determine severity of food insecurity in terms of risks
to lives and livelihoods; and
• to identify appropriate interventions.

Context of This approach is mainly applied in natural disasters, displaced,

application political emergencies.

Data sources Data sources are primary and secondary, and qualitative.

Methods of primary data collection are:

• key informant interview
• focus groups
Methods of data • proportional piling
collection • ranking
• mapping time trends
• seasonal calendars
• transect walks
• direct observation
• household interviews
• nutrition surveys

People’s ability to meet their food needs is analysed by looking at

Analysis shifts in entitlements and by anthropometric status (proxy for
nutritional status).
Risks to livelihoods are assessed by examining the type of coping
strategies adopted and the proportion of the population adopting

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them.
Different food and income sources are not quantified but food
insecurity is indicated if a population suffers a large reduction in one
of its main food sources.

If people are unable to meet their immediate food needs, then the
immediate response is food aid.
Use Alternative interventions designed to support livelihoods might
include support to income, agriculture and livestock/fishing.

Reference agency: Oxfam-GB

It can identify a range of livelihood interventions as well as the need

Strengths for food aid.

This approach has been developed for natural disasters, and needs
Weaknesses to be adapted for SCCPI.

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3. Household Economy Approach (HEA)

The Household Economy Approach considers elements of livelihoods such as food security,
income and expenditure.

Objective The objective is to estimate the impact of a shock on the ability of the
household to acquire food and non-food items.

Context of This approach is applied in natural disasters, refugees and conflict.

application

Data Data sources are primary and secondary; qualitative and quantitative.
sources

Methods of primary data collection are:

• key informant interview
• focus groups
Methods of • proportional piling
data • ranking
collection • mapping time trends
• seasonal calendars
• transect walks
• direct observation
• household interviews
• nutrition surveys
This approach uses household interviews for different wealth groups and
no anthropometric surveys.

The approach estimates likely effect of a shock on the ability of households to

Analysis acquire sufficient food and maintain non-food consumption, e.g. education,
health, etc. Food, cash income and expenditure are converted into food
equivalent units. For the baseline, the sources of food and income have to add
up to an average of 2100 kcals per person per day as the minimum food
requirement for survival. Also, there are minimum non-food requirements that
need to be satisfied through income and production.
The following two steps are needed to estimate whether the household faces a

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food deficit:
1) calculate the likely household deficit resulting from the problem and
2) estimate the households ability to overcome such deficits.
In determining the food gap, certain types of coping strategy will be
discounted as they negatively affect livelihoods sustainability, e.g. selling key
assets.

The approach has mainly been used to rationalise food aid needs. However,
information can be used for vulnerability analysis and modelling impact of
interventions. The approach is increasingly being used to strengthen analysis
of livelihood patterns through baseline profiles and to identify the nature of
Use vulnerability of different food economy groups.
The approach is used by SC UK but also incorporated into other information
systems, e.g. the FSAU for Somalia, WFP in south Sudan and Burundi, National
Vulnerability Assessment Committee (NVAC) assessments in southern Africa
and the Tanzanian government Food Security Information System (FSIS).
Reference agency: Save the Children UK

• Agreed upon and well articulated assessment framework that enables

Strengths discussion and consensus building around results. This can be very
important where there are concerns over data manipulation by
authorities.
• Employment of baselines for livelihoods analysis allows quantification
of food gap and resulting needs.
• Analysis is transparent and reproducible.

• Focus on economic aspects of food insecurity rather than wider social

and political determinants.
• Does not lead to recommendations on the feasibility of targeting
Weaknesses assistance to identified food deficit groups.
• Lack of focus on linkages between food security/livelihood status at
household and community level and macro-level factors.
• Quantification of food gap can engender false sense of statistical rigor.
This approach has been developed for natural disasters, and needs to be
adapted for SCCPI.

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4. Economic Security Analysis Approach

The Economic Security Analysis Approach includes the following elements of livelihoods:
resources, assets, strategies, obligatory expenditure.

Objectives The objectives are to determine the risk of decapitalisation, and to intervene to
prevent this.

Context of This approach is applied in conflict.

application

Data Data sources are primary data, quantitative.

sources

Methods of Methods of primary data collection are mainly household interviews and
data anthropometric surveys.
collection

The stages of assessment and analysis are:

• Identify regions where population is in danger due to armed conflict or
natural/economic disaster.
• Identify areas with specific risk factors to select communities to be
assessed.
• Identify communities or groups who are vulnerable because of their
ethnic, economic, social and cultural characteristics.
Analysis • Collect information on renewable resources, assets, and expenses.
Households may be sampled until the overall picture is consistent and there is
much emphasis on the knowledge of local staff and experienced ICRC staff.
The analysis involves determining the following three stages of economic
insecurity:
1) Renewable resources are greater than obligatory expenses and the
household is self-sufficient.
2) Renewable resources are insufficient to meet obligatory expenses and
capital without interest is used up, resulting in decapitalisation.
3) Both renewable resources and capital without interest are insufficient to

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meet obligatory expenses and productive assets are used up, resulting in
destitution.

The approach is geared to assessing need for economic interventions. The

range of responses is determined by the stages of food insecurity.

1) The first stage indicates need for preventive measures, including political
Use negotiation to prevent abuses.
2) In the second stage, responses may include economic support to prevent
decapitalisation including food aid, veterinary support and means to diversify
and intensify production.
3) In the third stage, survival relief is the main purpose. Once the crisis is over,
economic rehabilitation is provided to restore the means of production to a
level necessary for household economic security.

Reference agency: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

• It incorporates an analysis of political vulnerability that is crucial in

Strengths situations of chronic conflict and political instability (SCCPI).
• Approach is rapid and usually carried out by experienced staff.

• Not systematic so that assessments depend on the experience of the

Weaknesses assessors.
• Difficult to compare severity of situations between countries or between
regions in the same country.

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5. Early warning Approach in Food Security Analysis

The Early Warning Approach in Food Security Analysis includes Food Security as element of
livelihoods.

Objective The objective is to manage threats to food security through provision of timely
and analytical early warning and vulnerability information.

Context of This approach is applied to understanding the impact of hazards on household

application food security.

Data Data sources are secondary data, mainly quantitative.

sources Primary data are used for Food Security Vulnerability Profiles (FSVPs).

Methods of This approach builds on Household Economy Approach and uses secondary
data data and primary data collection methods such as key informant and
collection household interviews.

Changes to food security are analysed by comparing secondary data, e.g.

prices, vegetation, rainfall, etc to data for normal years.
Analysis These data are then applied to FSVPs.
These profiles examine food security levels and inter-annual variation of
particular population groups with households categorised as those employing
broadly similar food access strategies and experiencing the same level, trend
and variability of food security.

The approach is mainly used to provide early warning of food insecurity and to
Use identify at-risk populations to inform timely response.
Construction of FSVPs is also used in situations of chronic food insecurity to
inform recommendations for livelihood programming in the longer term.

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Reference agency: USAID - Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS

NET)

• Reliance on secondary data and application to livelihood profiles makes

Strengths it suitable for contexts where it is not possible to collect primary data,
e.g. conflict induced emergencies, where there are high levels of
insecurity.
• Quantitative data verifiable and credible.

• Absence of a link between risk and its impact on food or income

Weaknesses sources of specific livelihood groups. The construction of Food Security
Vulnerability Profiles is an attempt to create this link.
• Little capacity for, or experience of, conflict early warning or
monitoring and assessing the impact of conflict on different livelihood
groups.

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6. Food and Health Analysis of Food Insecurity

The Food and Health Analysis of Food Insecurity considers the following elements of livelihoods:
food security and access to health care.

Objective Its objective is to determine the stage of food insecurity and appropriate food
and health interventions.

Context of This approach is applied in conflict.

application

Data Data sources are primary data, qualitative.

sources

Methods of Methods of primary data collection are:

data • key informant interviews;
collection • focus groups; and
• anthropometric surveys.

This approach involves the identification of the stage of food insecurity. There
are three stages:
Analysis
1) Food insecurity, with associated coping strategies defined as insurance
strategies, e.g. reversible coping.
2) Food crisis, with associated crisis strategies, e.g. irreversible coping, sale of
productive assets.
3) Famine/health crisis and death, with distress strategies, e.g. no coping
mechanisms left, starvation and migration.
Information collection is specified for each stage of food insecurity. During
food insecurity, early signs are monitored. In a food crisis, intermediate
indicators like food prices, access to food and health indicators are monitored.
In famine, outcome indicators of malnutrition, morbidity and death are
important.

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In food insecure situations, the aim is to preserve livelihoods by, for example,
FFW or support for health structures to treat individual cases of malnutrition.
In food crisis, the aim is to ensure sufficient household food security via
Use general rations. Health care systems and water resources may also require
support.
In famine situations, the emphasis is on saving lives through feeding and
mortality surveillance.
Reference agency: Medecins San Frontières-Holland.

• It is easy to understand and use.

Strengths • It provides staff with a shared notion of concepts.

It is based on sequences of coping strategies applicable to slow onset

Weaknesses drought, therefore not as suitable for situations of chronic conflict and
political instability (SCCPI).

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7. Vulnerable Group Profiling

The Vulnerable Group Profiling approach considers all elements of livelihoods that impact on
food security and nutrition.

The objective is to identify in a participatory way appropriate food security

Objective and nutrition interventions at various levels (community, district and
national).

Context of Mostly development and stable situations.

application

Data Data sources are primary data, qualitative.

sources

Methods of primary data collection are:

• national and/or subnational level workshops (‘training-cum planning’),
• key informant interview,
• community-level focus group discussions.
Methods of
data Other PRA techniques used in nutrition appraisals include: proportional piling,
collection • ranking,
• mapping time trends,
• seasonal calendars,
• transect walks,
• direct observation,
• household interviews.

Data collection needs are defined and findings are analysed, using the
Sustainable Livelihoods framework adapted to food security analysis. The
Analysis analytical framework used as a lens through which to view the interaction
among micro-, meso- and macro-level factors to more fully understand the
relationship between national-level dynamics and household-level vulnerability.
SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) is used to
map out key dynamic factors influencing present and future food insecurity.

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Another important tool is problem tree analysis, which allows a systematic

identification of the main causes of food insecurity and explicitly focuses on
establishing causal links.
The nutrition analysis and profiling work uses the causal framework of
malnutrition. Problem- and solution-tree analysis carried out by local district
and community people to raise.

Vulnerable Group Profiling has been used to identify appropriate types of food
security and nutrition interventions that are based on effective needs in
chronically vulnerable areas as defined by community and government
Use representatives. In nutrition programming, profiles are also used to raise local
understanding of nutrition and food security issues, to develop community
action plans and identify baseline variables for project management.
Reference Agency: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO)

Strengths Profiling work is owned by communities for their own use.

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8. Integrated Food Security Analysis System

The Integrated Food Security Analysis approach refers specifically to livelihoods in the
description of its methodology.

Objectives The objectives are to determine severity of food insecurity in terms of risks
to lives and livelihoods and to identify appropriate interventions.

Context of Approach developed in Somalia, a complex emergency setting. Adaptation to

application development settings is currently being explored.

Data Primary and secondary; quantitative and qualitative.

sources
FSAU utilizes a wide range of research methods for primary data collection:
• nutritional anthropometry and dietary assessments
• satellite imagery and geographic information systems
• market analysis
• household surveys
Methods of • coping strategies index (CSI)
data • crop and livestock production surveys
collection • focus groups and key informants
• participatory research methods
FSAU specifically developed the Food Security Analysis System (FSAS) that
holistically integrates conceptual, operational and analytical aspects of its work,
and is underpinned by livelihoods analysis. Within the broadly accepted
conceptual food security pillars of access, availability, utilization, and stability,
the FSAS operationally and conceptually draws together:
Analysis • Core sectors for analysis—pastoralism, agriculture, climate, markets,
nutrition, conflict and natural resources,
• Scales of analysis—macro, meso and micro levels, with emphasis on the
meso level scale of Livelihood Zones,
• Core analytical activities—baseline livelihoods analysis, annual food
security vulnerability projections, rapid food security and nutrition
assessments, livelihoods key indicator monitoring at both the macro and meso
level, nutrition surveillance and analysis, and applied research.
• Information support activities—database development, Digital Library,

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web site, Spatial Data Tracker, and the FSAU Resource Center,
• Key outputs/products—including monthly briefs/updates, Technical
Series, Food and Livelihood Security Phase Classification, and research articles.
A central piece of the FSAS is the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC), a
classification system for Situational Analysis that is effectively used to
communicate complex analysis to UN, NGO, and government agencies, donors
and media. The IPC Reference Table guides analysis for both the Phase
Use Classification and Early Warning Risk Levels. The Phase Classification is
divided into five Phases—Generally Food Secure, Chronically Food Insecure,
Acute Food and Livelihood Crisis, Humanitarian Emergency, and
Famine/Humanitarian Catastrophe.
Each Phase is linked to a comprehensive set of Key Reference Outcomes on
human welfare and livelihoods to guide the classification. Each Phase is also
linked to a tailored Strategic Response Framework that provides strategic,
non-prescriptive guidance to achieve three objectives: (1) mitigate immediate
negative outcomes, (2) support livelihoods, and (3) address
underlying/structural causes.
Reference Agency: Food Security Analysis Unit in Somalia.

Strengths Unique characteristics of the FSAS include:

• Holistic understanding of behaviours and structures that constitute
peoples’ livelihoods, with ultimate interest in food security outcomes.
• Multi-scale approach, with a focus on meso-level analysis based on
Livelihood Zones, while drawing from an understanding of macro and micro
level analysis
• Mixed methods, including quantitative and qualitative analysis on
secondary and primary data
• Integration of sectoral analysis, whereby key sectors are analyzed in
sufficient depth, as well as breadth to ensure strong linkages between sectors
and hence a holistic approach.
• Analysis of both behaviours (livelihood strategies) and structures
(livelihood assets) to enable strategic short and long-term interventions to
promote food security.
IPC most salient strengths are: consistent and meaningful structure to the final
statement, increased response effectiveness, greater analytical transparency

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and accountability, adaptable by a broad range of information systems.

Selecting approaches in different contexts and in

emergency situations

The approaches described above have been developed by different agencies.

The need to develop agency-specific assessment approaches partly reflects the mandate and
capacity of agencies to implement certain types of programme (hence the need for, and
emphasis on, certain types of information) and also the types of situation in which agencies
work. While no one approach is best for all situations, certain approaches confer advantage in
particular contexts2. The analysis of context should influence the choice of assessment
method. It should also be remembered that certain approaches could be modified to suit a
particular context.

In emergency situations, assessments need to be conducted rapidly in order to mobilise

resources – especially where the need is for livelihood protection, e.g. preventing sale of key
assets, or damaging coping strategies.
For instance, Livelihoods Approach to Emergency Food Security, Economic Security Analysis
Approach, Food and Health Analysis of Food Insecurity are approaches that have been designed
for rapid implementation, and therefore can be useful in emergency situations.

In situations of chronic conflict and political instability, assessments may not only need to
be very rapid but it may only be possible to interview a small number of households or key
informants.
The Economic Security Analysis Approach is well suited to such a context and, in extreme
situations, those conducting assessments will only interview people who have managed to
escape a location where there is life-threatening insecurity.

2
Tip: using a transparent approach
In many ways, what is most important about an approach is not the methodology itself but that the approach is transparent, easy
to understand and credible. After all, the primary purpose of any assessment is to convince decision makers to commit resources
for a particular type of intervention. Thus, whatever approach is adopted and used in a particular context, it is vital to involve those
who will use and respond to the information in the development of the methodology. At the very least, there must be clear
communication channels between those designing and conducting the assessment and those that will use the information.

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Moreover, approaches which rely on secondary data and modelling based on previously
established livelihood profiles may be especially useful, e.g. the Early warning Approach in food
security analysis.

Situations of chronic conflict and political instability (SCCPI)

In situations of chronic conflict and political instability, it may not be possible to collect certain
types of information, e.g. on illegal or immoral activities, so that such information cannot be
factored into considerations of coping capacity.
Approaches that are based on a sequential process of behavioural change and coping may be
less applicable in situations of conflict where coping capacity may be rapidly eroded.
Livelihood groupings may change and become more homogenous as livelihood options are shut
off. Vulnerability may therefore be better described in terms of political or ethnic affiliation
or in terms of security.
However, describing risk in such terms may be difficult for agencies and may compromise
agency relations with government or insurgents and ultimately affect their capacity to work
unhindered in a country.
It is often assumed that livelihood interventions cannot be implemented in emergencies
(especially SCCPI). However, there is increasing experience that certain interventions are
feasible (income, agricultural, and market support).
Thus, approaches which are able to identify a broad range of livelihood support needs are
well suited to emergencies.

Selecting approaches in stable situations

In a stable situation there will be more time to carry out the livelihoods assessment than in
an emergency, i.e. there will be less pressure to mount an intervention immediately.
Household and Livelihoods Security (HLS) Approach, Household Economy Approach, Vulnerable
Group Profiling are approaches that have been designed for situations where the need for
intervention is not so urgent, and require comprehensive construction of a baseline on livelihood
patterns.
In stable situations there will be greater potential to implement a broad range of livelihood
interventions, e.g. livelihoods rehabilitation and promotion and capacity building.
For instance, Household and Livelihoods Security, Livelihoods Approach to Emergency Food
Security,Vulnerable Group Profiling, Integrated Food Security Analysis are approaches that
provide information on different kinds of intervention options. In particular, one of the strengths
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of the Household and Livelihoods Security approach is to enable the identification of a broad
range of interventions.
In stable situations, the factors which create livelihood vulnerability and risk are likely to be due
to long-established political and institutional dynamics. Therefore, assessments must be able to
identify political and institutional factors to be addressed in order to improve livelihood status.
As a consequence, establishing linkages between the macro-level (national and
international) and the micro-level (community and household) is critical.
At the same time, agencies which perform this type of analysis will require capacity to advocate
for political and institutional change where identified as a factor undermining livelihoods status.
The following is an example where a livelihoods assessment established links between micro
and macro-level:

Example: A survey by CARE in Somalia in 2005

The survey was explicitly set out to assess the immediate, intermediate and underlying causes
of livelihood insecurity. This encompassed all elements of the livelihoods framework.
The assessment found that CARE had primarily focussed on addressing the immediate causes of
livelihood failure through food aid, and that it was important to start addressing the
intermediate causes, more connected to public service provision, through efforts to improve
education, skills training, strengthening production systems, building community assets and
upgrading the skills of local institutions.
At the level of underlying causes, recommendations included addressing clan based
marginalisation issues, such as access to land, as well as advocacy for addressing economic
under development and governance.

Staff capacity and experience

Livelihood assessments require certain skills and training. Thus, all approaches require some
capacity for participatory appraisal, e.g. key informant interviews, focus group discussions.
Enumerators also require high levels of observational and analytical skills during interviewing.
They must also be able to synthesise findings and construct succinct reports.

The following are some considerations related to skills and training in different contexts:

1. In widespread emergencies affecting large numbers of dispersed communities.

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In widespread emergencies affecting large numbers of dispersed communities, it may be

difficult to train sufficient numbers of enumerators rapidly for specific approaches, e.g. HEA and
HLS. In such situations it may be more appropriate to use an ICRC type of approach, where
only a few households are sampled, or a FEWS NET type of approach, where greater emphasis
is placed on applying secondary data to existing livelihood profiles.

2. In stable situations, where there is greater time for training and conducting the
assessment.
In stable situations an objective may be to build up sustainable capacity within country to
implement a specific assessment approach.

3. Where political and institutional issues contribute significantly to livelihoods risk

and vulnerability.
It is also important to recognise that where political and institutional issues are emerging as
significant contributors to livelihoods risk and vulnerability, it may be necessary to build up
advocacy skills within the agency conducting the assessments.
These cannot be rapidly acquired or inculcated in country programme staff. Thus, there may be
little point in collecting such information if the agency lacks capacity or commitment to act upon
findings.

Credibility and transparency of findings

In situations where assessment findings may be sensitive, it is important to have an approach

that is perceived as objective and transparent.
Where approaches include a large subjective element, findings are more easily critiqued,
disputed and at worst, ignored.
One of the significant advantages of HEA approach is that it has an easily understood
framework that enables discussion and consensus building around the results. This is less the
case for other approaches described above and may partly explain why a number of agencies,
institutions and governments have adopted the HEA approach or elements of the approach.

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Food, health and nutritional crises

Although humanitarian crises are invariably multi-sectoral, certain sectors may be more affected
than others, and may therefore play a greater role in contributing to mortality.
Thus, where an acute emergency has affected food production and food prices, the over-
riding need may be for emergency food aid. In such situations many would argue that the
Household Economy Approach is best suited to quantifying the food deficit.
Other emergencies may be more of a health crisis, e.g. Afghanistan 2002. In such situations,
the assessment approach should be more able to identify health problems and needs, e.g. the
approach on Food and health analysis of food security.
In other situations, the outcome of the crisis may be widespread malnutrition.
Here, livelihoods assessment approaches should contain a nutritional assessment capacity, e.g.
Household and Livelihoods Security Approach, Livelihoods Approach to Emergency Food
Security and Food and Health Analysis of Food Security.

Summary

• Livelihood interventions aim to provide livelihood protection, rehabilitation or

promotion, depending on the context.
• Livelihood assessments serve to identify the most appropriate livelihood interventions.
They should be people centered, multi-level and holistic, dynamic and
sustainable.
• In this lesson we have compared eight approaches which have been developed and used
by specific agencies. Differences partly reflect their mandate and programme
implementation capacities and also the types of situation in which agencies work.
• There are many other approaches, associated with other agencies, that also contain a
livelihoods element.
• While no one method is best for all situations, certain approaches confer advantage in
particular contexts. The analysis of context should exert influence over choice of
assessment method.

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• Moreover, although the eight approaches are described as agency approaches, there is
some evidence that they are taken by other agencies and applied or modified to suit
particular situations.

If you want to know more…

• Information on approaches:
- CARE’s HLS Approach: www.kcenter.com
- SC UK HEA: www.savethechildren.org.uk
- Oxfam-GB’s Livelihoods approach: www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/livelihoods/introduction
- USAID’s FEWS NET: www.fews.net
- FAO/FSAU: www.fsau.org
• Online resources :
- Livelihood monitoring and evaluation: Improving the impact and relevance of development
interventions. Turton: http://www.livelihoods.org/post/docs/tur-me01.rtf
- The Food Economy Approach: A framework for understanding rural livelihoods. Boudreau:
http://sheltercentre.org/library/food-economy-approach-framework-understanding-rural-
livelihoods
- Food security assessments in emergencies: A livelihood approach. HPN paper no 36
www.oxfam.org.uk/what_wedo/emergencies/how_we_work/downloads/Foodsecurity-and-
livelihoods.pdf
- SOFI/2000 article and diagram illustrating how livelihood approach relates to food security
(http:www.fao.org/FOCUS/E/SOFIOO/sofi001-e.htm)
- Livelihood assessment tools and applications. CARE: www.care.org
- Sustainable livelihoods assessment tool kit. ODI. http://www.odi.org.uk
- FEWS NET baseline work: www.fews.net
- Livelihoods programming in emergencies. Jaspars. S (2006). Special supplement no 3.
- Emergency Nutrition Network. www.ennonline.net
• Additional readings:
- A critical review to approaches of assessing and monitoring livelihoods in situations of chronic
conflict and political instability. ODI Working paper191
- Food security assessments, self-reliance, targeting and phasing out in ongoing refugee
situations. Summary Report of an inter-agency workshop. Rome 3-5th November 1999.
UNHCR/WFP/ENN
- The use of participatory methods for livelihoods assessment in situations of political instability:
A case study from Kosovo. ODI working paper 190
- Chambers and Conway, 1992
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- Young. H et al, 2002

- ENN Special Supplement No. 3: From Food Crisis to Fair Trade: Livelihoods Assessment,
Analysis and Support in Emergencies. By Suzanne Jaspars. 2006.

Learner Notes 30
Food Security Information for Action

Livelihoods Assessment and Analysis

Lesson 3
Livelihoods Indicators

Learner Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and developed

by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

© FAO, 2007
 Course Livelihoods Assessment and Analysis
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Table of contents
Learning objectives ......................................................................................... 2

Introduction.................................................................................................... 2

Aspects of Livelihoods...................................................................................... 2

Selecting Livelihoods Indicators ........................................................................ 4

Interpreting Livelihoods Indicators.................................................................. 17

Skills required ............................................................................................... 19

Summary...................................................................................................... 20

If you want to know more:............................................................................. 20

ANNEX I: Skills and knowledge required.......................................................... 22

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Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• identify indicators for each aspect of the livelihood framework;
• understand the criteria for selecting and collecting livelihoods indicators;
• be aware of the skills and knowledge required to select, collect and interpret livelihood
indicators

Introduction

This lesson is about how to choose and interpret indicators to analyse the livelihood status of a
group.
You will first look at some sample indicators for each aspect of the livelihoods framework, than
you will be provided with some guidelines on how to select the appropriate livelihood indicators
in specific contexts.
You will also see, through an example, how the data collected can be interpreted.
Finally, you will have a quick look at the skills and knowledge required to perform these tasks.

Aspects of Livelihoods

Ideally, the mix of indicators should cover all aspects of livelihoods of a livelihood group.
A livelihood group is, by definition, homogenous with respect to how the group obtains and
sustains its livelihood, which means that the main livelihood strategies will be similar
amongst households.

In-depth information
Homogeneity of livelihood groups
Defining a livelihoods group may to some degree require invoking arbitrary cut-offs.
Some livelihood assessment approaches automatically differentiate within livelihood groups, e.g.
SC UKs Household Economy Approach (HEA) breaks down households into rich, middle, poor
and very poor.
Other approaches do not do this. The implication is that where there is significant heterogeneity
with regard to livelihood assets and complementary strategies within a livelihood group, then

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In-depth information-cont

the indicators chosen to assess or monitor livelihood status within those groups will have a
different significance for household within each group.

For instance:
• Drought proneness or High levels of HIV are indicators which could be used to
understand the vulnerability context.
• Education or Membership of a large extended family are indicators which could be used
to indicate livelihood resources or assets.
• Land tenure system or Subsidies on main staple crop are two indicators which could be
used to understand policies, institutions and processes that affect livelihood
strategies.
• Petty trading and Agro-pastoralism are two indicators which indicate livelihood
sustainable strategies.
• Nutritional status and Crude mortality rates (CMR)

Indicators should then be selected that reflect:

• main risk and vulnerability;
• key assets;
• livelihood strategies;
• key policies/institutions and processes which may impact livelihoods; and
• livelihood outcomes.

The figure above (Livelihoods framework) helps to understand how household livelihood
systems interact with the outside environment – both the natural environment and the policy
and institutional context.

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Let’s have a look at some sample indicators for each aspect of the livelihood framework:
CONTEXT EXAMPLE OF INDICATORS

Vulnerability context Drought proneness or High levels of HIV

Livelihood resources or assets Education or Membership of a large extended family

Key policies, institutions and Land tenure system or Subsidies on main staple crop
processes.

Livelihood sustainable strategies Petty trading and Agro-pastoralism

Selecting Livelihoods Indicators

Information should not be collected on too many indicators. You should get accurate
information on key indicators.
Where possible, indicators should be prioritised on the basis that they provide as much
information about a livelihood as is possible. If multiple livelihood strategies are
employed, then respondents can be asked to prioritise these strategies in terms of their
significance with respect to food and income sources, e.g. proportional piling, etc.
Example-Key Indicators

• If the livelihood strategy of a population group is predominantly wage labour, then

information on wages, e.g. daily rates, seasonal fluctuations, relationship to labour
availability, are key. In contrast, information on petty trading is less significant.
• If the livelihood group or strategy is largely agropastoralist, then key indicators are
number of livestock and amount of land owned or cropped, prices of livestock and grain
prices. However, information on seasonal labour migration may be far less important.
• Stunting is an important indicator of livelihood outcome and therefore reflects on the
success of the livelihood strategy. However, it is not only dependent upon the livelihood
strategy. Thus, while stunting is a reasonable proxy for poverty it also reflects disease
environment, local health services, knowledge regarding treatment of conditions such as
diarrhoea, and cultural practices.

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Before selecting indicators, it is important to develop the analytical framework and

understand how indicators will be incorporated into the framework.

It may not be worthwhile collecting data on:

• Practices not important for an understanding of food security.
For instance, cultural practices with regard to feeding infants or young children are
important for an understanding of nutritional security but not food security.
• Strategies which only contribute a small amount towards food security.
For instance, strategies such as collection of wild foods or petty trading may only
contribute a small amount towards food security. Knowledge that these strategies are
employed and an approximate notion of their contribution towards food security may be
sufficient.
• Phenomena which may have an impact on livelihoods and food security but there is no
framework for determining what this impact might be. For instance: the spread of
HIV/AIDS almost certainly undermines food security. However, the extent and impact is
largely unknown and unquantifiable.

Livelihoods are influenced by multiple factors at community and household level, as well as at
macro-level (national and international). Indicators should be selected which allow to make
linkages between micro and macro-levels. For example, if land-holding is an important
indicator for subsistence farmers, then information on land-holding size at household level and
ownership and inheritance practices at community level are useful. At the same time, it is
important to have knowledge at the macro level of government taxation and land holding
legislation.
Another example is livelihoods strategies based on cash cropping. Here, information on risk of
crop failure, amount of land devoted to cash crops and prices are important information to
obtain at household and community level. At the same time, it is important to be able to link
this information with information on government export policies, subsidies for fertilizer and
herbicides, taxation, etc.

Indicators on livelihood strategies should, as far as possible, reflect a sustainable element of

livelihoods.
For example, selling small livestock may be a sustainable part of a system whereas taking out
massive loans or selling off oxen is not and should therefore not be included in a set of
livelihood indicators.

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It may not always be straightforward to determine whether a livelihood strategy is sustainable

and an element of judgement may be necessary.
For example, remittances may be an important component of a system but if these are
dependent upon labour in a capital city or abroad, it may be difficult to assess the sustainability
of this source of income.
In-depth Information

Sustainability in stable and emergency situations

In stable situations it is likely that the livelihood strategy will endure and that the indicators
will therefore remain valid and useful for monitoring purposes over a long period of time.
However, in situations of chronic vulnerability where risk to livelihood groups may be gradually
increasing, e.g. due to environmental degradation, spread of HIV or political/economic factors,
livelihood strategies may gradually become more constrained so that activities become more
‘desperate’. Activities may eventually become unsustainable, e.g. charcoal production, livestock
grazing further afield, seasonal migration for work and remittances, and selling off key assets.
Previous strategies, e.g. selling off a portion of livestock, sending a portion of migrant income
home, hard labour activities, may diminish as households become increasingly stressed. It is
therefore important to have a sense of which strategies (and indicators) may be eroded and
therefore changing/transient.

In emergencies livelihood strategies can change dramatically. For example, pastoralists can
loose the bulk of their livelihoods, migrate to towns and effectively become destitute.
Agropastoralists may lose the majority of their animals and need to diversify income
opportunities, e.g. petty trading and labour migration. In conflict situations, livelihoods may
become more radically altered, e.g. involve illegal activities, selling off land, farming out
dependants to richer members of the family.
It has to be recognised that indicators in these contexts may not only reflect desperate and
unsustainable strategies but also that at the end of the crisis (whenever that occurs) livelihood
strategies may be significantly changed in the longer term.

Ease of collecting indicator data varies considerably, as shown on the example below.
Moreover, information may need to be contextualised within normal seasonal variations. Thus,
data will need to be collected at key seasonal points in order to interpret its significance. This is
particularly important for indicators like prices, migration and grazing patterns, malnutrition and
mortality.

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easy to collect difficult to collect

Data on price and wage. Data on wage rates Data to be collected in

Terms of trade. from petty trading or conflict situations
Government devaluations. on remittances

Collection of data on wage rates from petty trading or on remittances is not straightforward.
Wages may vary in the same area at the same time while remittance information may be
concealed (for fear of tax) unless monies are sent through a formal financial institution like a
post-office. It can also be difficult to obtain data on number of days worked or number of days
per week for which work is available.
Other types of data may be even harder to obtain. For example, in conflict situations where
assets may be depleted due to theft and where people’s coping strategies may become criminal
or immoral, there may be reluctance to disclose information.

Data on outcomes, e.g. stunting, anaemia and mortality, require carrying out surveys.
This requires substantial investment of resources.
Furthermore, it may be difficult to collect data at the level of a livelihood zone – surveys are
usually conducted at administrative level, e.g. districts, or provinces. There are exceptions, e.g.
in Darfur, Sudan, SC UK conducts nutritional surveys at livelihood zone level.

Where objective measurability 1cannot be assured, experience of those conducting the

assessment and means of triangulation can be critical determinants of accuracy.

1
Objective measurability is an important quality for an indicator. However, the very nature of livelihoods assessment and analysis
determine that a mixture of quantitative and qualitative information is required.
While certain information, for example physical or financial assets, are relatively easy to quantify objectively, information on other
types of livelihoods resource can only be obtained through subjective assessment and will be more qualitative, e.g. social assets,
political affiliations. Moreover, in some situations, e.g. politically unstable contexts, veracity of information cannot be guaranteed.
Other indicators, e.g. vulnerability to drought or conflict will need a framework for their determination. These frameworks may lack
precision.

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To triangulate information means to compare information obtained from different

sources. Therefore, in some situations it may be prudent to select indicators that can be
collected from multiple sources. For example, households may be reluctant to provide
information about charcoal burning or cattle raiding as an extra source of income.
Thus, if the information can also be obtained from other sources, e.g. village leaders, local
government officials, NGO staff, then there can be greater confidence in the data.

As livelihoods assessment is meant to be people centred in that the goals and priorities of those
being assessed need to be taken into account, the assessment must, by definition, employ
participatory methods. However, not all indicators can be collected through
participatory methods. Some information may be difficult to obtain in group settings, while
other information may only be sourced from experts.
Also in this case, there is a need for a healthy mixture of indicators that allow participatory
methods to be employed.

Tools include:
Common participatory methods include: • semi-structured interviews,
• community meetings, • community mapping,
• focal group discussions, • historical profiles,
• men’s and women’s groups discussions, • ranking,
It is • key informant interviews. • case studies,
• time lines,
• seasonal calendars, etc.

It is also important to determine the feasibility of conducting participatory methods before

jumping in. For example:
• Is it feasible to expect people to meet in a group or to separate men from women?
• What types of questions are appropriate given cultural sensitivities?
• If it is necessary to have government officials present, is this likely to constrain
responses and openness?

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Let’s now have a look at how indicators have been selected in a specific context.
First, we will consider the case of the Nias mountain People.

Case N.1- Nias mountain People

Nias mountain People
The central island of the Nias archipelago off Indonesia has hills and mountains that run down
the centre of the island and comprise the majority of land area. The area is very isolated, hilly
and has dense vegetation. Road quality is poor and villages are 1-2 hours from main roads with
a further journey to markets and health facilities.
Government provides subsidised rice (main staple) to poor households in the area and is also
responsible for stabilising rice prices on the market and guaranteeing prices to farmers.
Government also manages national stock.
The most dominant tree /crops in the hills and mountains are rubber trees, sweet potato,
bananas and cassava. Rubber is the most important cash crop and sweet potato is used as food
for pigs. Banana and cassava are the most common home grown staple food. Rice cultivation
takes place in many areas but is practiced by a small if significant minority of the population.
Other tree crops include coconut, sagu, betel nuts and fruit but are grown to different extents.
Both men and women collect rubber sap and sell it weekly in markets that serve clusters of
villages. There are one or two pigs per household and selling of 1 or 2 piglets is a significant
source of income. This is the preserve of women. Wild foods are available and collected or
hunted on a small scale.
Access to markets is the most commonly mentioned constraint. Credit options are limited and
mostly sought from wealthier relatives – usually at zero interest. Access to more significant
amounts of money or capacity to pay off large loans appears to be through sale of all or a
portion of one’s land. An alternative means of obtaining significant money is to migrate to
Sumatra as a family and take up employment there.
Families tend to migrate on a temporary or permanent basis to work and/or live in the rice
plains. Reasons given are to improve access to markets and services and the existence of more
economic opportunities. While many households have moved permanently, others work on a
seasonal share cropping basis in the rice plains to supplement their hill based economic
activities. This is one of the most important economic options, particularly for households with
less land or abundant labour.
Unskilled construction work is also important, e.g. breaking up exposed hillside to prepare and
sell different sized stones and rock, labouring on local households. Availability of work has
increased since the earthquake in 2005.

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Case N.1- Nias mountain People- cont

Seasonal patterns are notable for rubber, labour and pig selling activities. Access to land is
variable and depends on population density. Land is inherited and divided amongst children.
Within the hill and mountains livelihood zones, access to land and labour are the two most
critical factors in determining who is poor. Pig ownership is generally similar across all
households. Households with sufficient productive land for either rubber and rice or both are
unlikely to be involved in other labour related activities. If households have 1 hectare (ha) for
rubber and half a ha for rice production, this is enough. Less land area dictates that other
income strategies are needed. Household without land are a small but significant minority.
Landless households have usually had to sell land to pay school fees or for wedding costs. In
some instances, people have left an area and returned to find that their rights to the land have
been forfeited.
Up to 25-50% of food is obtained from home grown staples like banana and cassava with
additional smaller contributions from other crops. The remainder of food is obtained from
purchase of rice.
Households are vulnerable to deterioration in terms of trade between rubber, pigs and essential
purchases. Furthermore, reduced access and/or returns to rice cultivation/share cropping would
affect a large number of households.
Reduced access or returns to labour, whether in Nias or Sumatra could have a serious effect on
income. While disease outbreaks affecting pigs and chickens can also be a risk factor.
Government generally ignore this area – probably as it is easier to affect development work in
the plains and coastal region.

The following indicators have been selected for this livelihood group:

• Terms of trade between rubber and pig income and essential food and non-food
purchases
• Access/income from rice cultivation/share cropping
• Access/income from labour in Nias town or Sumatra
• Disease outbreaks amongst pigs/other livestock
• Levels of stunting and anaemia amongst children

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The livelihood indicators for the Nias mountain people have been selected for a number of
reasons:
• The mix of indicators covers most aspects of livelihoods, i.e. vulnerability,
livelihood strategies, processes and outcomes.
• They provide the maximum amount of information on livelihood status.
Most income comes from pig and rubber sales, rice cultivation and labour in Nias and
Sumatra. Thus, assessing terms of trade between rubber and pig sales and essential
food and non-food purchases, as well as access and income from rice
cultivation/share cropping and labour provide a comprehensive overview of livelihood
status and current vulnerability.
• The indicators reflect sustainable livelihood strategies.
• The indicators are generally easy to measure. Price and wage information are fairly
easy to collect while outcome information on stunting and anaemia (although costly)
are easily obtainable. Swine disease outbreak information is also easily monitored.
• The indicators can easily be incorporated into a framework to assess livelihood
and food security status.

Let’s consider now the situation of artisanal fishers in Benin, and what types of indicators have
been selected.

Case N.2- Artisanal fishers in Benin

Full time sedentary fishers in Benin live without land in settled fishing communities on the
seacoast, where sandy oil precludes agricultural activity and fishing is the main source of family
income.
The worst off in this group own no equipment or gear, receive very low wages as members of
fishing crews and have limited cash to cover basic expenses.

Vulnerability:
Changing factor: Depletion of fish stocks and destruction of natural sea habitats.
Devaluation of CFA caused many boat owners costs to increase substantially more than the
price of fish. As a result this now consumes a greater percentage of earnings.
Seasonality: Income declines in the rainy season and diet is less varied while malaria and acute
respiratory tract infections are more frequent.

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Case N.2- Artisanal fishers in Benin- CONT

Livelihood Assets:
Assets of this livelihood group can be broken down as follows:
Human capital: a typical household has two income earners and four or five dependents.
Social capital: Women are members of a tontine, a traditional social insurance and micro- credit
society for women, while men have strong links with other members of the fishing unit.
Natural capital: Access to sea and landing areas on beach is free. Mangroves provide fuel-wood
for cooking and smoking fish. Coco tree trunks are used for shelter.
Physical capital: Households live in shelters made of coco trunks. Women keeps kitchen garden
in which they grow tomatoes, etc. Water is available from wells in village.
Financial capital: Most households have no savings but women tend to own a stake in the
revolving fund of the tontine.

Policies/processes/institutions:
There are regulations restricting overuse of large nets.
There are also regional projects to support artisanal fishing in coastal W. Africa funded by the
Department for International Development UK (DFID).

Livelihood strategies:
Dry season (high fishing). Boat owner gives male adults a small share of cash earned from sale
of day’s catch while women earn cash from the fish they buy, smoke and resell.
Rainy (low fishing) season. Male adults migrate with the fishing crew to look for work in
Cotonou port and occasionally remit small amounts of money while women sell garden produce,
as well as preparing and selling coconut oil and artisanal salt.
Diet: In the dry season households eat maize with sauce of tomatoes, palm oil, onion and green
vegetables. Fish is usually cooked in sauce or smoked. In the rainy season, cassava with sauce
is the main food and fish is occasionally eaten.
Expenditures: In the dry season main expenditures are on food, loan repayments, and tontine
payments while in the rainy season, the main costs are for food, tontine payments and health
expenditures.

Measurable outcomes:
Malaria and diarrhoea incidence are high and stunting rates >25% with 52% anaemia in under
2 year olds.

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Case N.2- Artisanal fishers in Benin- CONT

Main indicators to monitor livelihood strategies and status:

• Daily wages for fishing in dry season and remittances in rainy season
• Income from fish sales and selling of garden produce in dry season
• Price of maize and cassava
• Terms of trade between income and price of food staples
• Government devaluations of currency
• Incidence of stunting and anaemia

Comment:
The fishers in Benin are largely dependent upon wages earned from fishing. Thus, information
on their wages and the terms of trade with their key staple food, e.g. maize and cassava, are
key. Other indicators have less significance or are not a key component of livelihood strategies.
For example, petty trading amongst the spouses of fishers is important but not a major source
of income – especially during the dry season.

As a third example, let’s consider the situation of Pastoralists in southern Somalia:

Case N.3- Pastoralists in southern Somalia
Pastoralists in southern Somalia derive the majority of their food needs from the purchase of
cereals, sugar, and oil.
Milk and milk products from cattle comprise a significant additional food source.
Income is mainly obtained from sale of livestock and livestock products.
Poorer wealth groups with their smaller herd sizes obtain a significant amount of food/income
from activities such as petty trade, bush product collection and casual labour.
Intra-community gifts to the poor, such as lactating livestock, food and cash are also common.
Vulnerability
Seasonality: The long dry jilaal season is usually the most difficult time for pastoralists and their
animals, when energy needs are high (during the seasonal search for water and pasture) and
milk production and livestock prices are low.
Vulnerability and risk: Factors undermining livelihoods include restricted grazing mobility due to
insecurity, population expansion and sedentarisation, lack and breakdown of traditional pastoral
environmental management systems, poor livestock health care systems in an unregulated drug

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Case N.3- Pastoralists in southern Somalia-CONT

market. Many pastoralists also face poor terms of trade in some areas due to distance from
markets. Sudden shocks can also occur, e.g. conflict induced asset depletion, border closures
and trade disruptions, e.g. livestock import/export bans.

Livelihood Assets:
Assets of this livelihood group can be broken down as follows:
Social: Households can send their children to better off relatives in times of hardship and there
is also capacity to borrow from within the community.
Physical: Livestock herd - size varies significantly.
Natural: Bush products, e.g. firewood, charcoal, aromatic gums.
Financial: Through petty trade and sale of livestock and products. There is also significant rural
to urban migration.

Policies/processes/institutions:
Factors which impact on this livelihood system include livestock import/export bans and NGO
livestock health programmes and water interventions.
There is also education and some income diversification in localised areas focused on
rehabilitation of water-related infrastructure.

Key indicators for monitoring pastoralist livelihood systems and status include:

• Livestock and livestock product prices

• Livestock condition and milk output
• Price of maize, sugar and oil
• Terms of trade between livestock prices and maize
• Trends in rural to urban migration
• Changes in grazing patterns/restrictions
• Outbreaks of livestock disease
• Conflict induced asset depletion and trade disruptions
• Drought and livestock mortality
• Bans on livestock imports/exports
• Stunting, wasting and mortality

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Case N.3- Pastoralists in southern Somalia-CONT

Comment
When livestock export bans are a significant risk in an area for pastoralist and agro-pastoralist
populations, it is important to have developed indicators and an analytical framework for
translating the impact of a ban on livelihoods and food security.
An example: indicators on the reduction in volume of livestock sales and resulting price changes
that in turn have an impact on income sources.

Finally, let’s consider the case of Agro-pastoralists in southern Somalia:

Case N.3- Agro-Pastoralists in southern Somalia
Agro-pastoralists in southern Somalia derive the majority of their food from their own crop
production, livestock milk production and some purchase.
Income comes from the sale of livestock and livestock products, the sale of crops, and, for
poorer groups, a variety of petty trade, casual labour and collection of bush products. Intra-
community redistribution is also important for poorer groups.
This livelihood group is highly vulnerable to a combination of natural and man-made factors.
This population primarily comes from politically and militarily marginal clans and have been
amongst the greatest victims of violence since the collapse of Siad Barre’s regime in 1991. A
combination of poor rains and harvests, the resulting asset losses (of both food stocks and
livestock) and displacement have resulted in large-scale food deficits.

Vulnerability:
This includes poor rains and consecutive seasons of crop failure, conflict induced asset depletion
of fixed and immobile assets, e.g. land, trade disruption due to conflict and border closures.
Many households also face physical isolation from ports and services in main urban centres, lack
of security from violence and economic exploitation, increasing commercial and communal debt,
crop pests, disease and bird attacks. At the same time there has been a gradually decreasing
level of assistance from humanitarian agencies.

Livelihood Assets:
Assets of this livelihood group can be broken down as follows:
Livestock and land, farm implements and dwellings.
Natural resources from bush products.

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Case N.3- Agro-Pastoralists in southern Somalia-CONT

Financial resources from selling livestock assets and food stocks, and seasonal migration to
urban areas for employment.
Intra-community social support.

Policies/processes/institutions:
The main institutional support has come from agencies that have distributed seeds and tools,
agricultural extensions activities and livestock and human health programmes.
There have also been long-term water interventions and vegetable production support in some
areas.

Main indicators for livelihood system:

• Price of maize and livestock
• Terms of trade between maize and livestock
• Drought, pests and impact on harvest outcome
• Livestock condition and milk production
• Average livestock holding
• Trade disruption due to conflict
• Stunting, wasting and mortality rates

Comment:
For the agro-pastoralists of southern Somalia, the two key indicators are terms of trade
between livestock and maize and harvest outcome.

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Interpreting Livelihoods Indicators

In order to understand how livelihoods indicators can be interpreted in real life situations, we
will consider the example of the Farchana refugee camp in Chad.

Case N.4- Farchana refugee camp in Chad

Most refugees in this refugee camp originated from around Geneina town. Refugees arriving in
Chad from villages within one or two days from the border brought assets with them from
home, including animals, household utensils, basic furniture, food stocks and sometimes cash.
People from further away generally bought little. Once in Chad, many animals were looted
during raids from across the border while others died of fatigue, thirst and hunger. Despite
suffering massive loss of animals en route, half of households still owned 4-5 cattle when they
arrived and a great proportion had some small ruminants and/or donkeys. The sickliest animals
were still around the camp but healthy cattle are grazing further south. There is overall a
slightly higher proportion of females than men registered in the camp. This may be due to a
combination of polygamy, male deaths in Sudan or men working in Libya or on the plantations
in central Sudan. Some may also have joined the rebel factions to fight.
A basic kit is given to each refugee household on arrival, e.g. water container, blankets, mats,
soap, kitchen utensils, bucket, mosquito net and sanitary cloths. The food ration comprises oil,
flour, beans and corn soya blend (CSB) and provides approximately 1900 kcals per capita. Food
is distributed on a monthly basis.
The camp economy is limited to sales of assets and some labour linked to the humanitarian
effort. It is far from town, which restricts access to any employment opportunities. The
population in the nearby village is tiny compared to the number of refugees and during the dry
seasons, there are usually very few local livelihood opportunities. Most labour opportunities in
the camp are by working for NGOs and include offloading trucks, stacking warehouses, and
construction and are usually jobs reserved for men. A small daily market at the camp has
traders for both the host and refugee population. In addition, the village of Farchana has a
twice weekly market with provides better trading opportunities. Commodities on sale include
dried vegetables, onions, soap, salt, sugar, biscuits, meat, slippers and a few items of second
hand clothing.

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Case N.4- Farchana refugee camp in Chad-CONT

The wealth breakdown is as follows:
Better off: Have regular work with NGOs and are traders. This group has cattle and small
ruminants grazing further south, approx 10 km from camp. They do not have to sell food aid or
household assets
Middle: This group have some animals and find work from time to time within the camp or in
the village. Included are carpenters, tailors, very small scale traders. This group of households
rarely sell food aid.
Poor: This group no longer have animals for sale. They may still have a donkey in poor
condition. There are very few work opportunities for these households so they sell food aid and
household belongings. Sometimes they beg for food.
Poor households attach importance to both meat and sugar consumption so they try to
purchase these commodities. As sauce is necessary to make distributed flour palatable, they
have to purchase dried tomatoes, okra and onions at local markets. Essential non-food
purchases are tea, soap and salt. This absorbs a fifth of their income.
When first arrived in camp, refugees were able to earn some income at the village market by
selling straw and sticks collected from areas surrounding the camp. But this caused friction with
locals and so stopped.
Refugees would prefer not to sell food aid but have no option, as they need to purchase
essential items that are not included in the ration. Cereal is most commonly sold, although there
is some limited sales of CSB as well. Households obtain food through food aid (75% of needs).
Refugees have an organised system of sharing so when a household runs out of food, they
borrow from someone in a sector that has just had a distribution and pay them back when they
have a distribution. No interest is involved. Gifts of food are sometimes received from better off
relatives and neighbours.

Key livelihood indicators:

• Amount of food aid received per household
• Price of cereal (sold)
• Availability and cost of essential food and non-food items not included in ration or
starter pack
• Status of livestock grazing further south
• Income from NGOs and other sources
• Prevalence of malnutrition (wasting) and crude mortality rate

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Case N.4- Farchana refugee camp in Chad-CONT

Based on collected data, it can be shown that poor households currently experience a small
food deficit as they are only able to cover an average of just under 2000 kcals per person per
day. This is confirmed by their comments that they sometimes make porridge because it uses
less flour and that they have reduced the number of daily meals.
However, aid agencies have reported that the current nutritional situation in the camp (unlike
other parts of eastern Chad) does not cause concern which suggests that either signs are not
yet visible or that adults are prioritising food towards their children.

Skills required

What knowledge and skills are required for collecting, analysing and interpreting livelihood
indicators?
Prior and possibly local knowledge of a livelihood system is required to understand the local
livelihood strategies and to identify the appropriate sources of information.
Awareness of political, social and gender issues is required to deal with political divisions and
tensions at community and intra-community level.
Also collecting information on market indicators requires specific skills.
Finally, in order to make linkages between the macro and micro-level, it is necessary to
understand the potential relevance of policies, institutions and processes for a particular
livelihood group2.

2
In Annex I, at the end of this lesson, you may find more information on the skills that are required for collecting, analysing and
interpreting livelihoods indicators.

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Lesson 3: Livelihoods Indicators – Learner’s Notes

Summary

Ideally, the mix of indicators should cover all aspects of livelihoods of a livelihood group.
Key indicators should be selected which:
• can be incorporated into the analytical framework;
• allow linkages between micro and macro-levels;
• reflect a sustainable element of livelihoods;
• can be collected from multiple sources to allow triangulation, if needed; and
• allow participatory methods to be employed.

Knowledge and skills required for collecting and interpreting livelihoods indicators include:
• local knowledge of a livelihood system,
• awareness of political, social and gender issues,
• experience of market and analysis, and
• ability to make links between macro and micro-level.

If you want to know more:

Suggested references:
• Corbett. J (1988): Famine and household coping strategies. World Development 16 (9)
• Hastie (undated). Using indicators to monitor protective impact. Oxfam G.B.
• Jaspars. S and Shoham. J (2002): A critical review of approaches to assessing and
monitoring livelihoods in situations of chronic conflict and political instability. ODI
Working Paper 191.
• WFP (2005): Emergency Food Security Assessment Handbook
• Young. H et al (2001): Food security assessment in emergencies: A livelihoods approach.
ODI HPN Network Papers 36. ODI, London
• Jaspars. S (2006): From food crisis to fair trade. Livelihoods analysis, protection and
support in emergencies. ENN Special Supplement No 3
• Westley. K and Michalev. V (2002): The use of participatory methods for livelihood
assessment in situations of political instability: A case study from Kosovo. ODI Working
paper 190
•
•

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• Narbeth. S and McLean. C (2003): Livelihoods and protection. Displacement and

vulnerable communities in Kismaayo, southern Somalia. HPN Network paper No 44,
December 2003
• Pain. A (2002): Understanding and monitoring livelihoods under conditions of chronic
conflict: Lessons from Afghanistan. ODI working paper 187
• Boudreau.T and Coutts. P (2002): Food economy in situations of chronic political
instability. ODI working paper 188
• WFP (2003): Key issues in emergency needs assessment. Volume 1: Report of the
Technical Meeting. 28-30 October 2003, Rome, Italy.
• Montania. A and Majid. N (2002): Conducive conditions: Livelihood interventions in
southern Somalia. ODI working paper 193
• F. Pittaluga, E. Corcoran, and J. Senahoun:Poverty profiles of artisanal fishers: methods
based on the SLA model.

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ANNEX I: Skills and knowledge required

1. Prior knowledge of the livelihood system

As a minimum, those conducting the assessment should have reviewed available literature.
However, ideally the assessment team should have individuals with local knowledge of the
livelihood system.
In some cases this may mean an individual from the survey area or other areas of the country
with similar livelihood systems. It could also mean involving individuals from neighbouring
countries with knowledge of similar livelihood systems.

Local knowledge will help to:

• Distinguish whether the livelihood groups are currently experiencing normal conditions
(including seasonal stresses) or are under some degree of (unusual) stress.
• Determine the significance of different livelihood strategies within the livelihood group.
• Collect accurate information on illegal trading activities, assets which respondents may
wish to conceal (for fear of taxation), activities which respondents are ashamed to
disclose, e.g. selling off daughters prematurely for dowry.
• Understand which sources of information are likely to be most reliable.

2. Experience of markets and analysis

Market indicators are key to understanding livelihood strategies, vulnerability and status. The
key types of market indicators are prices of staple foods, prices of disposable assets that form a
significant component of a livelihood strategy and wages (formal and informal).

It may appear easy to collect data on market prices of staple foods and disposable assets.
However, understanding the factors that lead to variations in prices within the same market,
between markets and over a period of time (seasonal fluctuations) is not so straightforward.
In fact:
• Quality and variety/species of foods and/or livestock will affect prices.
• Market integration and transport costs will determine price variations between markets.
• Seasonal factors dictating supply and demand will also impact prices as will any tendency
towards trader speculation or market monopoly.

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• Government policies and legislation (some of which can be implemented in the short-term)
may also have significant and dramatic impact on market price behaviour.
• Events such as drought, pest attack, livestock disease outbreaks can also cause stark price
fluctuations.

Similarly, collecting information on wages is not as straightforward as may first appear. While it
may be easy to collect wage data from large scale enterprises, e.g. plantations, large farms,
construction companies, it will be far harder to determine work available and average number of
days worked by members of a livelihood group.
Where it is migrant labour so that adults have had to leave households (seasonally), it may be
very difficult to determine how much income is remitted.
Where petty trading is a significant part of the livelihood strategy, it may be extremely hard to
gauge accurate amounts of income from these sources. It is likely that much of this activity will
be under-reported, piece-meal, and opportunistic.
Theoretical knowledge of markets is important as well as having access to information on
the local market.
Ideally, any livelihood assessment team would have at least one individual with good local
knowledge of markets and also know whom to approach for ‘insider’ information.

3. Ability to make links between macro and micro-level

In order to make linkages between macro and micro-level, it is necessary to understand the
potential relevance of policies, institutions and processes for a particular livelihood group.
Generally, this requires a different set of skills to those needed for understanding livelihood
strategies at community and household level.
At the very least there is a need for political and economic analysis, as well as general
knowledge about longer-term processes such as drought and desertification, climate change,
the spread of HIV, etc.
This type of information will not be obtained at field level. It is more likely to reside in academic
papers and the media.
Devising a framework within which to interpret indicators on these variables and then linking
these with micro-level indicators will require high level of education and possibly a political and
economic academic background.

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4. Awareness of political, social and gender issues

Certain types of indicator may be sensitive for political or ethnic reasons, particularly in
conflict type situations where political divisions and tensions may cause mistrust of specific
types of information.
For example, where information is being collected on assets or land holdings from one particular
group, another group may question the basis of sampling or credibility of findings.
This raises the potential need for ensuring that enumerators are perceived as politically or
ethnically neutral. Clearly, there is a tension here between the need for local experience on the
survey team and real or perceived bias.

For example:
In Kosovo, ethnicity permeates every nuance of life both for Kosovars and for non-Kosovars
living in the province. The language you speak, your name, the way you pronounce Kosovo (or
Kosova) or the way you greet people all demonstrate your ethnic affiliation and in extreme
cases can be life-threatening. This threat had implications for implementation of assessments
and, because of it, accommodations have had to be made in both assessment methodology and
logistics. In such a context, accusations of bias in humanitarian practice provide a constant
backdrop against which all actors manage both their everyday work and their overall
programmes. During an analysis workshop in which results from both Serbian and Albanian
assessment sites were presented to a group (no Serbians were present), an Albanian team
member questioned the site selection, suggesting that the Serbian sites were selected because
they were known to be more ‘poor’.

Awareness of political and social divisions within communities is also important.

In these situations, participatory appraisal methods need to be designed so that respondents
are not constrained or censored from providing honest and accurate information. Indicators on
resources and vulnerability factors may be particularly relevant here.
Similarly, gender dynamics may be such that participatory appraisal methods need to be
carefully selected, e.g. women focal group discussions, or individual household interviews with
mothers/adult women, in order to collect information on certain key indicators. Information on
expenditure patterns may be especially sensitive to gender dynamics. Where this is the case,
survey teams may need to have female enumerators. Certainly, an understanding of potential
gender sensitivities is required.

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If you want to know more…

• Corbett. J (1988): Famine and household coping strategies. World Development -
Volume: 16; Issue: 9
• Hastie (undated). Using indicators to monitor protective impact. Oxfam G.B.
• Jaspars. S and Shoham. J (2002): A critical review of approaches to assessing and
monitoring livelihoods in situations of chronic conflict and political instability. ODI
Working Paper 191.
• WFP (2005): Emergency Food Security Assessment Handbook
• Young. H et al (2001): Food security assessment in emergencies: A livelihoods approach.
ODI HPN Network Papers 36. ODI, London
• Jaspars. S (2006): From food crisis to fair trade. Livelihoods analysis, protection and
support in emergencies. ENN Special Supplement No 3
• Westley. K and Michalev. V (2002): The use of participatory methods for livelihood
assessment in situations of political instability: A case study from Kosovo. ODI Working
paper 190
• Narbeth. S and McLean. C (2003): Livelihoods and protection. Displacement and
vulnerable communities in Kismaayo, southern Somalia. HPN Network paper No 44,
December 2003
• Pain. A (2002): Understanding and monitoring livelihoods under conditions of chronic
conflict: Lessons from Afghanistan. ODI working paper 187
• Boudreau.T and Coutts. P (2002): Food economy in situations of chronic political
instability. ODI working paper 188
• WFP (2003): Key issues in emergency needs assessment. Volume 1: Report of the
Technical Meeting. 28-30 October 2003, Rome, Italy.
• Montania. A and Majid. N (2002): Conducive conditions: Livelihood interventions in
southern Somalia. ODI working paper 193
• F. Pittaluga, E. Corcoran, and J. Senahoun:Poverty profiles of artisanal fishers: methods
based on the SLA model.

Learner Notes 25
 FOOD SECURITY, NUTRITION AND LIVELIHOODS:
A PEOPLE-CENTRED APPROACH TO ACHIEVE THE MDGs

FAO and the MDG process

FAO's mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural
populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy. In the wake of the 1996 World Food Summit,
FAO adopted a Strategic Framework, the first goal of which is to “ensure access of all people at all times to
sufficient, nutritionally adequate and safe food - that is food security - ensuring that the number of
undernourished people is reduced by half by no later than 2015.” This same goal was adopted in 2000 by the
Heads of States and Governments gathered at the Millennium Summit as Target 2 of the 1st Millennium
Development Goal:”Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger”. To this end, FAO adopted a corporate strategy on
Reducing food insecurity and rural poverty:

“Halving the number of This corporate strategy has three

undernourished people by strategic objectives, namely:
2015 requires special
efforts by, and on behalf
of, those countries where (i) sustainable rural livelihoods and
the problems are greatest, more equitable access to resources;
i.e. those with widespread (ii) access of vulnerable and
poverty, low growth in disadvantaged groups to sufficient,
per caput food production, low and variable per caput food safe and nutritionally adequate food;
availability, and uneven access to food supplies. Also included (iii) preparedness for, and effective and
in this group are countries afflicted by natural disasters and sustainable response to, food and
humanitarian crises, which are important causes of food agricultural emergencies.
insecurity”.

This reflected the growing recognition that the concepts of Food Security, Nutrition and Livelihoods, which
had developed from different entry points and within different development schools, are actually closely
related and should be articulated for increased synergy. Malnourished people are usually found within poor
households. Sustainable livelihoods are essential to achieving food security, health and care. Malnutrition can
be seen as the final outcome of unsustainable livelihoods. People and vulnerability are at the centre of all three.

Sustainable Livelihoods
Sustainable livelihood approaches are increasingly recognised as providing a framework to address poverty and
vulnerability in both development and humanitarian contexts. They have emerged from the growing realization
of the need to put the poor and all aspects of their lives and means of living at the centre of development and
humanitarian work, while maintaining the sustainability of natural resources for present and future generations.
A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources) and activities required for a
means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or
enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base
Source: Chambers and Conway, 1992

Livelihood strategies are the range and combination of activities and choices that people make in order to
achieve their livelihoods goals. On the basis of their personal goals, their resource base and their understanding
of the options available, different categories of households – poor and less poor – develop and pursue different
1
livelihood strategies. These strategies include short terms considerations such as ways of earning a living,
coping with shocks and managing risk, as well as longer-term aspirations for children’s future and old age.
Livelihood strategies can be positive, helping households become more resilient and less vulnerable, or
negative when they result in the further erosion and decrease of the asset base.
Understanding vulnerability: The impact of a crisis on any given population group results from the shock
itself and the vulnerability of the affected people. A livelihoods analysis helps to understand better the actual
assets of affected people, which eventually shape people’s livelihood strategies (thus explaining their
behaviour). People’s ability to withstand shocks, will ultimately depend on their asset base.
Sustainable Livelihoods assessment and analysis are especially useful in identifying the poor and vulnerable
groups, understanding the constraints and opportunities they are facing, and mapping both the positive and
negative impacts of the “coping strategies” that households engage in. They can inform stakeholder
consultations for national and international support, and
raise awareness and a better understanding of the impact Assets are classified into:

human capital, e.g. education, formal and
of policy decisions on the livelihoods of these
informal skills, good or bad health
marginalized groups.
natural capital e.g. natural resources such as
Sustainable livelihoods approaches aim to build land, forests, water etc
resilience of vulnerable households and capacity of local
physical capital e.g. infrastructure such as roads,
institutions in at-risk areas. They are essential to the buildings, transport

financial capital e.g. cash, credit, savings in kind
protection and promotion of food security and nutrition.
and cash
By focussing on people, they provide a common inter-
social capital e.g. formal and informal
sectoral framework which facilitates inter-institutional institutions, associations, extended families,
collaboration and can bridge the gap across sectors and local mutual support mechanisms
institutions.

Alleviating malnutrition
A similar result is actually achieved when planning nutrition strategies.

Understanding the causes of malnutrition

Nutrition interventions were first developed within the health sector, to identify and address the clinical signs
of malnutrition. While significant success was achieved in terms of therapeutic care, it became clear that these
were generally short-lived and did not provide a long-term answer to the problems of malnutrition, as they
addressed the symptoms but not the causes. In order to improve nutrition in a sustainable way, one needs to
understand why people are malnourished. Clinical signs of malnutrition may be identical between two
malnourished children, but the reasons they are malnourished will differ widely according to their family
background:

What are they fed and why are they fed that way?

Is the family too poor to give them the food they need (is it food insecure)?

Is food available in this area at this time of the year?

Are they sick, and if so why?

Who feeds them and how often?

Are the food practices in their family appropriate?

This implies a shift from “classical” nutrition assessments which focus on anthropometric data, broken down
by age and gender and insist on statistical representativeness. It is important to understand food consumption
patterns (in particular in terms of dietary diversity) and their evolution, to cluster the at-risk population
according to their livelihood system (since this determines to a great extent household access to food and
cultural practices) and to understand the causes of malnutrition for each group. This broader and more local
specific assessment should preferably be carried out at local level and involve the different sectors operating at
community level, thus allowing exchange of experience and knowledge and generating consensus of local
stakeholders on the combination of causes which need to be addressed.
Local strategies for food security, nutrition and livelihoods
Given the multi-sectoral nature of malnutrition, improving nutrition requires an integrated response from the
relevant development sectors. Nutrition strategies eventually combine community geared interventions (as
most households in vulnerable communities will share similar food supply or information constraints) with
livelihood support to the poorest households. FAO can assist its partner institutions (government and/or
NGOs) in designing and implementing food and agriculture interventions aiming at ensuring local availability
of safe foods throughout the year; strengthening the capacity of the most vulnerable households to access
2
these foods as well as cover their other needs (livelihood support); providing appropriate information for
balanced and safe diets; and linking with the other development and/or humanitarian sectors – in particular the
social sectors – health, education, social affairs. Together they can provide integrated, pro-poor, demand-
driven support to the local population and link with their central offices to influence policy and obtain support.

Core principles of livelihoods approaches:

People-centred and pro-poor: they put people, and in particular poor people, at
the centre of development and build on their strengths and assets
Responsive and participatory: participation is crucial for getting people’s
perspective on both their needs and opportunities. Participation of stakeholders
(and in particular local institutions) at all levels is essential to ensure appropriate
response and support and generate the necessary partnerships.
Holistic: they take into account all the factors that influence livelihood strategies.
Dynamic: they recognise that livelihood strategies are constantly changing and seek to understand and learn from
change in order to support positive patterns of change and help mitigate negative patterns.
Sustainable: livelihoods are sustainable when they: are resilient in the face of external shocks and stresses; are not
dependent upon external support (or if they are, this support itself should be economically and institutionally
sustainable); maintain the long-term productivity of natural resources; and do not undermine the livelihoods of, or
compromise the livelihood options open to, others.
Macro-Micro Linkages: livelihood approaches emphasise the importance of macro level policy and institutions to the
livelihood options of communities and
individuals, while stressing the need for higher level policy development and planning to be informed by lessons learnt
and insights gained at the local level. This only can both give local people a say in policy and increase overall
effectiveness of development and humanitarian programmes and projects.

Strengthening of local institutions through joint training-cum-planning for food security, nutrition and
livelihoods can make an important contribution to operationalising the MDG process, by harnessing existing
experience and resources and ensuring a people-centred and pro-poor approach to local development.

Ensuring Food Security

Food security is at the heart of FAO’s mandate. The concept evolved from an initial focus by economists on
national availability of staple food (usually cereal), with a major seasonal dimension. It became soon apparent
that, given socio-economic disparities, this alone would not guarantee freedom from hunger. Increased
importance was then given to access to food. At the same time it was recognised that dietary diversity and
food safety were essential to alleviating malnutrition. The present definition of food security was coined in the
90s.
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary
needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

In order to achieve the 1996 World Food Summit goal to reduce by half the number of undernourished people
in the world by the year 2015, FAO has focused on three major components:
• assessment and monitoring food security at national and global level. FAO coordinates the Food
Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping System (FIVIMS) which includes nutrition
information and provides increasing attention to food consumption (in particular dietary diversity) and
livelihoods. Through the yearly issue of The state of food insecurity in the world (SOFI), it reports on
global and national efforts to reach the goal.
• assist member states, working closely with regional economic organizations in developing and
implementing National Programmes for Food Security to reach the goal of halving the number of
hungry in the world by 2015
• policy advice and resource mobilisation to support the formulation, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of food security.

FAO advocates for a twin-track approach to food security associating specific policies for rapid food security
and livelihood support of food insecure households and communities, with a long-term strategy for sustainable
growth.
3
Towards integrated food security, nutrition and livelihoods (FSNL) approaches at country level country

Increased awareness of the overlap and potential synergies of these different paradigms is compounded by a
strong move towards people-centred and integrated approaches at country level. FAO, IFAD and WFP have set
up Food Security Theme Groups (FSTGs) at country level which can take a lead role within UN Country
Teams in mainstreaming FSNL in Poverty Alleviation Policies, thus accelerating the achievement of MDG1.

Livelihoods-based planning provides a common framework which allows all stakeholders focus on what it can
do best, have its role recognised, and work in collaboration with relevant partners at national or local level.
Finally the UN Standing committee on Nutrition provides a global forum which can advocate for food security
and livelihood support as pre-requisites for good nutrition and promote truly inter-sectoral nutrition policies
and initiatives.

SL should be considered as an overall approach to Emergency work and not as a specific sector to be covered
along with others. SL Approaches can be useful in all the steps of the Emergency Response Cycle:

Preparedness: Providing information on how people (and different groups of people) live and cope with
crisis in at-risk areas through livelihoods assessments and profiles; identify relevant indicators and
establish scenarios

Emergency:
 Rapid livelihood assessment with a view to provide an intersectoral framework for humanitarian
response
 Incorporate SL into sectoral assessments and response with a view to improve targeting and design,
and ensure the appropriate flexibility in project/programme implementation
 Contribute to coordination mechanisms (OCHA, clusters, link with UNDAF) and joint programming
(Government, other Agencies and NGOs)
 Use SL people-centred focus to improve communication on emergency interventions and strengthen
appeals; promote livelihood rehabilitation programmes and umbrella projects in coordination with
other Agencies to ensure better Donor support.
 Strengthen and make real the ‘build back better’ and “’Do no harm” approaches through the adoption
of a livelihoods approach
 Use SL framework and indicators for monitoring progress, adjusting interventions and evaluating
impact

Recovery and rehabilitation and exit strategies:

 by focussing on people rather than interventions, SL approaches will lead to a better articulation and
integration of development and humanitarian projects and programmes, and will contribute to capacity
building of local institutions. Exit strategies should focus on strengthening the resilience of local
livelihoods to expected shocks.

4
Building Resilience to Climate Change:
A Case Study of Female Headed
Households in Arid Region of Buhera
District, Zimbabwe

L. Ruparanganda and C. Nyoni

Abstract Climate change is increasingly recognised as a global phenomenon with

potentially far reaching implications. Sub- Saharan Africa has already started expe-
riencing climate change. It is threatening food security with vulnerable groups who
include female headed households most likely to suffer due to their heavy reliance
on rain-fed systems to supplement household food security. This paper sought to
explore strategies employed by female heads in building resilience to the effects
of climate change. This was done by analyzing adaptation strategies employed by
female heads in responding to climate change induced food insecurity as well as
limitation to adaptation. An approach based on the understanding that resilience is a
function of adaptation. The study is based on the action oriented theory of adaptation
by Klaus I, 2011 as basis for understanding social action processes shaping climate
change resilience building processes within female headed households. It makes use
of the qualitative research approach through application of case study research design
in which in-depth interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions
were used to collect data. Findings from the study reflect that whilst female headed
households have adopted numerous coping and adaptation mechanisms in building
resilience to the threats of climate change on food security which include cultiva-
tion of traditional grains, shifting planting dates and diversifying livelihoods through
participation in community savings groups and extraction of non-timber products
for sale. Female heads remain constrained in their ability to adopt a wide range
of local available adaptation strategies due to existing socio-cultural barriers, lack
of resources and gender imbalances. Hence, the importance of designing policies,
programs and implementation strategies that is gender sensitive for maximum benefit
by female heads.

L. Ruparanganda (B)
School of Social Work, Midlands State University, Harare, Zimbabwe
Present Address:
300 Sunway City, Ruwa, Harare, Zimbabwe
C. Nyoni
Department of Social Work, Bindura University of Science Technology, Bindura, Zimbabwe

© The Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-aligned and Other 77
Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre) 2022
X. Poshiwa and G. Ravindra Chary (eds.), Climate Change Adaptations in Dryland
Agriculture in Semi-Arid Areas, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7861-5_6
78 L. Ruparanganda and C. Nyoni

Keywords Adaptation · Climate change · Food security · Female headed

household · Gender · Resilience

Introduction

Climate change is increasingly recognised as a global phenomenon with potentially

far reaching implications (IPCC 2007, 2012, 2014). Sub-Saharan Africa has already
started experiencing climate change (Holmgren and Öberg 2006). In Zimbabwe
communities have already started reporting gradual changes in climatic conditions
experiencing climate change marked by changes in rainfall patterns and increase
in frequency of droughts (Brown et al. 2012). These gradual climate changes and
extreme weather events are already undermining gains of agriculture research and
development designed to secure household food security among smallholder farmers
(Karfakis et al. 2012; Nelson et al. 2010). Ludi (2009) cites UNDP (2008) which
notes that the impacts of climate change such as sea level rise, droughts, heat waves,
floods and rainfall variation—could, by 2080, push more than 600 million people
into malnutrition.
Changes in climate conditions will potentially impinge on the food security of
smallholder farmers within the Sub-Saharan Africa because farming systems is
heavily reliant upon rain-fed agriculture to supplement household dietary require-
ments (Nyantakyi-Frimpong and Bezner-Kerr 2015; Schulze 2010; Kotir 2011). Also
due to the high poverty levels that typify the rural small-scale farmers their adap-
tive capacity remains low (Kates 2000). Among smallholder farmers, female headed
households will be hardest hit as they already considered “to be the poorest” (Buvinic
and Gupta 1997: p. 266) and “more food insecure” (Mallick and Rafi 2010: p. 593).
Several arguments are already being drawn as to why smallholder female heads
are likely to be at danger of climate change induced food insecurities (Lambrou
and Nelson 2010; Molua 2011; Twyman et al. 2014). These are centered around
already existing gender related social, economic and cultural barriers such as insecure
property rights, lack of or few assets, limited access to credit, extension services,
weather information and an overburden of social caring roles (Alhasan et al. 2019;
Tibesigwa et al. 2015; Alem et al. 2010; Hisali et al. 2011; Babugura 2010; Buvinic
and Gupta 1997; Wanjiku et al. 2007). For example, in the event of a drought it has
been argued that male heads of households are more likely to take up other off-farm
opportunities, which may include temporary migration while women remain behind
to care for the family (Kakota et al. 2011, Buvinic and Gupta 1997). This implies
that their adaptive and mitigation options are lower than those of men (Bene et al.
2012; Lambrou and Piana 2006; Carr 2008; Eriksen and Silva 2009).
Zimbabwe records large proportions (40%) of female-headed households residing
in rural areas (Agritex 2002) with the majority (nearly three quarters) of them
living below the national poverty datum line (Horrell and Krishnan 2007). These
are reported to experience challenges in financing agricultural activity, making
them highly susceptible to households’ food insecurity (Nyikahadzoi et al. 2012a,
Building Resilience to Climate Change: A Case Study … 79

b). The food insecurity situation will likely worsen in the face of climate-change
(Brown et al. 2012). Despite all this, and Zimbabwe’s continued exposure to climate-
related shocks, there remains limited literature on social processes shaping adapta-
tion processes and challenges encountered by female heads. Instead most studies on
climate change tend to broadly cover rural livelihoods and agricultural productivity
(Bhatasara 2017; Brown et al. 2012; Mutekwa 2009; Bhatasara 2015) with little
attention paid to understanding dynamics shaping climate change adaptation for
rural female heads. The few studies that incorporate a gender lens (Musiyiwa 2014;
Gusta 2017) remain strongly inclined to rural livelihoods concepts omitting the food
security discourse. This situation hinders design of policies and implementation of
programs that address unique needs of the specified group.
This study draws from the social action group of theories, particularly the action-
oriented theory of adaptation as propounded by Klaus and Stecker (2011) in pursuit
to understand social processes shaping climate change adaptation processes and
associated challenges for improved household food security for female heads. A
theory that seeks to explain the relationship among variables shaping adaption to
changing environments which include stimulus, the receptor, resources used to shape
change process and the associated outcomes.

Materials and Methods

Study Area

The study was conducted in Buhera District, Ward 30 in Manicaland Province of

Zimbabwe. The province generally houses majority female heads (41.8%) in compar-
ison to a national average of around 35% (Zimstat 2012). Ward 30 of Buhera District
falls in Agro-Ecological Natural Region V of Zimbabwe. An area that falls within
arid region characterised by erratic rainfall below 450 mm per annum and occupying
low land area below sea-level (500 m). It is marked by little irrigation infrastructure
development and experiences recurrent crop-failure and food shortages (Oxfam-
UNDP/GEF 2015). The area is suitable for extensive production and game-ranching
(Anderson et al. 1993). Hence, the combination of such agro-ecological and socio-
demographic characteristics provided fertile ground to how female heads in arid
conditions are building resilience to the threats of climate change on household food
security.

Study Approach and Design

The study adopted qualitative research approach using case study research design
in which in-depth interviews, focus group discussion and key informant interview
80 L. Ruparanganda and C. Nyoni

were used as data collection methods. Purposive sampling strategies were applied
throughout study processes in selection of all study participants. This was meant
to ensure inclusion of persons with interests and knowledge deemed relevant to the
research issues. In-depth household interviews were conducted with thirty female
heads and three focus group discussions at community level. The focus group discus-
sion comprised female heads grouped by age in the following categories 18 years
to 35 years, 36 years to 59 years and the 60 years and above to capture variances
in experiences for three categories namely youth, middle aged and the elderly. Each
focus group discussion comprised 8 to 10 participants. Focus group discussions were
meant to gain in-depth insight on experiences of female heads in coping and adapting
to climate induced food insecurity. Key informant interviews were also conducted
with representatives from various government departments (4 agricultural exten-
sion workers, 3 provincial and district administrative officials, 1 district environment
specialist), local leadership (1 councilors, 2 village heads). Key informant interviews
were meant to generate expert knowledge on how female-headed households were
coping with effects of climate-change on households’ food security and the chal-
lenges that they faced based on the expert’s day-to-day interactions with this group
including support programmes provided. All interviews were tape recorded to obtain
the actual narratives from interviewees (Patton, 2002). Applied thematic analysis
was used to analyse data. Specifically, data analyses process included transcription
of narratives, coding of data and grouping of recurring issues into themes that guided
the writing up of the findings (Guest et al. 2011). A process facilitated by application
of the Statistical Package of Social Sciences Software (SPSS) in managing the data.

Ethical Considerations

Social science raises ethical issues (Creswell 2014). Schutt (2013) describe ethics
as standards, principles and guidelines that have been followed when carrying out
research. This study adhered to ethical standards and principles of research. The
researcher took a number of steps to adhere to principle of confidentiality, informed
consent, voluntary participation and giving feedback to participants after the study
was concluded. The study was cleared by the Bindura University ethics clearance
committee.

Results and Discussion

The findings of this qualitative study show that female heads are engaged in various
climate change adaptation strategies centred on livelihoods diversification, adop-
tion of new farming practices and increased reliance on external support in the
Building Resilience to Climate Change: A Case Study … 81

form of social assistance programs and remittances. Adoption of the various strate-
gies are meant to maintain household income, improve access to credit, and sustain
agricultural productivity and secure alternative food sources.
Livelihood Diversification Strategies
Livelihoods diversification emerged as part of climate change adaptation strate-
gies employed by female heads for sustained household food security. Participants
explained that most female heads were increasingly depending on forestry products,
adopting small livestock and enrolling in community based savings as livelihood
diversification strategies in managing and coping with persistent climate change
induced household food inadequacies. These themes are discussed in more detail
below.
Reliance on forestry products
The study identified increased reliance on forestry products as part of climate change
adaptation strategies employed by female heads. According to key informant partic-
ipants, most female heads now resort to collection of forestry fruits and wild vegeta-
bles, hunting wild birds (quail) and extraction of salt from the Save river for sell or
consumption as means of managing any weather induced household food gap. The
Adansonia digitata fruit, Ziziphus mauritiana fruit, Amaranthus hybridus leaves,
Clome gynandra leaves and Bidens pilosa leaves, and quail bird form common fruits,
vegetables and birds, sought after by female heads during drought. The wild vegeta-
bles of Amaranthus hybridus, Clome gynandra and Bidens pilosa are harvested in
abundance during rainy season and preserved through natural drying processes for
use later in dry months of the year; a trend that has become common post year 2000.
These wild vegetables which were once consumed for their medicinal properties
now provide source of vitamins in the form of relish among female heads. Female
heads are finding it difficult to sustain cultivation of exotic leafy vegetables-Brassica
oeracea (chomolia) and Brassica napus L. (rape) as most shallow wells used in irri-
gating household gardens now dry earlier. Additionally, the Adansonia digitata fruit,
quail birds and salt are sold and or traded for grain to migrants from surrounding
towns and city. Reliance on forestry products is evident from the following comments
by participants:
“For the past five years or so the rains have continued to fail us. I have had to gather the
Adansonia digitata fruit which we sell or exchange for grain with traders from Birchenough,
Murambinda, Chipinge, Mutare even Harare”. (Participant 5)

Similarly another participant said:

“Unlike other households [male-headed] who can sell their cattle and secure grain for longer
periods. For most of us it’s a story of making use of what is available- the quail bird,
Adansonia digitata fruit [baobob fruit] or salt from Save river. We now use the powder from
Adansonia digitata fruit to make porridge for the young ones”. (Ward 30, FGD Female Head
Participants)

One other participant said:

82 L. Ruparanganda and C. Nyoni

“In most cases female heads have very few livestock (Maybe 5 or 6 goats). Due to persistent
low rains these have also not been reproducing that much. You cannot be found always
selling them as it has become a yearly problem that there are no rain and harvest are poor.
You have to look for other ways to also help and for us it’s the Adansonia digitata fruit.
Harvest, sell and buy food or get grain”. (Key Informant Participant 7)

From the participants comments above it is clear that female heads have adopted
reliance on forestry products as means of securing income and food during drought
periods. Droughts have become a common feature in the area with the coping strategy
becoming a way of life for the vulnerable female heads. The finding reflects useful-
ness of natural resources in aiding vulnerable communities’ secure alternative sources
of livelihoods as threatened by climate change. However, if unregulated the prac-
tice have the potential of not only negatively affecting the ecological system of a
community but also contribute to accelerated climate change.
Adoption of small livestock
From the participants narratives, it is also evident that female heads are increasing
adoption of small stock particularly goats and traditional chickens as means of
managing the decline in harvest due to continued low rains. Whilst traditionally
such livestock has been synonymous with women, female heads described them as
cheap to purchase, fast to reproduce, easy to manage and quick to sell, making them
a suitable climate change adaptation strategy for female headed households whose
majority live within limited resources. The following remarks bring out female heads
increased adoption of small livestock as a climate adaptation strategy:
“It has continued to be dry and we are finding it better to use income that you may have to
purchase goats. They are not affected that much by drought as with the cattle. These I sell
in exchange for food or money when drought hits. They have helped us a lot. The past two
years I have had to sell one or two per year to secure food”. (Participant 3)

Another elderly female head narrated:

“Most of the cattles that my husband owned died as a result of these droughts. I am now
left with chickens and goats. I have been selling these or exchanging them for grain for the
past three years. Any money I get I make sure I buy at least 1 or 2 chickens especially the
Boschveld variety. It multiplies fast, produces more eggs which has been useful in managing
this new problem of hunger. Chickens and goats do not require additional labour. I can always
manage on my own. I just make let them out and as I do other chores they are browsing or
looking for food in nearby surrounding”. (Female Head Respondent 7)

An agricultural extension worker had this to say “We are encouraging households
to adopt small livestock particularly goats and traditional chickens as these are more
drought tolerant in comparison to cattle. They are also easy to manage and are quick
to dispose. Most female heads have taken heed of this call and whenever they secure
some small funds are now resorting to investing in goats and traditional chickens.
Whilst it has been difficult for household to find extra income to buy such livestock
as they continue failing to make much due to low yields. Participating in community
based savings groups has helped in providing access to income for purchasing small
livestock. Additionally some NGOs continue to come with some pass small livestock
Building Resilience to Climate Change: A Case Study … 83

projects targeted at female heads. This has improved their situation” (Key Informant
Respondent 2).
The above narrative of female headed households and key informants present the
notion that small livestock have become a more attractive adaptation choice among
female heads whose majority have limited income and labour resource. This can
act as both a source of protein and means of cushioning households in dealing with
household food deficit needs especially during severe drought periods as they can be
exchanged for grain or sold for such purposes.
Enrolment in community based savings groups
Enrolling in community based savings and commodity groups emerged as one other
climate change adaptation strategy common among female heads. The strategy
provides female heads opportunities to save and have access to credit useful in
managing household emergencies such as food shortages as opposed to local loan
sharks who usually charge higher interest rates. Additionally money borrowed has
been useful in providing start-up capital for income generating projects contributing
to establishment of diversified livelihoods among households. They also noted ability
of commodity groups to act as food reserve which they always find useful in covering
any food needs as a result of weather related crop failure. Enrolment in community
based savings groups as climate change adaptation strategy in arid regions by female
heads is evident through the following narrations by respondents:
“I joined the community savings groups and the profits are used to purchase household
food items such as cooking oil, sugar and rice. A hamper is given out to every member at
the end of year. Depending on amounts one can receive upto 20kgs of rice. This has been
useful in covering for the poor harvests. Thus I always make sure to look for the $1 monthly
subscription fee so I know I am guaranteed of something to feed my family in the next year
even though there is a drought”. (Female Head Respondent, 15)

Another female head respondent narrated:

“The continued drought years have made it difficult for us as female heads to raise money
for inputs for the next season. Being a member of the internal savings and lending club has
at least guaranteed my household seed and fertiliser which I can use in the fields. This year
is a bad year and I am planning to borrow some money to start some Boschveld chicken
raring project”. (Female Head Respondent, 27)

One other respondent had this to say: “At times as female heads you have no one
to quickly come in and rescue you following a drought. By joining the savings groups
I know I can easily get a loan to buy food while I wait to sell that chicken or receive
some remittances. As rains continue to be erratic, you need to be part of such groups.
The monthly subscriptions are manageable especially for most of us who always find
it difficult to raise large sums of money” (Female Head Respondent, 10).
The above narrations thus confirm participation in community based savings
groups as one other resilience strategy adopted by female heads. The findings confirm
finding by Alhassan (2019) where female heads in Ghana were reported depending on
savings to borrow money to cover food needs in times of drought. Members can also
make use of loans secured from savings groups to finance a household project thereby
84 L. Ruparanganda and C. Nyoni

promoting livelihood diversification a recommend approach to building resilience.

For example in one similar study in Zimbabwe women tended to invest proceeds
earned from communal savings groups to finance a new non-farm small business
venture as means of building resilience against any future household shock including
drought and floods (Gash et al. 2020).

Adoption of New Farming Practices

Adoption of new farming practices also emerged as part of the climate change strate-
gies adopted by female heads in dealing with sustaining agricultural productivity so
as to maintain household food security. This includes shifting planting dates, reducing
land area cultivated and adoption of drought tolerant crops which are influenced by
continued increase in dry spell, reduced amounts of rainfall, disappearance of winter
rains which mark land preparation time, delayed onset of first rains and shortened
agricultural rainfall season.
Shifting planting dates
Female headed households reported shifting planting dates from the traditional mid-
November to mid-December to match changes in onset of first rains. The disappear-
ance of winter rains have also made it difficult for the majority of female heads who
depend on manual labor to prepare land before the first rains. Most female heads
also solely depend on rain-fed system promoting the need to alter farming prac-
tices in accordance with changes in rainfall patterns. The following are a sample of
participants’ utterances pertaining shifting of planting date:
“The rainfall trend for the past 10 years or so has been coming in first week of December.
In the 1990s by mid-November you would expect the first rains. For most of the female
heads that depend on rain-fed agriculture we have had to adjust accordingly. We now plant
in December and this can be upto mid-December”. (Female Head Respondent, 4)
“Initially I continued dry planting in the last week of October or First week of November
expecting rains to fall immediately. I realized I was now missing it as the rains would come
in December and may start of in the low range. So crops that would have been dry planted do
not germinate. Instead the seed would rot and forcing you to buy again or look for someone
to give you. So I now plant when I see there has been enough rains to allow germination,
which is anytime from mid-December. That way you are assured of some harvest”. (Female
Head Participant, 20)
“Traditional leaders and lead farmers now encourage us to plant late. That is what we have
adopted. Previously it was November/October now it’s in Dec”. (Female Head Participant, 1)

From the participants’ narratives above, it is clear shifting planting dates is a

common strategy that female heads are adopting in response to changing climatic
patterns such as delays in onset of first rains. The strategy depicts application of incre-
mental approaches to climate change adaptation processes as identified by Kates et al.
(2012). An approach characterized by adoption of minor and small scale adjustments
Building Resilience to Climate Change: A Case Study … 85

by communities to tradition social and ecological systems with a focus on building

resilience to climate change impacts. Additionally, the finding reflects the value of
tradition leaders and extension staff as agents of resilience building process.
Reducing land area cultivated
Reducing land area cultivated came out as one other strategy that most female heads
have adopted. Female heads narrated that whilst other communal member has access
to irrigation plots in government irrigation schemes. Most of female heads lost such
plots upon death of spouse or did not get first preference during allocation as they
were considered able to migrate upon marrying or remarrying. Those with irrigation
plots whilst they have adopted reduction of land area cultivated they have maintained
better leverage in terms of land size area cultivated. Hence, whilst, this has been
the most notable option to match changing rainfall patterns it has come with some
disadvantages as the option has failed to guarantee improved yields. The following
provided narratives from key informants as well as female head participants:
“Rain now comes late in December and by January they are gone and then again during March
for a very short period. I have had to reduce the area that I cultivate for crop production by
more than half. When the rains eventually fall there is very little time to prepare and plants.
While this helps me at least secure some harvest things could be better if I had a plot in the
irrigation facility which could continue to provide water for my crop during dry spell. Those
in the irrigation scheme usually perform better”. (Female Head Participant, 3)

Another respondent had this to say: “For most female heads it has become chal-
lenging. I have no draught power and when the rains come late in the season I just
manage with what I have. So with my two children in primary school we know we
can only cover a small area” (Female Head Participant, 7).
Another key respondent had this to say: “Rains have become more and more
erratic. They also come late in the season. Hence most households with limited
labour particularly elderly and young female heads have been forced to reduce the
size of plots they cultivate. In some cases it has yielded favourable results. If many
of them had some plot in the irrigation facility reducing land area cultivated could
have more sustained benefits as some harvest could be guaranteed from the non-rain
fed plot. But as it is at there are no guarantees. In severe dry years no harvest may
be realised.” (Key Informant 4).
It is clear that female heads make use of reducing land area cultivated as one of
the coping strategies in managing delays in onset of first rains and shortening of
the rain season which has been negatively affecting yields. These findings affirm
previous studies in Ghana, Ethiopia and Cameroon which also identified reducing
land area cultivated as common climate change adaptation strategy among peasant
communities (Alhasan et al. 2019; Gebrehiwot et al. 2013; Deressa et al. 2009).
A coping strategy common among communities is lacking technical and financial
capacity to respond in different ways.
However, as depicted in the above narrations, reducing land area cultivated is
proving useful among female heads, it bears some limitations as it remains a rain fed
approach to farming which provides no guarantees to securing harvest. Access to
86 L. Ruparanganda and C. Nyoni

irrigation plots would bring more sustained benefits yet these remain limited due to
traditional customs around allocation of land in the area which do not favour women.
Such systemic constraints around traditional land tenure and user rights are posing
as limitations to female heads ability to acquiring sustainable resilience capacities.
An important area to consider in climate change policy is review and programing
especially for the food security sector.
Increased cultivation of drought tolerant crops
Findings form the study also point to increased adoption of drought tolerant crops
among female heads in managing changing climatic conditions for improved food
security. There is an acknowledgement that the area is arid and has always been suited
for drought tolerant crops. Female heads note abandoning common practice of culti-
vating beans and maize in garden plots which they would irrigate using shallow wells
and resorting to cultivation of small grains-Panicum miliaceum, Eleusine coracana
and legumes-Vigna unguiculata, Arachis hypogea and Vigna subterranea which are
drought tolerant. These findings are made explicit by the following narration as
explained by participants:
“In the early 2000s I would also grow maize and beans on the garden plot. I used to make use
of the shallow well in the garden to irrigate the crops. I no longer cultivate such crops as the
shallow well I use to water the crops now dries early since each year we are receiving low
rainfall. I now concentrate on growing Vigna unguiculata, Arachis hypogea and Panicum
miliaceum. At least you are guaranteed of some harvest”. (Female head participant, 22)
“These years I now plant Eleusine coracana for grain and Vigna unguiculata, Arachis
hypogea for legumes. With these ones you do not get disappointments. With Vigna unguic-
ulata, I also dry the leaves for use as relish later in the year. With continued low rains and
shortening of the season I now prefer these”. (Female Head Participant, 3)
“If you are fortunate you may secure contract farming with some private companies to
cultivate small grains such as the Panicum miliaceum variety which they in turn use to brew
beer. Hence, I choose adopting small grains”. (Female Head Participant, 26)

Key Informant Respondent

“Most female heads like any other member of the community are finding it beneficial to stick
to drought tolerant crops. Apart from their drought tolerance qualities they offer room to use
of retained seed which can also be a product of pass on with one guaranteed of a harvest.
They also do not require much fertiliser. Even where there is no or little feeding one can
secure some harvest”. (Key Informant Participant, 11)

The above participant narrations point to adoption increased cultivation of small

grains and drought resistant legumes as common among female heads. The adoption
of drought tolerant crops among communal farmers as a climate change strategy has
been affirmed by other studies (Fagariba et al. 2018; Alhasan et al. 2019) These small
grains (Panicum miliaceum, Eleusine coracana) and legumes (Vigna unguiculata,
Arachis hypogea and Vigna subterranea) which are drought tolerant have several
benefits for female heads. Firstly, by ensuring continued availability of carbohy-
drates and protein content in female headed households. Secondly, as depicted from
the narratives, production costs are lower as even were retained seed has been used
and no fertiliser applied there is guarantee of some harvest. This makes them best
Building Resilience to Climate Change: A Case Study … 87

suited for female heads who usually find it difficult to finance agricultural activi-
ties. Thirdly, the possibilities of securing contract farming opportunities also offers
added advantage of providing sustainable livelihood opportunities for vulnerable
households. This not only aids in incremental approaches but enhances female heads
transformation capacities in resilience building. As the opportunity bear potential to
addressing systemic barriers in financing the adoption of strategies through forming
of partnerships with the private sector.

Reliance on External Support

Interviews with female heads participants, local leadership other stakeholders from
various government department, the private sector and non-governmental organisa-
tions pointed to reliance on external support in the form of food aid, cash transfers,
food for work, food for assets, seed packs and remittances as one other strategy
adopted by female head. The narratives below provide evidence on this strategy.
“Most elderly female headed households are continuing to find it difficult to cope with
changing climatic conditions. The shift in dates of onset of first rains, the shortening of the
season is something making it difficult guarantee enough harvest to feed the family. Some of
the new farming techniques such as conservation agriculture are proving labour intensive for
female heads with no additional labour. So they wait for NGO or government food assistance
programs to feed their families”. [Extension Officer Key Informant Participant, 2]
“It has been difficult for me as an elderly person. I tried farming using conservation
farming method. I could not bear it. It left me with terrible back aches. So I now wait for
government food assistance program. My brother here and there also sends some money to
buy grain”. [Female Head Participant, 20]
“Most drought years I have had to be on school feeding program. So I can have one
meal per day but the children are guaranteed of a second one from school”. [Female Head
Participant, 14]
"Most of us have now been participating in drought relief programs". [Female Head
Focus Group Participant 1]

It is clear from the above narrations that reliance on external support forms one
of the strategies to managing climate change common among female heads. For
the Buhera community, this takes the form of NGO support and remittances from
kinship members. A finding that affirms previous studies (Tibisegwa et al. 2015). This
approach takes the form of a coping strategy. It reflects the value and importance of
social capital (internal and external) in managing climate change related household
food gaps. However, the strategy also reflects confinement of female heads to use of
the local structures and systems in adapting to climate change which in most cases
may fail to build on adaptive capacities of such vulnerable households. A different
approach for men is at liberty to migrate and explore other opportunities which may
have higher returns.
Additionally, the findings reflect the need to invest in technically appropriate
climate smart technology that match various socio-demographic characteristics of
88 L. Ruparanganda and C. Nyoni

different categories of people in society i.e. female headed characterised by labour

constraints and the elderly who can no longer meaningfully engage in livelihood
activities.

Conclusion

It can be drawn that female heads are adopting several strategies in building resilience
to climate change. These include livelihoods diversification, changing farming prac-
tices and depending on external support. The strategies take the form of coping
and incremental approaches and are proving useful in strengthening the households’
absorptive and adaptive resilience capacities. The strategies focus on sustaining agri-
cultural productivity, maintaining household income, improving access to credit
and securing alternative food sources. For female heads such resilience building
strategies remain localized and based on traditional practices of sustaining liveli-
hoods. Kinship ties and community stakeholder support plays a significant role
in facilitating the resilience building process. However, this offers opportunities
for layering of sustainable development programs including enforcement of regu-
lations to control practices with potential of environment degradation. The poor
socio-economic resource base characterizing female heads compromise their ability
to adapt. Additionally gender norms and traditional customs i.e. on land tenure
presents systemic constraints to climate change adaptation process within female
heads. Hence this paper recommends application of pro-active approaches in the
design of climate change policies and programs that are gender sensitive and seek to
address any existing socio-economic and cultural barriers for the creation of resilient
communities.

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 Resilience

in Food Security
Analysis

What is Resilience?

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union's Food Security

Thematic Programme and implemented by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

© FAO, 2012
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: What is Resilience?

Table of contents
Learning objectives.................................................................................................2

Introduction ...........................................................................................................2

The resilience approach to food security analysis......................................................2

Why is resilience different from related concepts? ....................................................9

Summary ............................................................................................................. 12

If you want to know more..................................................................................... 13

Learners’ Notes 1
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: What is Resilience?

Learning objectives
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• understand the resilience approach to food security analysis; and

• understand the relationship between the concept of resilience and other food security
related concepts.

Introduction
This course is an introduction to resilience analysis in food security.

This first lesson provides the basic concepts for understanding what resilience is about and why it
may be useful in analysing food security.

The first part of this lesson will introduce you to the resilience approach to food security.

In the second part, we will look at some analogies and differences between resilience and other
concepts used in food security analysis, such as stability, sustainability, vulnerability and livelihoods.

Resilience is a concept that has emerged in the domain of the general theory of systems. It has
been used in several fields such as engineering, ecology, psychology and epidemiology. In the last
decade or so, it has also been proposed as a potential fruitful concept for the analysis of socio-
ecological systems.

More recently, some scholars as well as some international organizations have proposed using
resilience for the analysis of food security.

Broadly speaking, resilience is a measure of the capacity of a system to withstand stresses and
shocks, i.e. its ability to persist in an uncertain world.

The resilience approach to food security analysis

The concept of resilience makes sense only when applied to a system.

A system is a group of interacting components, operating together for a common purpose,

capable of reacting as a whole to external stimuli: it is affected directly by its own outputs and has
a specified boundary based on the inclusion of all significant feedback.

Source: Spedding (1988).

Learners’ Notes 2
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: What is Resilience?

Therefore, a system is a group or set of connected components that make up a unified object and
operate together for a common purpose. The human body is an example of system, which is made
up of genes, cells, tissues and organs. An ecosystem is made up of plants, animals, water, air, and
nutrient constituents.

A collection of unrelated items does not constitute a system: a system behaves as a whole in
response to stimuli to any of its components.

In food security analysis, we can identify many different systems according to the purpose of
the analysis. For example:

Once a given level of analysis has been identified the interactions between this level (the focal
level) and the levels above and below should be also considered.

The household as a system

A household is a system because its survival depends less on the stability of its individual
components (i.e. its members) than on its ability as a whole to maintain self-organization in the
face of stress or shocks.

Assume that the household head gets serious ill and cannot work for several months. There are
many options, not mutually exclusive, the household can implement to cope with this shock, such
as:

• the other household members will work harder (if able to do so);

• decumulate assets (if any);

Learners’ Notes 3
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: What is Resilience?

• use credit (if access to credit is a feasible option);

• use mutual insurance schemes (if member of);

• get help from formal social safety net schemes (if entitled to); and

• withdraw kids from school and send them to work.

Many of those options involve either lower (i.e. individual) of higher (i.e. community, country) level
interactions.

Why using a system approach in food security analysis?

A system approach allows the consideration of all the dimensions involved in food security.

Food security

Food security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and
economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and healthy life. Source: FAO, World Food Summit (1996).

This widely accepted definition emphasizes the multiple dimensions of food security, namely:

• availability of sufficient quantities of food of appropriate quality;

• access by individuals to adequate resources (entitlements) for acquiring

appropriate foods for a nutritious diet;

• utilization of food through adequate diet, clean water, sanitation and health

care to reach a state of nutritional well-being where all physiological needs

are met; and

• stability of food availability and access to adequate food at all times.

A system approach also allows shifting from a static, deterministic analysis towards a dynamic,
stochastic analysis.

Resilience to food insecurity is defined as the system ability to maintain a certain level of
well-being (food security) in the face of risks.

Learners’ Notes 4
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: What is Resilience?

The resilience approach to food security analysis provides a framework for understanding the most
effective combination of short and long term strategies to prevent households from falling into
poverty and/or hunger.

How resilience framework complements early warning approach

Most research in the field of food security has focused on the development of analysis methods
aimed at predicting more accurately the likelihood of occurrence of a crisis. The emphasis of
such work has been on the enhancement of early warning systems, which try to predict whether a
crisis is about to happen from the changes of particular indicators.

The resilience framework looks at the root causes of household vulnerability instead of trying to
predict the likelihood of falling short of a given food intake threshold. The resilience framework is
more interested in understanding what the strategies adopted by a household to gain its own
livelihood are and how those livelihood strategies will withstand (or possibly adapt to cope with)
future crises or disasters.

The entry point for resilience analysis as applied to food security is the household, because most
food security decisions are made at this level.

Household's resilience to food insecurity

Household's resilience to food insecurity is the ability of a household to keep with a certain level of
well-being (i.e. being food secure) by withstanding shocks and stresses, and reorganize while
undergoing change so as to still retain essentially the same function, structure, identity, and
feedbacks. This ability depends on available livelihood options and on how well households are
able to handle risks. Source: adapted from Alinovi et al. (2008).

Let's clarify what it is meant by function, structure, identity and feedback.

• The household function is the ability to pursue its objectives, primarily gaining a
livelihood, improving welfare, realize members aspirations, etc.

• The household structure is defined as its composition, that is the number of its members,
their gender, their age structure, their employment structure.

• The household identity refers to the sense of belonging to the same social institution and
to the implied relationships between household members (obligations, reciprocity, etc.).

• A feedback is a signal within a household that loops back to control the system: they can

Learners’ Notes 5
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: What is Resilience?

be either negative (i.e. a feedback that helps to maintain stability) or positive (i.e. a
feedback that can speed up processes and change within the system).

A household is a dynamic, evolving system. Being resilient does not necessarily mean not changing
over time, but rather having options to prevent, mitigate or cope with stress and shocks so that
the household can make its informed choice whether to keep going or to change when facing
stresses or shocks.

According to the resilience approach, factors that make households resilient to food security
shocks and stresses must first be understood, and then strengthened. Those factors include:

• income and access to food;

• assets such as land and livestock;

• social safety nets such as food assistance and social security;

• access to basic services such as water, health care, electricity, etc.;

• households' adaptive capacity which is linked to education and diversity of income sources;
and

• the stability of all these factors over time.

Let's consider the following example showing how two households from the same village in Kenya
reacted to the same shock.

Jala's and Ana's households

In Jala's village, several pastoralists lost most of their animals in a drought and the animals that
did survive were getting about half the normal market rate. The government called for
international aid to provide food for the village. It also provided assistance to the village in the
form of water for both people and animals, and seeds to farmers in preparation for the next crop
season.
My name is Jala. My husband is a pastoralist. We have three children
who go to school. Three years ago I got a certification from the
government and now I work as a teacher at the village school.

During the last drought we lost 11 of our 12 cows. After the drought,
we relied on my salary and government assistance to get food for our
family.

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 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: What is Resilience?

I'm Ana. I live in the same village as Jala, we are good friends.

My husband and I are pastoralists. We used to have 30 cows, 23 of

them died due to the drought.

We survived the drought thanks to government assistance and by

selling the remaining cows. We withdrew my daughter from school to
help us at the market.
This example shows how two different households can react to the same shock. None of them
became food insecure. However, Ana's family had to sell their assets and was forced to interrupt
the education of their daughter.

Households' adaptive capacity is the key factor that made Jala's households more resilient to the
epidemic. This factor is linked to education and diversity of income sources.

Resilience does not only refer to the system's ability to withstand shocks, but possibly to
reorganize, adapting to the new (i.e. after shock) conditions. This means that resilience is a
dynamic concept.

Jala's and Ana's households

We cannot get our income only from pastoralism.

I will work harder and let my daughter going to school, so that she will
learn another job.

Although the entry point for food security analysis is the household, if you adopt a resilience
approach you also need to consider the links between the household (the sub-system) and the
entire food system.

In fact, each household belongs to a broader food system which contributes to determining a
household's food security.

A food system involves all the phases from production to consumption of food, through distribution
and processing.

Learners’ Notes 7
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: What is Resilience?

A food system is a specific type of social-ecological system. It is made by all interacting social and
ecological components that affect the food security of a given group of people.

Social-ecological systems

Social-ecological systems are systems characterized by strongly coupled ecological and societal
components.

Human actions influence the ecosystem which, in turn, provides goods and services to individuals
and groups.

See www.resalliance.org for more information.

In a food system, the social component, made by individuals, households, communities, etc. is
strongly coupled with the ecological component. They co-evolve and cannot be analyzed separately
from each other.

This implies that food systems should be thought of as "complex adaptive systems".

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Lesson: What is Resilience?

Why is resilience different from related concepts?

The resilience concept is related in different ways to the concepts of stability, sustainability and
vulnerability. The resilience of a household is also strictly related to its livelihood strategies. In the
next pages we will explore the relationships between these concepts.

Resilience and stability

Let’s review the definition of stability:

Stability

Stability is the ability of a system to return to an equilibrium state after a temporary disturbance.
The more rapidly it returns, and with the least fluctuation, the more stable it is.

Source: Holling (1973)

Rigid control mechanisms that seek stability tend to erode resilience and facilitate breakdown of
social-ecological systems. They can disrupt flexible social institutions and experience or remove
mechanisms for creative, adaptive response by people.

Conversely, adaptability (i.e. flexibility, diversity, etc.) supports resilience and the functioning of the
system.

In Ana’s example, trying to restore pastoralism as a unique source of income would probably erode
the resilience of that household.

Resilience and sustainability

Let’s review the definition of sustainability:

Sustainability

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Source: WCED (1987)

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 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: What is Resilience?

Sustainable development refers to the capacity of a social-ecological system to maintain the flow of
goods and services at certain rate or level.

Although it focuses on the outcomes without explicitly taking into account the system’s ability to
absorb shocks and maintain its functions, the sustainable development is strictly related to
resilience.

Imagine that the Government is considering helping Jala’s and Ana’s community with two
alternative investments:

1. drill wells to allow pastoralists to have enough water even during drought, but lowering the
water table, or

2. provide drought resistant animals and subsidies to reduce the number of animals per acre.

Only the second option is sustainable.

Resilience and vulnerability

Let’s review the definition of vulnerability:

Vulnerability

Vulnerability is determined by the options available to households and individuals to make a living,
the risks they face and their ability to handle this risk.

Source: Dercon (2001)

How does resilience relate to vulnerability?

Vulnerability is a function of a household’s risk exposure and its resilience to such risks.

In a resilient system, change has the potential to create opportunity for development, novelty and
innovation.

A socio-ecological system with low resilience is more vulnerable and even small changes may bring
it into a less desirable state.

Ana’s household was more vulnerable to animal epidemics than Jala’s household.

It was more exposed because it had a bigger number of animals, and less resilient because it

Learners’ Notes 10
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: What is Resilience?

didn’t have any other source of income.

Resilience and livelihoods

Let’s review the definition of livelihoods:

Livelihoods

A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (stores, resources, claims and access) and activities
required for a means of living.

A livelihood is sustainable which can cope with and recover from stress and shocks, maintain and
enhance its capabilities and assets, and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next
generation; and which contributes net benefits to other livelihoods at the local and global levels
and in short and long term.

Source: Chambers and Conway (1992).

Resilience of a household depends on its livelihood strategies.

Livelihood strategies represent the options available to households and individuals to make a living
and their ability to handle this risk and determine the household’s resilience to food insecurity.

They include productive activities, investment strategies and reproductive choices.

Sustainable livelihoods framework (Source: DFID, 1999 )

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 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: What is Resilience?

To summarise, household vulnerability is a function of a household's risk exposure and its resilience
to such risks. In turn, resilience to risks depends on the household's livelihood strategies.

Summary
Resilience is the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while undergoing
change so as to still retain essentially the same function, structure, identity, and feedback.
Resilience to food insecurity is defined as the system ability to maintain a certain level of well-being
(food security) in the face of risks.

Resilience requires a dynamic framework for analysis. It is also a concept that makes sense only as
applied to systems; as such, it requires a system approach for its use.

A household's resilience to food insecurity depends on the options available to the household to
make a living and on its ability to handle risks.

The resilience framework looks at:

• the root causes of household vulnerability instead of trying to predict the likelihood of falling
short of a given food intake threshold;

• the strategies adopted by a household to gain its own livelihood and how those livelihood
strategies will withstand (or possibly adapt to cope with) future crises or disasters; and

• how household food security links to the broader food system.

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Lesson: What is Resilience?

If you want to know more

Online resources

Alinovi, L., Mane, E. and Romano, D. (2008). Towards the Measurement of Household Resilience to
Food Insecurity: Applying a Model to Palestinian Household Data. In Sibrian, R. (ed.). Deriving Food
Security Information From National Household Budget Surveys. Experiences, Achievement,
Challenges. Rome: FAO. pp. 137-52. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/i0430e/i0430e.pdf

Dercon, S. (2001). Assessing vulnerability to poverty. Report prepared for the Department for
International Development (DFID).
http://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/members/stefan.dercon/assessing%20vulnerability.pdf

Ludwig, D., Walker, B. and Holling, C.S. (1997). Sustainability, stability, and resilience. Conservation
Ecology 1(1): 7. http://www.consecol.org/vol1/iss1/art7/

Websites

Resilience Alliance. An exhaustive discussion of resilience in social-ecological systems.

http://www.resalliance.org

FAO-EU. Distance Learning Course on Food Security. FAO-EU Program on Linking Information and
Decision Making to Improve Food Security. An introduction to food security issues.

http://www.foodsec.org/DL/dlintro_en.asp

UK Department for International Development (DFID). An introduction to the sustainable livelihood

framework. http://www.dfid.gov.uk/

Additional reading

Adger, N.W. (2000). Social and Ecological Resilience: Are They Related? Progress in Human
Geography. 24(3): 347-64.

DFID (Department for International Development) (1999). Sustainable Livelihoods Guidance Sheets.
UK Department for International Development. London.

Folke, C. (2006). Resilience: The Emergence of a Perspective for Social-ecological Systems

Analyses. Global Environmental Change. 16(3): 253–67.

Gunderson, L.H., Holling, C.S., Peterson, G. and Pritchard, L. (1997). Resilience in Ecosystems,
Institutions and Societies. Beijer Discussion Paper Number 92. BeijerInternational Institute for
Ecological Economics. Stockholm, Sweden.

Learners’ Notes 13
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Lesson: What is Resilience?

Holling, C.S. (1996). Engineering Resilience versus Ecological Resilience. InP.C. Schulze (ed.).
Engineering Within Ecological Constraints. Washington, D.C., USA. National Academy Press. pp. 31-
44.

Løvendal, C.R. and Knowles, M. (2005). Tomorrow's Hunger: A Framework for Analysing
Vulnerability to Food Insecurity. ESA Working Paper No. 05-07. Agricultural and Development
Economics Division. Rome, FAO.

Norgaard, R.B. (1994). Development Betrayed: The End of Progress and a Coevolutionary
Revisioning of the Future. London. Routledge.

Spedding, C.R.W. (1988). An Introduction to Agricultural Systems. 2nd Ed. Barking. Elsevier.

Learners’ Notes 14
 Resilience

in Food Security
Analysis

Resilience Analysis

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union's Food Security

Thematic Programme and implemented by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

© FAO, 2012
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Resilience Analysis

Table of contents
Learning objectives.................................................................................................2

Introduction ...........................................................................................................2

Aim of resilience analysis ........................................................................................3

The resilience framework ........................................................................................6

Data needs for resilience analysis .......................................................................... 10

Techniques for quantitative analysis ...................................................................... 15

Summary ............................................................................................................. 20

If you want to know more..................................................................................... 21

Learners’ Notes 1
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Resilience Analysis

Learning objectives
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• understand where resilience resides in a food system;

• describe the analytical framework for resilience analysis;

• identify information needed for resilience-based food security analysis; and

• identify appropriate methodologies to carry out a resilience-based food security analysis.

Introduction
This lesson will try to answer the following questions:

• What is the aim of resilience analysis?

• Is there any procedure to follow?

• What kind of data are needed?

• What techniques are used to analyze data?

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Aim of resilience analysis

What is the aim of resilience analysis?

The aim of a resilience approach to food security analysis is to discover how a given food system
might be made more resilient to shocks and more able to reorganize itself should those shocks
occur.

This will allow the selection of the most appropriate interventions to increase a system’s resilience.

Understanding the following dynamics will help to find the points of intervention in a food system
where resilience can be increased.

• Adaptive cycles

Food systems tend to move through

different phases, known as ‘adaptive growth conservation
cycles’, going from a phase of
growth/exploitation through a conservation
phase, followed by a release phase that
quickly moves into a phase of
reorganization release
reorganization/renewal.

Understanding which phase a given system is in can help in understanding when it is

appropriate to try to increase production efficiency, and when (and where) it would be
appropriate to reinforce sustainability.

Forest fires: an ecological example of the adaptive cycle

Forest fires provide an example of a system that undergoes adaptive cycles.

Forest ecosystems develop gradually in a process of succession, corresponding to growth

and conservation phases of the adaptive cycle.

Forest fires are not only disturbances, but they are also agents of creative destruction by
which accumulated structure is released. Fires are quickly followed by a renewal or
reorganization phase in which new seeds, remnant vegetation and other mechanisms lead
to a new growth phase.

Source: Resilience Alliance, 2007

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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

• Cross-scale interactions

Food systems work as a nested, hierarchical structure,

with processes clustered within subsystems at several
scales (e.g. farm, catchment, country). These
subsystems influence each other. This interacting set of
hierarchically structured scales has been termed a
"panarchy" by Gunderson and Holling (2002).

If we are interested in studying the food system at village level, we usually need to
understand something about what is happening at smaller scales (e.g. households and
neighborhoods) and larger scales (e.g. district and state level). Tackling too many more
scales may make the analysis hopelessly complex; tackling too few will eliminate critical
details and processes.

Household level is usually deemed to be the most suitable entry point for the analysis of food
security. However, adopting a resilience-based approach to food security issues means adopting a
systemic view of food security issues.

Therefore, the first candidate scale for a resilience analysis of food systems is the community level
(be it a village, a tribe or a catchment), i.e. the lower scale at which the systemic dimension of food
security gains relevance.

Starting from this level, scaling-up is necessary to check for cross-scale effects.

Key sources of resilience determine the ability of a food system to respond to disturbances in a
constructive way.

Key sources of resilience lie in:

• the requisite variety within functional groups;

• accumulated capitals (natural, human, social, financial and physical); and

• effective governance, i.e. routines for ordered rule and collective action that influence the
ability of the food system to respond to disturbances and to changes in resilience.

Variety

Key sources of resilience lie in the requisite variety within human systems and ecosystems.

Learners’ Notes 4
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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

Examples include biodiversity in critical ecosystem functions, flexible options for management,
norms and rules in human organizations, cultural and political diversity in social groups.

Capitals

Resilience also comes from accumulated capitals (natural, human, social, financial and physical)
that provide sources for renewal.

In ecological systems these include mechanisms for regeneration, such as seed banks or
accumulated soil properties.

In social systems it is the social capital of trust, networks, memory, and developed relationships or
the cultural capital of ethics, values, and systems of knowledge or creating economic institutions
that span time, space and uncertainty.

Governance

Governance, i.e. creating the conditions for ordered rule and collective action, strongly influences
the ability of a social-ecological system to respond to disturbances and to changes in resilience.

Institutions for monitoring and responding to environmental and social changes, for instance,
determine the tightness of feedback among social and ecological components.

Examples

The following are some of the key sources of resilience for a given community.

• Social Capitals: Good relationships and trust among community members.

• Human capital: High level of educational attainment by most community members.

• Physical capital: The community has food storage facilities and good road infrastructures.

• Natural capital: The community grows a variety of crops and has access to different natural
resources.

• Financial capital: The community members have access to credit and/or insurance schemes.

• Governance: The community has an effective democratic decision making mechanism.

Learners’ Notes 5
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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

The resilience framework

Is there any procedure to follow to assess resilience?

A resilience-based approach to food security involves a four-step procedure.

The first two steps involve defining the system of interest and specifying issue(s) of concern.

Those steps are preliminary to resilience assessment and resilience management: the former aims
at assessing the current and future states of food system resilience, while the latter focuses on the
implementation of actions aiming at restoring, conserving or enhancing the food system resilience.

Analytical framework for resilience analysis

Next pages focus on the first two steps of a resilience analysis which consist of describing:

• the key attributes of the system (the resilience "of what"); and

• the main disturbances and processes that influence it (the resilience "to what").

These two steps allow the assessment of resilience in a given food system.

Describing the relevant system

The first step in resilience analysis is the development of a conceptual model of the food system to
be analyzed.

This process usually begins with a preliminary description of the food system to be analyzed at
the relevant scale of interest as well as of systems interacting with it at higher and lower scales.

This is what in resilience analysis is known as the resilience "of what".

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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

Describing the food system involves the following:

Examples of questions to address

• What are the spatial boundaries of the food system?

• What are the key components of the food system?

• Who are the stakeholders?

• What are the key processes used by, and of concern to, people in the food system?

• To what extent are their dynamics endogenous vs. influenced by exchange across the
system boundaries?

• What are the important, controlling variables that act as drivers of the key goods and
services people want?

• Which factors are controllable and which are not?

• How do the current institutional arrangements and the distribution of power and wealth
influence formal and informal decision-making and access to information?

Some crucial questions should be addressed in order to understand key determinants of

resilience such as system diversity, openness, reserves, feedback, modularity and redundancies.

Each of these key determinants should be analyzed with reference to their own current status,
trends and past changes.

Learners’ Notes 7
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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

Key determinant Questions

Diversity (natural and social) In which parts of the system is there little or no diversity, such
that it might render the system vulnerable to a loss of function?

Are there any trends that reflect declines in diversity?

Openness (flows in and out of What trends are occurring?

the system - social and
Is there any evidence (social or ecological) that the system is
biological)
too closed?

Reserves both natural (such as Can any critical reserves be identified?

habitat patches, seed banks) and
What are the current status and trends?
social (memory and local
knowledge)

Feedback mechanisms How prompt is the feedback to a given disturbance?

Has the feedback been effective?

Modularity (i.e. a system with Are there any trends in modularity?

tightly interacting sub-
Is the system becoming more fully connected, or are there
components that are loosely areas where becoming isolated, or too loosely connected, is a
connected to each other) problem?

Redundancy (i.e. overlapping Are there institutional redundancies which actually reflect
governance) response diversity (e.g. a locus for experimenting innovation)?

What have been the trends in those institutional redundancies?

Learners’ Notes 8
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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

Step 2 (resilience ‘to what’) develops some possible future scenarios that include the outcomes
of uncontrollable and ambiguous external drivers.

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Data needs for resilience analysis

What kind of data are needed?

The development of a conceptual model of the food system to be analyzed requires a lot of
information/data, both qualitative and quantitative.

This information can be either primary or secondary data. Usually, the analyst uses both of them,
picking whatever helps and is already available, integrating existing sources with ad hoc
data/information gathering.

Primary and secondary data

Primary data are data elicited specifically for the resilience analysis at hand.

Secondary data are already available from sources that have elicited them for purposes other than
resilience analysis.

The techniques used to elicit information can be more or less formalized, ranging from qualitative
approaches, such as rapid appraisal and participatory methods, to more structured
approaches, such as statistical surveys.

Rapid appraisal methods

Rapid appraisal methods are quick, low-cost ways to gather the views and feedback of
stakeholders. They provide qualitative understanding of complex socioeconomic changes, highly
interactive social situations, or people's values, motivations, and reactions. They can also be used
as a basis for quantitative data collected by more formal methods.

PROs CONs Resources required

 Low cost. They tend to be less The skills required are non-directive interviewing,
valid and reliable than group facilitation, field observation, note taking,
 Rapidity.
formal surveys in and basic statistical skills.
 Flexibility to
terms of statistical
The time required is usually in the order of a few
explore new ideas.
significance.
weeks (four to six weeks), depending on the size
and location of the population interviewed.

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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

The following are some examples of rapid appraisal methods:

• Key informant interview

A series of open-ended questions posed to individuals selected for their knowledge and
experience in a topic of interest. Interviews are qualitative, in-depth, and semi-structured.
They rely on interview guides that list topics or questions.

• Focus group discussion

A facilitated discussion among 8-12 carefully selected participants with similar backgrounds.

The facilitator uses a discussion guide. Note-takers record comments and observations.

• Community group interview

A series of questions and facilitated discussion in a meeting open to all community

members. The interviewer follows a carefully prepared questionnaire.

• Mini-survey

A structured questionnaire with a limited number of close-ended questions that is

administered to a reduced sample of people (50-75 people). Selection of respondents may
be random or "purposive" (interviewing stakeholders).

Participatory methods

These methods provide active involvement for those with a stake in food security issues and
generate a sense of ownership in the resilience assessment and management phases (i.e. results
and recommendations). They can be used for identifying and trouble-shooting problems during
implementation as well as learning about local conditions and local people's perspectives to design
more sustainable interventions.

PROs CONs Resources required

 Establish partnerships and May be time-consuming and Costs vary greatly, depending
local ownership. there may be a potential on scope and depth of
risk of domination and application and on how local
 Examine relevant issues by
misuse by some resource contributions are
involving key informants.
stakeholders to further their valued. The required skills are
 Enhance local learning,
own interests. at least several days' training
management capacity and
for facilitators.
skills.

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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

 Provide timely and reliable

information for management.

Examples of participatory methods include:

• Stakeholder analysis

It is the starting point of most participatory work and social assessments.

It is used to develop an understanding of the power relationships, influence, and interests of

the various people involved in an activity and to determine who should participate, and
when.

• Beneficiary assessment

It involves systematic consultation with stakeholders to identify and design development

initiatives, signal constraints to participation, and provide feedback to improve services and
activities.

• Participatory rural appraisal

It is an approach focused on sharing learning between local people, both urban and rural,
and outsiders.

It enables development managers and local people to assess and plan appropriate
interventions collaboratively often using visual techniques so that non-literate people can
participate.

Survey methods

Statistical surveys are used to collect information in a systematic way from a sample of individuals.

In the case of resilience analysis, surveys are usually administered at household level and are
interviewer-based, that is face-to-face. This collection method generally allows more data to be
gathered, including the use of more complex questionnaires.

Interviewers can reduce non-response by answering respondents' queries or concerns. They can
often pick up and resolve respondent errors.

In resilience analysis surveys are rarely used as a tool for gathering primary data, but they can be a
valuable sources of secondary data, especially at larger scales.

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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

There are in fact lots of surveys carried out for other purposes that can provide important
information on the population at hand, especially on households' socio-demographic characteristics,
preferences, attitude, and behaviour.

Some of the most important sources of information at household level based on statistical surveys
are: Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS); Household budget surveys; Demographic and
Health Surveys (DHS); and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).

This information can prove very useful if coupled with ad hoc data/information gathering
(e.g. rapid appraisal, participatory methods, small sample surveys).

PROs CONs Resources required

The most important advantage Surveys require significant The survey process is complex and
of surveys vis-à-vis qualitative resources, effort and time. the stages are not necessarily
approaches is the statistical sequential. Pilot testing of, at least,
Face-to-face surveys are
significance of data collected, key elements such as the
usually more expensive
provided that the sample is questionnaire and survey operations
than other methodologies
representative of the surveyed is an essential part of the
and poor interviewers can
population. development of a good survey.
introduce additional errors.

The following are some examples of survey methods:

• Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS)

Surveys were launched by the World Bank in the early 1980s to monitor progress in raising
levels of living standards and to assess policy impacts on households in developing
countries. Since then there have been about 88 surveys in 36 countries. They have been
sponsored by various donors, including the World Bank and the USAID, and by some
countries.

LSMS surveys are typically multi-topic surveys and use several questionnaires to collect
information about many different aspects of household welfare and behaviour (i.e. a
household questionnaire, a community questionnaire, a price questionnaire, and in some
cases, a facilities questionnaire).

LSMS surveys are nationally representative, but relatively small, samples - usually between
2,000 and 5,000 households.

More information can be found at www.worldbank.org/lsms.

Learners’ Notes 13
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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

• Household budget surveys

Household budget surveys are intended for various purposes, including measurement of
poverty and of household consumption of goods and services for weighting consumer prices.

Their value as sources of other data derives from the inclusion of a variety of questions
among basic or general variables. This offers the possibility of cross-classifying them against
many other variables, including income and urban or rural location as well as all the
common classifiers such as age and gender.

The surveys are complex and expensive, so they are not conducted very frequently in
developing countries.

They are undertaken often enough (perhaps every five years or so) in many countries to
provide fairly up-to-date and fairly frequent data.

• Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)

Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), sponsored by USAID, were first conducted in 1984.
They are now in their fourth series. The abbreviated name was changed in 1997 to DHS+.

There have been more than 200 surveys undertaken in over 75 countries. Some countries
have had only one DHS, but others have had several. Most surveys are addressed to about
5,000 households.

Most questions refer to demography and to health including nutrition, but they also include
other topics, such as education.

More information can be found at www.measuredhs.com.

• Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)

Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) is an international household survey programme

developed by UNICEF.

Since the mid-1990s, MICS has enabled more than 100 countries to produce statistically
sound and internationally comparable estimates of a range of indicators in the areas of
health, education, child protection and HIV/AIDS.

MICS data are collected during face-to-face interviews in nationally representative samples
of households, generating one of the world's largest sources of statistical information on
children and women, which can also be disaggregated by various geographical, social and
demographic characteristics.

More information can be found at www.childinfo.org/mics4.html.

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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

Techniques for quantitative analysis

What techniques are used to analyze data?

The two crucial features of resilience analysis as applied to food security are the acknowledgement
of the dynamic nature of food systems and the heterogeneity in the mechanisms that allow
people to earn their own living.

Those features must be reflected in the techniques used for resilience analysis.

Moreover, as resilience is not observable per se, a strategy to overcome this issue must be
devised.

Both qualitative and quantitative techniques can be used for resilience analysis, according to the
scale of the analysis and the data available.

Quantitative techniques available so far are based on the idea that resilience to food insecurity of a
given household at a given point in time depends primarily on the options available to that
household to make a living, such as:

• its access to assets (both agricultural and non-agricultural);

• income-generating activities;

• basic services;

• safety nets;

• institutional context (e.g. social capital, reputation, etc.); and

• adaptive capacity.

These options represent a pre-condition for the household response mechanisms to a given risk,
that is, its ability to handle it.

Learners’ Notes 15
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Resilience Analysis

The framework below illustrates the idea behind quantitative analysis of resilience:

1 2 3

1. At T0 the household shows a given level of food consumption (i.e. it may be food secure or
food insecure) and a given level of resilience to food insecurity. This depends on the value
of key resilience factors, such as income, agricultural assets, agricultural technology, and
so on.

2. Assume that between T0 and T1 some shocks occur, which may be endogenous, if related
to the household’s control of its options, or exogenous, if beyond the household’s control.
Whether the shocks are endogenous or exogenous, the household reacts to them by using
available response mechanisms and its adaptive capacities. The reaction to some shocks
(e.g. systemic shocks) occurs through policy support by decision-makers other than the
household (e.g., government or international institutions), which might themselves be the
causes of external shocks.

3. At T1 the household will show a new level of food consumption and a new level of resilience
to food insecurity. This will depend on how the key resilience factors have changed
because of the shocks that occurred between T0 and T1 as well as the household and the
policy response to those shocks.

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 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Resilience Analysis

The factors determining the resilience of a household at a given time are not observable.
Therefore, they need to be estimated from other observable variables.

For example, the access to food of a given household is not directly observable. However, it can be
estimated based on the household's income and food expenditure.

The diagram below shows how the resilience index can be estimated using a two-stage factor
analysis strategy.

Unobserved (latent)
variables

RESILIENCE
Observed
variables

Multi-stage modelling

In the first stage, an index for each resilience determinants is estimated separately using an
iterated principal factor method over a set of observed variables. In the second stage, the
resilience index is derived using a factor analysis on the interacting components estimated in the
first stage.

There are two main reasons for adopting a multi-stage modelling:

• usually, the available variables are not all normally distributed, so their estimation requires
the use of different multivariate techniques; and

Learners’ Notes 17
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Resilience Analysis

• measuring the different components separately makes the model more flexible, allowing
the inclusion of prior information and thus reducing parameter identification problems.

This approach can be applied to the whole population or to different socio-economic groups,
to highlight different household resilience levels according to their own livelihood strategies or
socio-economic status.

The following example shows the results of an analysis conducted to assess resilience levels across
Kenyan households.

Source: Alinovi et al. (2010)

Computing the difference between each livelihood group index and the overall resilience index for
Kenya, the authors showed that large-holder farmers are the most resilient (0.22), followed by
wage-employees (0.15), entrepreneurs (0.08) and agro-pastoralists (0.03).

The worst-off are pastoralists (-0.26) and smallholder farmers (-0.13), who are indeed the mostly
affected by recurrent droughts in the Horn of Africa.

Learners’ Notes 18
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Resilience Analysis

Gender disparities also affect resilience. The following diagram illustrates the resilience index for
two different types of households: male-headed and female-headed households.

Resilience

Non-agricultural assets Food access

Agricultural assets Basic services

Safety Net Agricultural technology

Adaptive capacity

The diagram shows that male-headed households are much more resilient than female-headed
households. The only component where a female-headed household performs better is safety nets.
The differences in terms of assets (both agricultural and non-agricultural) appear less important.

Learners’ Notes 19
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Resilience Analysis

Summary
A resilience approach to food security analysis allows the points of intervention in a food system
where resilience can be increased to be found.

Resilience analysis involves defining the system of interest and specifying issues of concern. In
order to do this, information on the following topics must be gathered:

• the definition of the system boundaries;

• a description of key processes;

• an inventory of actors/stakeholders;

• a description of the relevant assets necessary to ensure food security and livelihood; and

• the drivers of a system's future.

The techniques used to elicit information can be more or less formalized, ranging from qualitative
approaches, such as rapid appraisal and participatory methods, to more structured approaches,
such as statistical surveys.

Analytical tools can differ according to the scale of analysis and can be either qualitative or
quantitative. Multi-stage modeling is a quantitative technique for determining households'
resilience.

Learners’ Notes 20
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Resilience Analysis

If you want to know more

Online resources

Alinovi, L., Mane, E. and Romano, D. (2008). Towards the Measurement of Household Resilience to
Food Insecurity: Applying a Model to Palestinian Household Data. In Sibrian, R. (ed.). Deriving Food
Security Information From National Household Budget Surveys. Experiences, Achievement,
Challenges. Rome: FAO. pp. 137-52.

ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/i0430e/i0430e.pdf

Alinovi, L., D'Errico, M., Mane, E. and Romano, D. (2010). Livelihoods Strategies and Household
Resilience to Food Insecurity: An Empirical Analysis to Kenya. Background paper to the European
report on Development 2010.

http://erd.eui.eu/erd-2010/

Resilience Alliance (2007). Assessing Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems. A Workbook For

Scientists. Version 1.1. Draft For Testing And Evaluation.
http://www.resalliance.org/index.php/resilience_assessment

Walker, B.H., Carpenter, S.R., Anderies, J., Abel, N., Cumming, G., Janssen, M.A., Lebel, L.,
Norberg, J., Peterson, G. and Pritchard, L. (2002). Resilience Management in Social-ecological
Systems: A Working Hypothesis for a Participatory Approach. Conservation Ecology, 6(1): 14.
http://www.consecol.org/vol6/iss1/art14

Websites

Resilience Alliance. An exhaustive discussion of resilience in social-ecological systems.

www.resalliance.org

World Bank - LSMS. An introduction to the Living Standards Measurement Study surveys.
http://www.worldbank.org/lsms

DHS. An introduction to the Demographic and Health Surveys). http://www.measuredhs.com

UNICEF-MICS. An introduction to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys.

http://www.childinfo.org/mics4.html

Additional reading

Adger, N.W. (2000). Social and Ecological Resilience: Are They Related? Progress in Human
Geography. 24(3): 347-64.

Learners’ Notes 21
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Lesson: Resilience Analysis

Carpenter, S.R., Walker, B.H., Anderies, J.M. and Abel, N. (2001). From Metaphor to Measurement:
Resilience of What to What? Ecosystems, 4: 765–781.

Carter, M.R., Little, P.D., Mogues, T. and Negatu, W. (2006). Shocks, Sensitivity and Resilience:
Tracking the Economic Impacts of Environmental Disaster on Assets in Ethiopia and Honduras.
DSGD Discussion Paper n° 32. IFPRI. Washington D.C.

Folke, C. (2006). Resilience: The Emergence of a Perspective for Social-ecological Systems

Analyses. Global Environmental Change. 16(3): 253–267.

Gunderson, L.H., Holling, C.S., Peterson, G. and Pritchard, L. (1997). Resilience in Ecosystems,
Institutions and Societies. Beijer Discussion Paper Number 92. Beijer International Institute for
Ecological Economics, Stockholm, Sweden.

Holling, C.S. (1996). Engineering Resilience versus Ecological Resilience. In P.C. Schulze (editor).
Engineering Within Ecological Constraints. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., USA: pp. 31-
44.

Holling, C.S. and Gunderson, L.H. (2002). Resilience and adaptive cycles. In Gunderson, L.H. and
Holling, C.S. (eds). Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems.
Washington, D.C.: Island Press. Pp. 25-62.

Keil, A., Zeller, M., Wida, A., Sanim, B. and Birner, R. (2008). What Determines Farmers' Resilience
Towards ENSO Related Drought? An Empirical Assessment in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Climate
Change 86: 291-307.

Learners’ Notes 22
 Resilience

in Food Security
Analysis

Policy Implications

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union's Food Security

Thematic Programme and implemented by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

© FAO, 2012
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Policy Implications

Table of contents
Learning objectives.................................................................................................2

Introduction ...........................................................................................................2

Resilience-based management ................................................................................2

Selecting interventions ............................................................................................5

Resilience-based policies ....................................................................................... 11

Summary ............................................................................................................. 14

If you want to know more..................................................................................... 15

Learners’ Notes 1
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Policy Implications

Learning objectives
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• understand the concept of resilience-based management of food systems;

• identify the main types of interventions aiming at addressing resilience issues; and

• understand the policy implications of a resilience-based approach to food security.

Introduction
This lesson will describe the possible interventions aiming at managing food system resilience, as
well as the criteria for designing them.

It will also introduce you to the policy implications of adopting a resilience-based approach to food
security.

Resilience-based management
Resilience analysis of food systems allows us to understand where resilience resides in a given
system (e.g. a community) and when and how it can be lost or gained.

The outcome of the analysis will help us to define the most appropriate set of interventions to
manage the resilience of that system.

Analytical framework for resilience analysis

Learners’ Notes 2
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Lesson: Policy Implications

What are interventions?

Interventions are human actions to address specific issues, needs, opportunities, or problems in
food system governance and management.

They encompass all policies, strategies, measures, and actions that are established to change the
system status and processes directly, and those that modify direct or indirect drivers that shape
food system status and processes.

They include legal, economic, social behavioral, and cognitive and technological interventions.

What does resilience management imply?

Managing resilience involves different strategies depending on the status of the system, whether it
is able or not to deliver the desired goods and services.

If the system is in a “good …system resilience should be enhanced to maintain the

shape”… current regime and prevent the system from moving into an
undesirable regime, from which it is either difficult or impossible
to recover.

If the system is in a “bad … the system should be transformed shifting from the
shape”… existing regime into a more desirable new or very different
regime.

Example

Let’s consider, for example, a community of farmers.

Though rainfall has become more erratic recently and food prices are increasing, the community is
still able to provide its members with the required goods and services.

Despite the food system being in a good shape, increased environmental and economic risks may
increase its vulnerability and require intervention. Modifying regulations, property rights, rules,
norms to accommodate changes (e.g. reducing price volatility through stockpile management or
trade policies) and manipulating ecological goods and services (e.g. increasing the water flow from

Learners’ Notes 3
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Lesson: Policy Implications

an upstream dam) may enhance households resilience to shocks and prevent the system from
moving into an undesirable regime.

Managing resilience requires adaptability. Adaptability is the ability of people – individually and
collectively – to monitor, assess, respond, recover and renew following known and unknown
disturbances and other change.

Building adaptive capacity can be done by:

• investing in secure ecosystem goods and services;

• incorporating ecological knowledge into institutional structures;

• creating new social and ecological networks;

• combining different forms of knowledge for learning;

• providing incentives for stakeholder participation;

• identifying and addressing knowledge gaps; and

• developing expertise to address those gaps.

In cases where a system is already in an undesirable regime and efforts to get it back into a
desirable regime are no longer possible (or are likely to make the undesirable regime worse), one
option for resolving the predicament is transformation to a different kind of system - new
variables, new ways of making a living, different scales.

Crises and disturbances can provide an opportunity for transformation. This is what is called
transformability.

By building capital (e.g. economic, cultural, human, natural, political and social) and trust, the
people and organizations involved in a social-ecological system can transform systems.

Examples

Droughts, for example, can reveal that existing policies or management actions are no longer
working and should be changed.

Building a dam and investing in an irrigation scheme, setting the rules for water allocation to
beneficiaries, facilitating access to credit for new investments, providing rural extension services to
accommodate the change, etc. are all examples of interventions aiming at transforming the existing
system regime.

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Lesson: Policy Implications

Selecting interventions
According to the status of the system, five main types of action can be taken:

Type of action Description Example

Development Development is aimed at increasing the Increasing the production of

provision of selected system goods and cash crop by switching from
services, often at the expense of others and/or rainfed to irrigated
by transforming important features of the food production.
system.

Prevention Prevention is an attempt to foreclose unwanted Control free well digging and
changes in the food system conditions before over-pumping to prevent the
their commencement. lowering of the water table.

Mitigation Mitigation aims at slowing down and halting an Switch to drip irrigation and
already on-going transformation process. invest in pressure pipelines to
enhance the efficiency of
water use on the plot.

Adaptive Adaptive interventions recognize that some Switch to drought-resistant

interventions kind and degree of change is inevitable and varieties.
attempts to cope with the changing food
system conditions.

Rehabilitative Rehabilitative interventions strive to improve Close illegal wells, promote

interventions degraded food system conditions in general or more effective participation of
to restore them to a specific earlier status. stakeholders in water user
associations.

Interventions aiming at addressing resilience issues can be in different areas:

• Legal

Legal interventions have the overall function of providing the formal rules by which all other
interventions are framed and operationalized. Legal interventions occur at a variety of levels
internationally, nationally, and sub-nationally and are divided by well-recognized

Learners’ Notes 5
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Lesson: Policy Implications

jurisdictional orders. Overall, nationally and sub-nationally, legal interventions are typified by
three broad categories of regulatory, administrative, and constitutional rules. All of these
rules remain static without implementation, compliance, and enforcement in their respective
jurisdictions.

• Economic

Economic interventions work through the self-interest of people and their effort to improve
their economic welfare, an important component of overall well-being. They could be based
either on existing property rights or could create new ones. Command-and-control
instruments are straightforward and blunt when properly implemented. Incentive-based
instruments rely on the wisdom of the targeted individuals or groups (including private
companies) to follow their self-interest. Voluntarism-based instruments are based on self-
control and they are often used either to prevent a stricter form of regulation or as a
precursor to stricter regulation.

• Social, behavioral and cognitive

Social, behavioral and cognitive interventions drive change by affecting the norms, values,
attitudes and knowledge of individuals and society. The provision of political rights and
liberties empowers people, increasing transparency and awareness over resilience-related
matters. Education and public programmes influence attitudes and norms that invariably
drive change in relationships between society and nature. They also increase participation in
public fora and debate and offer opportunity for learning. The inclusion and legitimization of
traditional knowledge has been widely recognized as valuable for addressing resilience
issues.

• Technological

Technological interventions work through the products, devices, processes and practices
adopted in systems management, directly within the food system and indirectly on other
human activities affecting the food system. They are applied in management, prevention as
well as rehabilitation. Providing incentives for innovation and technological research and
development is a powerful intervention option that can sometimes have unexpected
negative side effects.

What are the characteristics of a good intervention?

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Interventions should be:

• appropriate

• integrated

• flexible

Let’s look at these characteristics more in detail.

Appropriate interventions

Interventions need to be based on a holistic approach to management that extends beyond the
spatial scale of the immediate problem, i.e. they must be multi-scale (and scales must be
appropriate).

They must also strive to be appropriate to the time-frame of the objectives and be sustainable in
the long term.

Since interventions may be more or less appropriate according to the phase of the adaptive
cycle, it is important to consider whether there are clear indications for success or failure due to
the phase the system is in.

Phases of the adaptive cycle

growth conservation The kinds of interventions that are most

appropriate (and inappropriate) are influenced by
the phase of the adaptive cycle.

It is therefore important to recognize where and

reorganization how to intervene according to the adaptive cycle.
release

The most common interventions are:

• Foreloop type actions

Foreloop dynamics are typical of the growth or conservation phase of the adaptive cycle.
Their positive function is building capital, of all kinds. However, from a resilience perspective
the following trends may require intervention:

a) not recognising that increases in efficiency of production are reducing response diversity:

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Lesson: Policy Implications

maximizing production through increased efficiency often leads to unwanted surprises -

collapsed fish stocks, disastrous epidemics, etc; and

b) becoming increasingly reluctant to change from what has developed into a successful
production system.

Actions such as creating social networks, securing ecosystem goods and services, encouraging
novelty, experimentation and learning, and facilitating knowledge and information sharing, help
societies increase capacity during times of rapid change.

• Breaking K-phase behaviour

If the system is in a late-conservation phase, there is strong resistance to change and it

may be too late for education and encouragement.

One option is to induce small disturbances, to force the release of resources and re-
organization, before it happens through a potentially large, external disturbance.

The aim is to either bring about a move back along the foreloop from conservation to growth
phases, or to cause a small scale backloop that quickly re-sets the system into a rejuvenated
growth phase without significant loss of capital.

Another way to think about this is to identify sub-systems of the focal scale (spatial, or
otherwise embedded) and generate back loops or ‘release and reorganization’ in some of these
sub-systems. A strong proposition in resilience theory is that generating back loops at small
scales prevents systems at higher scales from approaching crisis and collapse.

• Backloop interventions

If the focal system is in a backloop (conservation and release phase of the adaptive cycle,
i.e. existing arrangements are unravelling, people and capital leaving, ecosystems collapsing),
the main aim is to retain as much capital as possible while fostering and speeding up the
reorganization phase.

The idea is to bring to an end the release phase as quickly as possible, while retaining
‘memory’ and resources. The trade-off from an intervention perspective, is to allow novelty to
flourish as much as possible during the backloop while also constraining it so that the backloop
doesn’t last too long.

Retaining capital and facilitating experiments and innovation are examples of backloop
interventions.

• Panarchy interventions

Learners’ Notes 8
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Lesson: Policy Implications

Panarchy interventions are cross-scale interventions.

A common cross-scale effect that reduces resilience and that

may require intervention, is the provision of subsidies from
higher scales to enable the conservation stage at the focal scale
to persist (help not to change, rather than help to change). The
interactions among institutions at different scales should be
considered and assessed in terms of needed changes.

Integrated interventions

Because the pattern of interaction of drivers and processes is usually complex, single interventions
or ‘quick fixes’ usually offer only partial solutions and are rarely successful over the long term.

Interventions must serve multiple objectives and/or sectors, i.e. they must be integrated.

Consider interactions among interventions: multiple interventions might interact with each
other; trade-offs between interventions must be carefully considered and an assessment of the
resulting outcomes should be carried out.

Example

An example of a ‘quick fix’ is the provision of agricultural subsidies that provide the farmer with
incentives to concentrate their own production on a few subsidized products and to adopt less
sustainable agricultural techniques: these subsidies could eventually increase farmer’s vulnerability
to economic and environmental shocks and, therefore, decrease the system resilience.

Vice versa, ‘integrated rural development’ interventions usually are resilience-enhancing.

Flexible interventions

Finally, successful interventions should be designed to enable the rules governing the system to
evolve as social and ecological variables change.

Moreover, interventions must be flexible enough to accommodate uncertainty i.e. through an

adaptive management approach.

Learners’ Notes 9
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Lesson: Policy Implications

Example

Flexible interventions that are designed with built-in mechanisms for experimenting and learning.

For example, an integrated rural development programme including components aiming at favoring
participation, monitoring, reporting (i.e. feed-back), extension and training is an example of flexible
intervention.

Institutions

An essential precondition for any intervention to work effectively is stable order based on social
norms generally accepted by those at whom the intervention is targeted, i.e. institutions.

What are institutions?

Institutions are rules and norms that guide how people within societies live, work and interact.

Formal institutions are codified rules such as the constitution, organized markets or property
rights.

Informal institutions are rules governed by social or behavioral norms of a family, community or
society.

Institutions create the framework and the medium by which interventions can converge on direct
and indirect drivers.

Institutions, formal or informal, are found at multiples scales and are formed by various actors. In
this sense, they are an important means for setting the rules of the game.

Suggestions for selecting and designing resilience interventions

The following are a few suggestions for selecting and designing resilience interventions.

• Stakeholder involvement

Since interventions aimed at interacting drivers are likely to involve multiple parties, their
selection must be done with stakeholder participation, meet the goals of different groups or
individuals, and be carried out through a transparent process.

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Lesson: Policy Implications

Without the participation of all involved actors it is in fact not possible to achieve a collectively
and socially desirable outcome, because key information resides in the knowledge and mental
models of stakeholders and because any proposed solution would face a legitimacy problem.

The process is iterative, involving many rounds of discussions among stakeholders, policy
makers, local experts and scientists, aimed at progressively refining the understanding of how
the system will respond to and change because of external and internal driving forces.

• Careful planning

Actions need to be carefully planned.

Sequencing among ecological, economic and social interventions, and between them, needs to
be considered before any are implemented.

• Leaving room for learning

This ‘learning by doing’ approach to management views policies as guesses or hypotheses and
actions as ways of testing those guesses.

This ‘adaptive assessment’ attempts to fill the gap between knowledge and action.

Resilience-based policies
How can the resilience approach be applied in policy design?

The adoption of resilience as a criterion for policy design shifts policies from those that aspire to
control change in systems assumed to be stable, to managing the capacity of social-ecological
systems to cope with, adapt to and shape change.

By and large, policies that maintain resilience are those that:

• adaptively monitor key variables of the food system;

• provide and sustain ecological, economic and cultural diversity;

• provide and sustain appropriate capitals (natural, human, social, financial and physical); and

• seek integrative understanding.

FAO has recently proposed a conceptual framework – the so-called ‘twin-track approach’ (TTA)
– to address food security and poverty issues and to promote agricultural and rural development.

According to the TTA, pursuing these objectives requires two sets of interventions:

TRACK 1: Improving long-term food security

Learners’ Notes 11
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Policy Implications

Interventions aimed at supporting and enhancing the livelihoods of the poorest and most vulnerable
groups through sustainable agricultural and rural development.

This first track mainly addresses the structural, longer term factors causing vulnerability and covers
most of the options for reducing vulnerability ex ante (risk mitigation and prevention).

TRACK 2: Addressing immediate food requirements

Targeted interventions and programmes to enhance immediate and direct access to food and
nutrition by the most needy.

This second track mainly addresses present food insecurity and the short term factors determining
it and entails the ex post policies (risk coping).

TTA policies can be grouped according to the different dimensions of food security and to actions
that can be undertaken to address food security risks.

TRACK 1 policies

Availability Access Utilization

• Stable macro environment. • Increase • Promote

prevention

productivity of preventive health

• Trade promotion.
income generating practices.
• Develop market and storage
activities.
• Food safety
infrastructure.
• Empower women regulations and
• Improve input and output markets.
and other institutions.
• Natural resource management. marginalised
• Immunization.
• Increase productivity and groups.
• Water and
production capacity.
sanitation
• Reduce production variability. infrastructure.

• Improve agricultural extension • Livelihood Provision of health

mitigation

services. diversification. services.

• Facilitate diversification. • Insurance and

savings.
• Buffer stocks.

Learners’ Notes 12
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Policy Implications

TRACK 2 policies

Availability Access Utilization

• Market facilitation (transport, • Social safety nets, • Disease control.

information). including cash
• Immunization.
transfers, food
• Food aid.
• Water and sanitation.
subsidies, work fare
• Food imports.
programmes.

• Migration.

• Consumption
smoothing.

• Asset sales.

• Formal/Informal
credit.

• School feeding.

TTA policies are designed to address efficiency and distributive issues. Therefore, they are not
purposely devised to enhance the system resilience. However, some of them have a higher content
in terms of resilience-enhancing effect than others.

For example, policies promoting livelihoods diversification aim at increasing households’ resilience.
Other examples are: the diversification of food system functions, the conservation of biodiversity in
critical ecosystem functions, the adoption of flexible options for management, the promotion of
cultural and political diversity in social groups, the creation of a system of social incentives to
maintain or restore social capital (e.g. learning, trust and stakeholders participation).

Contrasting resilience-enhancing policies with the TTA classification, we can conclude that most
policies that are classified under the first track can in principle contribute to enhancing food
system resilience.

In conclusion, resilience-based interventions are primarily eligible:

• in non-emergency, business-as-usual contexts, as in emergency contexts the priority

is rather to intervene to save lives (i.e. humanitarian aid), although these interventions can
help in setting the basis for following resilience-building interventions.

Learners’ Notes 13
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Lesson: Policy Implications

• after a crisis, during the rehabilitation phase.

• in protracted crisis contexts, as countries in protracted crisis, characterized by long-

lasting or recurring crises and often limited or little capacity to respond, require special
attention. In these contexts, resilience-building interventions are key.

Summary
Managing resilience involves different strategies depending on the status of the system, whether it
is able or not to deliver the desired goods and services. It can involve development, prevention,
mitigation, adaptive and rehabilitative interventions.

Interventions aiming at addressing resilience issues can interest different areas, including economic,
legal, technological, and social, behavioural and cognitive areas.

Interventions should be: appropriate to the time-frame of the objectives, multi-scale and
sustainable in the long-term; integrated; and flexible enough to accommodate uncertainty.

Institutions are essential for any intervention to work effectively.

Promoting stakeholder involvement, careful planning and leaving room for learning and adjustments
are fundamental aspects in designing interventions.

The adoption of resilience as a criterion for policy design shifts policies from those that aspire to
control change in systems assumed to be stable, to managing the capacity of social-ecological
systems to cope with, adapt to, and shape change.

Learners’ Notes 14
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Policy Implications

If you want to know more

Online resources

FAO. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2010. Addressing Food Insecurity in Protracted
Crises. Rome.

http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en/

Romer Løvendal, C. and Knowles, M. (2005). Tomorrow's Hunger: A Framework for Analysing
Vulnerability to Food Insecurity. ESA Working Paper, No. 05-07. Rome, FAO.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/af140e/af140e00.htm

Stamoulis, K. and Zezza, A. (2003). A Conceptual Framework for National Agricultural, Rural
Development, and Food Security Strategies and Policies. ESA Working Paper, No. 03-17. Rome,
FAO.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/ae050e/ae050e00.htm

Walker, B., Holling, C.S., Carpenter, S.R. and Kinzig, A. (2004). Resilience, Adaptability and
Transformability in Social–ecological Systems. Ecology and Society 9(2): 5.
http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss2/art5/

Walker, B., Gunderson, L.H., Kinzig, A.P., Folke, C., Carpenter, S.R. and Schultz, L., (2006). A
handful of heuristics and some propositions for understanding resilience in social-ecological
systems. Ecology and Society 11(1): 13.

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss1/art13/

Websites

Resilience Alliance. An exhaustive discussion of resilience in social-ecological systems.

http://www.resalliance.org

Additional reading

Adger, N.W. (2000). Social and Ecological Resilience: Are They Related? Progress in Human
Geography. 24(3): 347364.

Gunderson, L.H., Holling, C.S., Peterson, G. and Pritchard, L. (1997). Resilience in Ecosystems,
Institutions and Societies. Beijer Discussion Paper Number 92. Beijer International Institute for
Ecological Economics. Stockholm, Sweden.

Learners’ Notes 15
 Course: Resilience in Food Security Analysis
Lesson: Policy Implications

Holling, C.S. (2001). Understanding the Complexity of Economic, Ecological and Social Systems.
Ecosystems, 4: 390–405.

Holling, C.S. and Gunderson, L.H. (2002). Resilience and Adaptive Cycles. In Gunderson, L.H. and
Holling, C.S. (eds). Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems.
Washington, D.C. Island Press. Pp. 25-62.

Levin, S.A. et al. (1998). Resilience in Natural and Socioeconomic Systems. Environment and
Development Economics. 3(2): 222-35.

Ludwig, D.R. (1993). Environmental Sustainability: Magic, Science and Religion in Natural Resource
Management. Ecological Application, 3(4): 555–58.

Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. New
York, Cambridge University Press.

Ostrom, E. (1999). Coping with Tragedies of the Commons. Annual Review of Political Science 2:
493–535.

Perrings, C. (1998). Resilience in the Dynamics of Economy-Environment Systems. Environmental

and Resource Economics. 11(3–4): 503–520.

Pingali, P., Alinovi, L. and Sutton, J. (2005). Food Security in Complex Emergencies: Enhancing
Food System Resilience. Disasters, 29 (supp. 1): S5−S24.

Walker, B.H., Carpenter, S.R., Anderies, J., Abel, N., Cumming, G., Janssen, M.A., Lebel, L.,
Norberg, J., Peterson, G. and Pritchard, L. (2002). Resilience Management in Social-ecological
Systems: a Working Hypothesis for a Participatory Approach.

Learners’ Notes 16
 Food Security Information for Action

Food Security Information Systems and Networks

Lesson 1
Food Security Information Systems

Learner Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and implemented

by the Food and Agriculture Organization.

© FAO, 2007
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

Table of contents
Learning objectives ......................................................................................... 2

Introduction.................................................................................................... 2

FSIS and the decision making process............................................................... 3

Data collection and management; primary and secondary data. .......................... 5

Data and the food security dimensions.............................................................. 6

The analysis: transforming data into information................................................ 7

Communication, Users, Applications.................................................................. 8

Summary...................................................................................................... 13

If you want to know more.............................................................................. 13

Learner Notes 1
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• understand the main objectives of a food security information system (FSIS);

• understand how key components of food security information systems support decision
making processes;
• understand the main purposes for which food security analysis is conducted; and
• identify the main users of and applications for food security information products.

Introduction

This lesson will help you understand the objectives, purposes and functions of food security
information systems (FSIS).

Well-analysed information on the food security situation of different population groups is a

critical resource for decision makers tasked with addressing food insecurity concerns.

This lesson introduces a basic framework to describe the various components of an

information system.

We will examine how these components combine to produce outputs that meet the needs of
decision makers.

Learner Notes 2
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

FSIS and the decision making process

Ensuring the food security of its citizens is an important development goal for all governments.

This goal is embedded in numerous national policy statements. At the global level, governments
have agreed to cooperate in reducing by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
by 2015. This is stated as the first of the Millennium Development Goals.

In support of achieving this goal, decision makers need to know who the food insecure are, and
the nature and causes of their food insecurity. This information is critical for planners, financiers
and other decision makers to formulate and implement appropriate food security policies and
programmes, and assess progress.

The objective of a FSIS is to provide well analysed food security information to

decision makers, and (as all information systems aim to do) to support the decision
making process. In fact:
• Information is a critical resource in the operation and management of organizations.
The availability of relevant and timely information is vital for the effective performance
of managerial functions such as planning, organizing, leading and control.
• A system is a set of components that operate together to achieve a common purpose
or objective. For example a computer system consists of a CPU, keyboard, mouse,
screen and operating system. Each of these components is necessary for the computer
system as a whole to work.

Therefore:
The effectiveness of a food security information system depends on the analytical and
communication capacity of the staff running the system; other factors include good
institutional support, appropriate methods, and adequate information technology, including
computer hardware and software.

Learner Notes 3
Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

Food security is a complex subject with different dimensions that span across a large
number of sectors and issues. Consequently:

1. Many different information systems may contribute data and analysis for building a
comprehensive understanding of food security.
2. Food security information must be well communicated to a wide range of potential
users
3. These users may need to apply this information for a range of different decision
making purposes.

Food security analysis is conducted differently by various information systems, depending on

the primary purpose for which the analysis is done.
The following are the main purposes:
• market transparency (providing traders and consumers with current market data to
ensure movement of food from surplus to deficit areas)
• early warning (addressing short term food availability questions)
• emergency needs assessment (short term analysis for effective response)
• vulnerability analysis (short and medium term analysis of household or individual
exposure to risk factors and their ability to cope with shocks)
• household food security analysis (medium term analysis of socio-economic
dimensions including purchasing power, intra-household food distribution)
• policy and programme formulation (food security analysis is conducted in context
of longer term development planning)
• monitoring and evaluation (programme design to address food security concerns
must be assessed to see whether they have the desired impact)
• advocacy (only through effective communication and strong messages based on in-
depth analysis of underlying causes and outcomes of food insecurity, will we be able to
draw the attention of policy makers and achieve results)

Learner Notes 4
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

Analysts running a FSIS conduct a series of actions, or steps, which should result in improved
decision making.
This process consists of the following sequential steps:
1. First, data is collected and managed using appropriate survey and data
management techniques and software, where appropriate.
2. Second, this data is analyzed to make it useful for decision makers.
Analyzed data is called information.
3. Third, the information must be communicated through appropriate reports so that
it is acted upon. Information that is assimilated by users becomes knowledge.

Data collection and management; primary and secondary

data.

Let us look at the data that a FSIS analyst uses in more detail.

Data is the raw material for an information system. Data consists of unanalyzed facts or
figures. For example, a system may collect data on rainfall, agricultural production or market
prices. In its raw state data is not particularly useful to decision makers.

Data needs to be carefully stored and managed within an information system.

It should be processed, quality controlled and stored in an accessible format for future analysis.
The availability of timely and high quality data is often a limiting constraint to the performance
of an information system.

But who collects data, and how? People running an information system may be directly
responsible for collecting data through monitoring systems, surveys, case studies, censuses or
remote sensing instruments. There are basically two kinds of data:
Example
1. Primary data Example of Primary data:
Measurements made by the operators of A market information system may collect
any information system themselves. primary data on product prices in a
number of markets.

Learner Notes 5
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

Example
2. Secondary data Example of Secondary data:
An information system may also use data Several information systems would draw
that has been previously gathered by on secondary data from the national
another system. This is called “secondary population census.
data”.

Data and the food security dimensions

Let us look in a little more detail at the types of data and variables that a FSIS collects and
analyzes. Data needs are determined by the broad scope of the four food security dimensions.
According to its basic definition1, food security can be measured in its four dimensions:

Availability
Measures whether a wide variety of food is available at farms and in local markets.

Access
Measures whether people have enough money to purchase a variety of foods.

Utilization
Refers to the capacity of the human body to absorb the food eaten in an environment that
supplies appropriate care, clean water, good sanitation and health services.

Stability
Refers to the vulnerability context and risk factors that impact negatively on food availability or
access to food.

Therefore, comprehensive food security analysis requires data to support the measurement of
each of these four dimensions.

1
Basic Definition of Food Security:
Food security exists when people at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which
meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. (Rome, World Food Summit 1996).

Learner Notes 6
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

Each factor or variable is measured by its corresponding indicators.

Some variables such as food production, may be measured or estimated directly. However,
other variables are measured by the use of proxy or indirect indicators.

Example
For example, it is extremely difficult to measure actual food intake.
Therefore, we may measure proxy indicators such as dietary diversity or number of meals per
day. The assumption is that these proxies are closely correlated with the variable we wish to
measure.

!
The factors leading to hunger can differ among and even within countries. A single set of
indicators is not applicable across all countries and at all times.

The analysis: transforming data into information

A good food security analyst will use the available data to answer a series of questions:
• What is the current situation?
• Is there a problem? What is it?
• What is the evidence?
• What can we say about underlying causes?
• What could be done about the problem? Are there options?

These questions need to be answered in sequence to provide precise and convincing

recommendations for action to decision makers. The answers cannot come from the data. They
come from a good analysis of the data and from effective communication.
Food security analysts transform the mass of raw data into information to support managers
in their decision making.
Information is analysed data that is presented in a form that is specifically designed for a given
purpose or decision-making task. In other words, information is analysed data put into a
meaningful and useful context.
Good information appraises and notifies, surprises and stimulates, reduces uncertainty, reveals
additional alternatives or helps eliminate irrelevant or poor ones, and most importantly,
influences individuals and stimulates them to take action.

Learner Notes 7
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

Communication, Users, Applications

In order to become knowledge, the information needs to be understood and assimilated by
the target audience. That is why an FSIS has to be very conscious about how best to
communicate the analysis and information that they produce. The users of food security
information systems are often located in a different organization from the information providers.
This requires the FSIS to use effective communication strategies.

Communication may be done through different means and formats including written reports,
verbal briefings and presentations, or indirectly through the media (internet, news media).

A common criticism made of FSIS is that too little of the analysis provided is utilized by decision
makers. To improve the uptake of information it is necessary for a FSIS to actively support and
publicise the recommendations made. This means more than disseminating reports and
findings: it requires effective communication and advocacy. Here are some useful tips:

Tips
In designing a communication and advocacy strategy, you need to consider the following
issues:
• You need to understand the institutional arrangements and clarify who (both
institutionally and individually) is responsible for which decisions. A stakeholder analysis
is a useful tool for clarifying this. This sets the context for targeting key decision makers
with the relevant analysis.
• Good communication is about winning the hearts and minds of power brokers. You have
to engage with key people and ignite their interest.
• Communication needs to be persuasive. Examples of effective strategies may include
the strategic use of hard-hitting oral presentations to convince decision-makers, or
emphasizing cost-effectiveness to donors.
• Advocacy is about building consensus. Too often the FSIS stops at telling people there
is a problem rather than building consensus on how to address the problem. In an ideal
situation, advocacy needs to come from within the country, rather than be externally
imposed.
• Influential, well-informed and respected people are necessary for driving
communication. They should have access to power brokers who are, in turn, willing to
listen.
• Any action proposed needs to be doable.

Learner Notes 8
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

Finally, the FSIS need ongoing monitoring of how and if information is being used. This is
important as it provides a measure of the value of the system. However, it is often neglected.

The information and reports generated by a FSIS will be useful to several stakeholder
groups in different sectors of society.
Users of FSIS products include:

1. Policy makers
Policy-makers and their advisors in government (national level), who can direct funds and
services to food insecure groups.
They may come from the Office of the President or the Prime Minister (especially if they already
have food security units are already located here), Ministries of Finance and Planning, and line
ministries dealing with agriculture, environment, fisheries, forestry, health, and land.

2. Elected representatives
Elected representatives at both national and local levels are important users, as they influence
both policy and programming.

3. Government officials and technical staff

Government officials and technical staff at national and sub-national levels (provinces and
districts), who are directly involved in food security and nutrition research, planning,
interventions or monitoring.

4. Local government authorities

Local government authorities who are responsible for the day-to-day management of food
security and nutrition interventions.

5. Civil society
Civil society, specifically those members (non-governmental and community-based
organisations), who are engaged in tackling problems of food insecurity within their countries
and the media who may help to shape policy opinion and energize a response.

Learner Notes 9
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

6. Private sector
Private sector actors and parastatal organizations, that provide services to producers and
consumers of food.

7. The donor community

The donor community, including United Nations agencies, bilateral donors and international
NGOs that are involved in food security and nutrition issues at national and international levels.

8. Researchers
Researchers, including academics at local and international universities and research institutes,
statisticians at the national statistics office, and others interested in food security and nutrition
issues.

9. Training institutions
Training institutions, particularly those involved in providing cross-disciplinary training in the
management of food insecurity information systems for persons already specialised in
disciplines such as statistics, meteorology, geography, cartography, agricultural economics,
sociology and nutrition.

Earlier in the lesson, you learned that food security analysis can be conducted for different
purposes, in different contexts, and used by various users.
Supporting the planning and targeted implementation of food security programmes and
projects is often considered a key objective of an FSIS.
Information is also needed for purposes of monitoring and evaluation, to help design, improve,
or re-design ongoing programmes.

Learner Notes 10
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

Let’s look at an example of an FSIS that provides information relevant to programme design and
implementation.
Example

An Early Warning System (EWS) is a specific type of FSIS which provides timely notice of
impending acute food security crises. Relatively elaborate EWS have been established in many
countries. Depending on the stage of the crisis the EWS may provide recommendations:

1. In normal conditions:
Recommendations on how to build the coping capacity and resilience of communities before
a ‘shock’ occurs.

2. As a crisis builds:
Recommendations on preparedness and possible disaster mitigation, or emergency response
programmes.

3. As the crisis abates:

Recommendations on recovery or rehabilitation interventions that rebuild livelihoods and
food security.

FSIS also have an important role in assisting policy makers.

Policies identify a problem and propose a course of action. They provide the framework for
implementing programmes and projects. Interest in policy development has grown in recent
years. Thus, FSIS are increasingly tasked with policy analysis and making policy related
recommendations. FSIS can support the various steps of a policy making process:

Monitoring & Impact Analysis of

Assessment Policy options
Policy change
cycle
Policy Policy
Implementation Dialogue/Review

Policy-makers need information just as programme planners and implementers do.

They need to plan policies, monitor implementation and, periodically, re-plan.

Learner Notes 11
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

In a number of countries, improved information has already led to the introduction of new
legislation and the formulation of specific programmes directed towards food-insecure and
vulnerable population groups. Consider this example on sugar fortification in Zambia:
Example

Vitamin A deficiency is a recognized public health problem in Zambia. Among the short-term
interventions promoted by the National Food and Nutrition Commission are the supplementation
and fortification of basic foodstuffs. Sugar was selected as the primary vehicle for Vitamin A
fortification on the basis of a success story from Guatemala. Although sugar is assumed to be
consumed widely in Zambia, at the time the decision to fortify it was made, there was no
information on the extent of sugar consumption. Thus, it was difficult to determine whether the
programme was reaching target population groups.

New information
The Food, Health and Nutrition Information System (FHANIS) of Zambia responded to the
lack of information by including a question on sugar consumption in one of its regular
surveys. The results showed that, whereas more than half (53 percent) of urban
households consumed sugar, less than one-third (29 percent) of those in rural areas did.
The new information on sugar consumption also highlighted the fact that sugar was
consumed mainly by the higher-income groups in both the urban and the rural districts,
and that the least sugar was consumed in those provinces where vitamin A deficiency was
actually the highest.

Policy response
Vitamin A capsules are now given to children in poorer areas (as a more effective way of
reaching them than sugar fortification). An initiative has also been taken to fortify maize
meal, which is the main staple food in Zambia. However, the maize meal used by the rural
population is processed locally, either by hand or with small hammermills, rather than in
the large mills through which fortification may be possible. Hence, it is expected that, as
with sugar fortification, the target groups will not be reached.
Based on the above information, increasing the production and consumption of foodstuffs
that are naturally rich in vitamin A is now seen as the most sustainable way of improving
dietary intake of vitamin A.

Learner Notes 12
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
. Lesson 1. Food Security Information Systems

Summary

To support decision making, food security analysts in charge of Food Security Information
Systems conduct the following activities:
• They collect and manage data which consists of unanalyzed facts or figures; data is
collected either directly or from secondary sources.
• The data is analyzed and interpreted to create information designed to stimulate action.
• This information is disseminated and communicated to users. These users may be
located in different organizations and appropriate institutional relationships are needed.
• When assimilated by decision makers and implemented, the information becomes
knowledge.

If you want to know more

Suggested references:
• Buchanan - Smith, B. and Davies S. (1995) Famine Early Warning and Response. ITDG
• FAO (1998) Committee of World Food Security. 24th Session. Guidelines for National
Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS)
Background and Principles.
• FAO (2000) Handbook for defining and setting up a food security information and early
warning system (FSIEWS).
• Devereaux, S. And Maxwell, S. (2001) Food security in sub-Saharan Africa ITDG.
• Shoham, J. (2005) Food Security Information Systems Supported by Save the Children
UK: A review. SC UK.

Websites:
FAO: Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information Mapping Systems: www.fivims.net

Learner Notes 13
 Food Security Information for Action
Food Security Information Systems and Networks

Lesson 2
The Institutional Context

Learner Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and implemented

by the Food and Agriculture Organization.

© FAO, 2007
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

Table of contents
Learning objectives.............................................................................................. 2

Introduction ........................................................................................................ 2

Institutional arrangements for data collection ........................................................ 3

The importance of integrating food security data ................................................... 6

The importance of integrating food security data ................................................... 6

Institutional structures for integrated food security analysis ................................... 9

Improved data sharing ...................................................................................... 11

Integrated analysis ............................................................................................ 13

Linking sub-national and national information activities ........................................ 14

Summary .......................................................................................................... 16

If you want to know more .................................................................................. 16

Learner Notes 1
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• identify the types of organizations responsible for food security data collection, analysis
and reporting;
• understand the challenges of institutional architecture for cross-sectoral analysis;
• understand the importance of strengthening networking and collaboration; and
• appreciate the relationship between sub-national and national-level information systems.

Introduction

A wide range of data is relevant for measuring and monitoring food insecurity. However, the
collection and analysis of data is typically handled independently by a number of different actors,
each with their own expertise.
This institutional division of responsibilities often results in a fragmented understanding of the
underlying causes of hunger and food insecurity.

This lesson examines the array of institutional responsibilities for the collection, analysis and
reporting of food security data and information. It examines the problems that arise from poorly
integrated national information systems or networks and considers possible solutions.

Learner Notes 2
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

Institutional arrangements for data collection

Most countries have a range of statistical services and information systems that generate
pertinent information for analyzing food security.
Given the inter-sectoral nature of food security, the responsibility for data collection and analysis
is dispersed among a number of ministries and other actors.

The data and information collected may not be designed solely or even primarily for
understanding food security issues, but may still be highly relevant for integrated food
security analysis.
National statistical services normally conduct periodic surveys and censuses. Line ministries such
as agriculture, health, trade, labour, industry and the environment, maintain subject
matter databases that contain a wealth of useful information.
Different types of information systems that generate data relevant for food security analysis
include:

1. Agricultural Information Systems

These provide data on food production (e.g. area planted and yield estimates) and are usually
located in Ministries of Agriculture, National Meteorological Services or National Statistics Offices.

2. Market Information Systems

These provide data on market prices and trade issues, useful in monitoring peoples’ access to
food; they are often located within the Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce or Trade; less often,
they are the responsibility of national statistics offices.

3. Health and Nutrition Information Systems

These provide data that is relevant to analyzing food utilization, in addition to key outcomes,
including food intake, health and nutrition status; they are usually located in the Ministry of
Health or, occasionally, in the Ministry of Agriculture.

Additional sources of Food Security information include national statistics offices (on
demographics and poverty) and a range of other Ministries (e.g. on climate, land and water
resources).
This range of data and information sources can provide valuable information to analysts and
decision makers – especially when integrated.

Learner Notes 3
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

Let’s have a look at these national systems more in detail:

1. Agricultural Information Systems

At a minimum, Agricultural Information Systems monitor production of the main staple crops.
However, these systems typically assess production of a wider selection of crops and livestock
products. Data collection relies heavily on regular field surveys by ministry staff.
Crop monitoring may be complemented by crop forecasting systems. These may use water
balance models and satellite imagery to generate timely predictions of estimated crop yields for
early warning purposes.
Agricultural Information Systems may also collect useful data on agricultural trade, use of
agricultural inputs, farming systems, and rural income levels. The output from these systems is
often made available for food security analysis through annual statistical publications.

2. Market Information Systems

Market Information Systems are primarily designed to enhance market efficiency and
transparency. They are particularly prominent in countries with fully liberalised agricultural
marketing systems, or countries in transition from a controlled to a liberalised market
environment.
These systems principally collect and provide agricultural input and commodity prices. They may
also monitor a wider set of information on the functioning of agricultural markets such as volumes
traded, quality, stocks and transport costs.
Data is regularly collected by enumerators in key assembly, wholesale and retail markets. Data is
usually widely and regularly disseminated, including by the mass media, such as radio and
newspapers.

3. Health and Nutrition Information Systems

Health and Nutrition Information Systems collect clinical data and nutrition indicators, particularly
for children and other vulnerable groups. This data is obtained from health centres, national
nutrition surveys, and monitoring and surveillance systems.
The collection of basic data is usually the responsibility of public health officials, who may be
assisted by school teachers.

Learner Notes 4
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

In addition to the information systems of different line ministries, a number of dedicated

information units also exist for specific food security related purposes.
These units are often established for purposes of assessing the need for emergency
assistance, targeting the delivery of this assistance and monitoring programme performance.
Most of these information units have been established through donor financing1, often in a
disaster management unit, a Prime Minister’s office, or in a separate location outside of the
government structure.
The main types of specialized food security information units are:

Household Food Security and Nutrition Information Systems

The first of these systems was established in 1976. These systems are designed to track the
nutritional status and food consumption of targeted populations, drawing on data for food
production and stock levels, food prices, livelihoods, and indicators of health and nutrition.
Such units now tend to focus on monitoring the impact of structural adjustment on vulnerable
populations.

Early Warning Systems

They were widely established in the late 1980s and 1990s. They provide alerts of impending food
crises. Traditionally they have concentrated on monitoring agricultural production to produce
timely analyses of domestic food supply. However, many early warning systems now also monitor
a broader set of indicators of food access and nutritional outcomes.

Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping Systems

These systems are a more recent innovation. They produce reports that describe and analyze the
risk factors to which vulnerable population groups are exposed.
They generally make extensive use of geographical information systems to analyze and simplify
the presentation of often complex sets of information and relationships.

1
Donor financing
As international donors spend a lot of money on humanitarian assistance they have a particular interest in the products of these units.
Indeed, most of these information units were established through donor financing. While a few of these systems have become
institutionalized and sustained at the national level, the majority remain dependent on external financial and technical assistance.

Learner Notes 5
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

The importance of integrating food security data

Food insecurity is a complex phenomenon which can originate from a number of possible causes.
Malnutrition is often the result of inadequate food consumption due to not eating enough calories
or having an unbalanced diet.
Inadequate food consumption can be related to a range of factors:

• there is not enough food available in the market;

• people are too poor to buy the food that is available; or
• poor traditional care practices, such as infant weaning practices.

However, malnutrition is often also the result of poor health status which inhibits the effective
utilization of what has been eaten. For example, a child suffering from diarrhoea will not be able
to effectively absorb nutrients that he or she eats.
In practice, the causes of food insecurity are usually complex – there is rarely a single discrete
cause.
As a consequence, successful strategies to eliminate food insecurity should combine the efforts of
those who work in diverse sectors.
However:

1. The factors that determine the different dimensions of food security (availability, access,
utilization and stability) are usually measured by completely separate information systems.
These information systems are usually managed separately, and designed to support
sectoral decision making. The sectoral focus may lead to ‘uneven’ monitoring that does not
adequately analyze the causes of food insecurity.
Example

Here is an example of lack of integrated information:

In southern Africa food security analysis has traditionally been based on an analysis of
agricultural production. Therefore, the growing significance of the HIV-AIDS pandemic to
regional food insecurity remained unrecognized for a significant period.
Some regions are so involved with drought problems that they practically ignore the risks
of food crises arising from other natural disasters (flooding), other causes (social
instability, economic crisis, epidemics, etc.), or “complex” disasters due to a combination
of natural, social, political and economic factors.

Learner Notes 6
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

2. Responsibility for responding to food security problems in emergency and development

contexts tends to be separated. Some FSIS provide information for chronic food
insecurity, others address short-term concerns.
In detail

It is important to remember that food insecurity experienced by different population

groups may be either transitory or chronic. FSIS may be therefore provide information
that helps:
a) manage short term shocks, where a transitory lack of access to adequate food, basic
medical care, water, and sanitation services has an impact on the nutritional status of a
specific population group.
b) strengthen livelihoods and improve the on-going provision of basic Government
services.
The fact that responsibility for responding to food security problems tends to be separated
is reflected in the organization of existing in-country information activities.
Information systems may be oriented towards early warning of acute food insecurity crises
or towards providing information about population groups that are chronically food
insecure or vulnerable.
However, in many countries, different population groups may experience chronic or acute
vulnerability to food insecurity simultaneously. Chronic food insecurity increases a
population group’s vulnerability to the impact of shocks, such as drought or floods. On the
other hand, an episode of acute food insecurity may begin a downward spiral into chronic
vulnerability.

The starting point for an integrated response comes from drawing together different sectoral data
sets (for example data on crops, markets, poverty and nutrition) to produce an integrated food
security analysis.
 At the international level, this means that a range of specialized agencies and
development organizations must work together as partners.
 At the national level, this means that different ministries and departments need
to collaborate in designing and implementing cross-sectoral initiatives. A common
policy framework should ensure these initiatives are well-coordinated.

Learner Notes 7
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

The World Food Summit (WFS, held in Rome in 1996) recognised the need for integrated food
security analysis to come to a better understanding of the underlying causes of food insecurity
and vulnerability and stressed the importance of finding practical solutions for hunger reduction.

In support of integrated analysis, the WFS Plan of Action encouraged countries to develop or
strengthen food insecurity and vulnerability information and mapping systems with the support of
the inter-agency FIVIMS2 Initiative.

2
Improved understanding of food insecurity and vulnerability through national FIVIMS
Paragraph 4 of the World Food Summit Plan of Action concludes: "It is necessary to target those people and areas suffering most from
hunger and malnutrition and identify causes and take remedial action to improve the situation. A more complete, user-friendly source
of information at all levels would enable this." Under Commitment 2 of the WFS Plan of Action, leaders of the world agreed:
“governments, in partnership with all actors of civil society, as appropriate, will: ... develop and periodically update, where necessary,
a national food insecurity and vulnerability information and mapping system, indicating areas and populations, including at the local
level, affected by or at-risk of hunger and malnutrition, and elements contributing to food insecurity, making maximum use of existing
data and other information systems in order to avoid duplication of efforts...” The international FIVIMS Initiative has a range of useful
resources and supports activities . See http://www.fivims.net/ for more details.

Learner Notes 8
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

Institutional structures for integrated food security

analysis

One possible mechanism for generating an integrated analysis is to establish independent

structures that are dedicated to gathering and analyzing a wide range of food security data.
This allows to have relevant data collected, stored and analyzed by the same structure, and
facilitates the collection of critical data that may not be monitored by sectoral information
systems.
Funding of independent food security analysis units is still popular with some donors who need
accurate, timely and independent information to support their decision making.

Example

An example of a donor funded food security information system is the USAID funded Famine Early
Warning System Network (FEWS NET). FEWS NET provides timely and rigorous early warning and
vulnerability information on emerging or evolving food security issues in three continents.
FEWS NET information has proved so valuable to the US Government that it has enjoyed
uninterrupted independent funding for over 20 years.
Look at the website www.fews.net to see the products that this system produces.

Independent structures have a couple of major disadvantages:

1. They tend to be very costly to operate, especially because they often involve independent
data collection and depend on international expertise. For donors, these costs may be
justified in the short term for purposes of improved targeting of their investment in
food security programmes. However, such systems are not sustainable within the limited
budget of many developing countries, so they tend to degrade rapidly as donor funding
dries up.
2. Moreover, these systems are often completely independent of national structures as
they are designed to service the decision making needs of donors rather than national
governments. Donors may want to have access to food security information for their own
operational purposes without becoming involved in the particular problems faced by
national institutions.

Learner Notes 9
Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

An alternative, practical solution to the need for more integrated food security analysis is to
improve the sharing of the data which is already being collected by different line ministries.
This approach has several advantages. It avoids duplication of data collection and so
keeps costs to a minimum. It strengthens existing institutional responsibilities rather than
establishing parallel systems.

Food security information systems need to promote data sharing and find creative solutions to
institutional constraints that may normally inhibit data sharing between ministries.
These include:
• weak or absent formal inter-sectoral and cross-ministerial institutional linkages;
• a failure to share knowledge about available data or information;
• unwillingness to share data for reasons of confidentiality or specific institutional or agency
mandates and/or ownership;
• even where there is willingness to share data, there may be a lack of compatibility
between data sets.

Assessing the current situation in terms of information generated and shared, and institutional
mandates, will provide the basis for identifying the actions needed to develop a coherent
institutional framework to link existing systems into an overall network.
A common vision and motivated leadership are also required to gain agreement for data
sharing. It should not normally be necessary to impose a formal structure on the exchange of
information. However, experience shows that where personal contacts are essential in
obtaining information in the set-up period, more formal agreement protocols are often needed
in the long-term. A formal agreement should clearly state:
• The type of data to be transmitted
• When, how often, and how it is to be sent (fax, electronically or disk).
• The software used.
• Who is responsible for sending the data?
• Limitations for data use (including acknowledgement, issues of data ownership and
conditions for sharing the consolidated data with third parties).
• What the recipient may give to the data provider (e.g. reciprocal access to databases,
material support, copies of publications, etc.).

Learner Notes 10
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

There may be advantages in making these protocols binding. However, getting this type of formal
agreement can be time consuming. Such protocols will also have to be periodically amended as
the systems evolve.
The pros and cons of establishing a formal agreement need to be determined in each specific
situation.

Improved data sharing

Even when there is agreement to share data, technical compatibility needs to be ensured.
There are two basic issues to be considered in bringing together data from different data sources:

• The first is the need for common standards to ensure that data from different sources
can be integrated.
• The second concerns the methods and tools used for data management3.

There are two options for the actual process of data integration:

1. Full Integration
In this scenario the various datasets (along with the metadata4) are centralized within a
single database or server. This maximizes access to the data, often in a unified format, to
ease the inter-comparability of data.
2. Partial Integration: A register can be created which contains the metadata about the
different resources.

The data remains physically hosted by the data provider or owner, for example on their
own server. The metadata register increases awareness of various datasets and facilitates access

3
For more information on the standards, methods and tools required to ensure technical compatibility, please see the Annex
“Technical compatibility for data sharing”.
4
Metadata is literally “information about data”. It describes the dataset, which may include a description of who collects and owns the
data, the variables, the frequency of collection and methodology used. It aids in the retrieval of information.

Learner Notes 11
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

by different data users. This simplifies the data management responsibilities of the register and
facilitates access to the most recent data in the host organization.
The appropriate option may depend on the resources available to run a central register or public
access constraints affecting the component datasets.

Learner Notes 12
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

Integrated analysis
As well as responsibility for data collection, responsibility for information analysis is often divided
among different systems. National food security information systems often produce a multitude of
information products, rather than an integrated analysis. This may result in giving inconsistent or
contradictory messages to decision makers.
A joint inter-sectoral analysis of the food security situation requires data collection systems
and data sharing, analytical capacity and appropriate institutional coordination.
There has been considerable progress towards producing an integrated analysis and consensus
reports over the last few years. The state of progress varies greatly between countries.

Example
A good example of an integrated food security analysis: Kenya
In the late 1990s Kenya had a plethora of donor funded early warning/food security projects but
little capacity for comprehensive early warning or coordination of food security activities. Within
the central government, it was very unclear as to who/which structure had responsibility for early
warning and food security coordination and analysis.
There was a large amount of inconsistent and sometimes misleading information that was
confusing to decision makers. As a result of the poor coordination, the effectiveness of
interventions was limited and financial and other resources were not used efficiently.
In late 1998, the GoK in agreement with donors and other partners established a joint forum for
providing early warning and comprehensive food security situation updates and analysis. Two
forums were established:
• the Kenya Food Security Meeting (KFSM); and
• the Kenya Food Security Steering Group (KFSSG).
The KFSM is a monthly open membership meeting attended by representatives from over 50
different organisations (GoK departments, UN agencies, donors and NGOs).
The KFSSG is a small subset of the KFSM that collaborate in information analysis and reporting.
Members include the government, the UN, NGOs and donor representatives. They share data and
produce several joint reports on the food security situation for different audiences. The Joint
Monthly Kenya Food Security Update is one core publication.
While the system faces a number of challenges, it provides a positive example of how existing
resources can be networked to great effect. This collaborative analysis has been highly successful
in providing decision makers with consensus advice. This has improved the timely flow of
humanitarian resources and supported policy changes such as the implementation of new
targeting guidelines.

Learner Notes 13
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

A key lesson that emerges from the positive experiences is the importance of networks.

A network enables all interested and relevant institutions to participate in the development of a
collaborative system of analysis, where all members benefit from access to a wide range of food
security data.
Networks provide an innovative solution to the critical capacity constraints that governments may
face, particularly a shortage of analytical skills.
A network can tap into a variety of skills located in different institutions within the country. The
consensus generated by a network is also highly important. This gives decision makers much
greater confidence in the analysis and recommendations. Consequently food security networks
are a well established feature in many countries.

Linking sub-national and national information activities

In addition to the inter-sectoral and inter-disciplinary integration of data and analysis, it is

important to consider the appropriate institutional relationships between national and sub-
national information system activities.
A range of arrangements and scenarios are evident. Many in-country information systems (e.g.
crop monitoring and forecasting, nutrition surveillance) are vertically integrated with data
collected at lower administrative levels. This is then channelled upwards for processing and
analysis at the national level.
The flow of data is often only upwards to meet national level information needs.

Examples of vertical integration include:

• In crop monitoring and forecasting information systems, data may be used for early
warning purposes to alert national decision makers about pest outbreaks or identify areas
of harvest failure.
• Traders use crop production statistics to identify areas of surplus and deficit production, or
the likely requirement for commercial imports.
• Epidemiological data may be channelled to the national level to contribute to preparedness
for outbreaks of infectious diseases.
• Other information is channelled upwards to monitor the implementation of national
programmes or the allocation of resources from the national level.

Learner Notes 14
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

However, food security information is increasingly needed to support decision making at the
local level.
Many countries are decentralising local government and this is creating greater demand for
information at the local level for designing, planning and implementing interventions.
There are strong arguments for building the capacity of decentralized information systems. It is
recognised that data quality improves if the people collecting the data also analyse and use the
information. In addition, community driven information activities can play a role in motivating
communities to act to improve their own food security and nutrition situation.
The capacity to analyse and use data at sub-national level varies from sector to sector. It is rare
to find examples of the “horizontal” integration of multi-sectoral data and information at the sub-
national level, except in a “project” context.
More common are sub-national systems operated by NGOs, especially community based or
community driven information activities.
However, this information is extremely difficult to integrate into a national comparative overview
because (i) NGO project activities have a limited geographical coverage and duration; and (ii)
there is the need to balance the use of indicators that relate to local conditions with indicators
that can be used for comparisons across areas and groups.

Example
The example of the Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) in Somalia
The 2002 mid-term evaluation of the FSAU (an EU funded and FAO managed FSIS) stated that
field-based NGOs and local authorities will need disaggregated information to be able to identify
ways of supporting local communities to reduce vulnerability to food and nutritional insecurity.
Since then, the FSAU has appointed ‘focal points’ in five areas that are responsible for cluster
groups of field monitors. Members of the field team have been involved in leading joint
assessment and analysis with partners and, on occasion, have supported cross-border activities as
leaders and trainers themselves.
This new field team structure has established the required platform to further expand dialogue
with implementing partners, thus facilitating the wider application of FSAU information.
The increased ability of partners to utilize FSAU analysis resulted in an increased demand to use
this resource in medium-term rehabilitation as well as in strategic planning with communities of
joint development interventions.

Learner Notes 15
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 2. The institutional Context

Summary

 Food security analysis is a multi-disciplinary task, involving different sectors including

agriculture, health and nutrition, environment and trade.
 The collection and analysis of data is typically handled independently in each of these
sectors. This institutional division of responsibilities results in a fragmented understanding
of the causes of food insecurity.
 An inclusive food security analysis is required to provide decision makers with a
comprehensive set of recommendations. One solution comes from better collaboration
between existing data collection systems.
 A joint inter-sectoral analysis of the food security situation requires data collection systems
and data sharing, analytical capacity and appropriate institutional coordination.
 It is also important to strengthen the institutional relationships between national and sub-
national information activities.

If you want to know more

Suggested references:

 FAO (2000) Handbook for defining and setting up a food security information and early
warning system (FSIEWS).
 FAO (2000) FIVIMS Tools and Tips: Selecting Indicators for National FIVIMS
 FAO (1998) Committee of World Food Security. 24th Session. Guidelines for National Food
Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS) Background and
Principles.
 Maunder N. and Maxwell D. (2001) Food security networks in the Greater Horn of Africa.
GHA Food Security Update, FEWS NET/CARE, 15th October 2001.
 Devereux, S. And Maxwell, S. (2001) Food security in sub-Saharan Africa ITDG
 Shoham, J. (2005) Food Security Information Systems Supported by
 Save the Children UK: A review. SC UK.

Learner Notes 16
 U.S. Agency for International Development
Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and
Humanitarian Assistance
Office of Food for Peace (FFP)

Technical References for FFP Development

and Food Security Activities
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Mandatory Program Design Elements
A. ToC
B. LogFrame
C. Annual Monitoring Plan
D. M&E Staffing Plan, Organogram, and Capacity Development Strategy
E. Gender
F. Climate Risk Management
G. Environmental Safeguards and Compliance
III. Technical Sectors
A. Agriculture and Livelihoods
1. Profitable, Sustainable Farm and Land Management
2. Household Economics (Including Nutrition Pathways)
3. Human and Institutional Capacity Building
B. Markets
C. MCHN
1. Health and Nutrition Systems Strengthening
2. CMAM
3. Community Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (C-IMCI) or Integrated
Community Case Management (iCCM) of Childhood Illness
4. Health and Nutrition of Women of Reproductive Age
5. Reproductive Health and Family Planning
6. NACS
D. Social and Behavior Change Communication
E. Food Assistance for Improved Nutritional Outcomes
F. NRM
 1. Soil Productivity
2. Water Management
3. Diversified and Productive Landscapes
G. Risk Management and DRR
H. WASH
1. Linking WASH and Nutrition
2. Water Supply Infrastructure
3. Sanitation Infrastructure
4. Hygiene Promotion
5. Irrigation
6. Environmental Health
IV. Program Quality
A. M&E Plan
B. Learning, Knowledge Sharing, and Capacity Strengthening
C. Social Accountability and Governance
D. Conflict Sensitivity in Development Contexts
E. Sustainability
1. Sustained Resources
2. Capacity
3. Motivation
4. Linkages
List of Acronyms
ACN “Aménagement en Courbes de Niveau” (ridge tillage)
ADS Automated Directives System
ANC Antenatal care
ATAI Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative
CAWST Center for Affordable Water & Sanitation Technology
CBM Community-Based Management
CCVA Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments
CDA Collaborative for Development Action
CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CGAP Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
CHW Community Health Worker
C-IMCI Community Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses
CLTS Community-Led Total Sanitation
CMAM Community Management of Acute Malnutrition
CMM Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation, USAID
CSHGP Child Survival and Health Grants Program, USAID
C-SAFE Consortium for the Southern Africa Food Security Emergency
DFAA Development Food Assistance Activity
DFID Department for International Development (UK)
DGH Doctors for Global Health
DRR Disaster Risk Reduction
ECD Early Child Development
EE Environmental Enteropathy
EED Environmental Enteric Dysfunction
ENA Essential Nutrition Actions
EMMA Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis
EMMP Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan
FANTA Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
FFP Office of Food for Peace
FFS Farmer Feed School
FTF Feed the Future
GAR Global Assessment Report
GBV Gender-Based Violence
GEMS Global Environmental Management Support
GSF Global Sanitation Fund
GIZ German Corporation for International Cooperation
GLAAS Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-water
HDRA Henry Doubleday Research Association (Garden Organic)
HWT Household Water Treatment
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
iCCM Integrated Community Case Management
IFAD International Fund for Agriculture Development
IFC International Finance Corporation
IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute
IEE Initial Environmental Examination
IPTT Indicator Performance Tracking Table
ISFM Integrated Soil Fertility Management
ISNAR International Service for National Agricultural Research
IYCF Infant and Young Child Feeding
IYCN Infant and Young Child Nutrition Project (USAID)
JMP Joint Monitoring Programme
J-PAL Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
KDMD Knowledge-Driven Microenterprise Development Project
LAM Lactation Amenorrhea Method
LogFrame Logical Framework
MAG Market Analysis Guidance
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MAM Moderate Acute Malnutrition
MEAS Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services
MCHN Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition
MHM Menstrual Hygiene Management
MUS Multi-Use Water Supply
NACS Nutrition Assessment, Counseling, and Support
NRM Natural Resource Management
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
ODI Overseas Development Institute
O&M Operations and Maintenance
PCMA Pre-Crisis Market Mapping and Analysis
PHAST Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation
PIRS Performance Indicator Reference Sheet
POU Point-Of-Use
PPP Public-Private Partnership
PSP Private Service Provider
RAM Rapid Assessment for Markets
RCT Randomized Control Trial
RFA Request for Applications
RWSN Rural Water Supply Network
R&I Refine and Implement
SAM Severe Acute Malnutrition
SBCC Social and Behavior Change Communication
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
SEEP Small Enterprise Education and Promotion Network
SF Sustainability Framework
SODIS Solar Water Disinfection Method
SPRING Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally
SSA Seed Security Assessment
SUN Scaling Up Nutrition
SUSANA Sustainable Sanitation Alliance
SWA Sanitation and Water for All
TANGO Technical Assistance to NGOS
ToC Theory of Change
TIPS Trials of Improved Practices
TOPS Technical and Operational Performance Support
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNFPA UN Population Fund
UNHCR UN High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF UN Children’s Fund
UNIFEM UN Fund for Women (former)
UNISDR United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
USAID United States Agency for International Development
USG United States Government
VSLA Village Savings and Loan Association
WASH Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
WEDC Water, Engineering, and Development Center
WFP UN World Food Program
WSP Water and Sanitation Program
WSSCC Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council
WQAP Water Quality Assurance Plan
 I. Introduction

This document is designed to assist potential partners to access technical information and
emerging best practices relevant to many of the sectors and activities USAID addresses with
its Office of Food for Peace (FFP) non-emergency resources and Global Food Security
Strategy (GFSS) Community Development Funds. With the exception of specific guidance
for the development of mandatory gender and environmental analysis and monitoring and
evaluation (M&E) requirements, this is not meant to be a prescriptive “how to” manual.
Rather it is meant to be a broad source of information designed to help implementing
partners incorporate the best and most promising practices appropriate for their program.

Consistent with its vision for a world free of hunger and poverty where all people live in
dignity, peace and security, FFP launched its 2016-2025 Food Assistance and Food Security
Strategy in October 2016. The Strategy’s strategic goal is: Food and nutrition security of
vulnerable populations strengthened. The Strategy’s two Objectives and supporting
Intermediate Results help to institutionalize the concept of resilience and strengthen FFP’s
commitment to working with vulnerable groups. Under this strategy, FFP is bringing new
focus to good governance and conflict sensitive programming and working to increase
equity, empowerment and opportunity in the context of gender and other marginalized
groups.

The Strategy also reflects FFP’s increasing focus on affecting change at both an individual
and a systems level across the spectrum of its emergency and development activities. FFP
believes that if we focus not only on protecting and enhancing the lives and livelihoods of
vulnerable populations, but also on the positive transformation of the communities and
institutions which support them, we will enable greater, more sustainable improvements in
their food and nutrition security.
The drivers of vulnerability to food and nutrition insecurity vary within and between
countries and call for a context-specific vision of change. The Strategy’s Results Framework
addresses key drivers of food insecurity, creating a map of the broad platform of capabilities
that FFP and its partners bring to bear in supporting improved food security for vulnerable
populations. FFP development food security activities should be designed within this broad
framework based on use of context-specific Theories of Change (ToC). Similarly, this
document attempts to provide a broad toolkit of available resources to assist partners as
they develop and operationalize a context-specific vision for improved and sustained food
security for the most vulnerable populations.
FFP development food security activities contribute directly to the vision, goal and
objectives of the USG Global Food Security Strategy, 2017-2021. In addition, FFP’s
programs also directly support USAID’s Vision for Ending Extreme Poverty; the USAID
Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy, 2014-2025; USAID policy and program guidance on
Building Resilience to Recurrent Crisis; USAID’s policy on Gender Equality and Female
Empowerment; USAID’s policy on Youth in Development; and USAID’s Democracy,
Human Rights and Governance Strategy.
In the interest of impartiality with regard to the technical knowledge products developed
by FFP implementing partner organizations, no documents have been included if authored
by a single FFP implementing partner. However, users of this document are highly
encouraged to access the online technical resource library for the Food Security and
Nutrition Network, managed by the FFP-funded Technical and Operational Performance
Support (TOPS) program.

If you have additional technical reference materials to suggest, topic areas you think should
be included, or any other comments on the contents of this document, please feel free to
send input on this document to [email protected].
 II. Mandatory Program Design Elements

Please review the guidance provided by the USAID Office of Food for Peace Policy and
Guidance for Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting for elements A through D.

A. Theory of Change (ToC)

B. LogFrame
C. Annual Monitoring Plan
D. M&E Staffing Plan, Organogram, and Capacity Development
Strategy
E. Gender

E. Gender

Overview
Gender roles, relationships and restrictions have an impact on food and nutrition security
everywhere FFP has projects. Gender dynamics affect each element of food security: food
availability, food access and food utilization. Failing to address gender issues effectively in
FFP programming runs a double risk; first, that changes expected as a result of project
interventions will not take place as envisioned and, second, that the full contribution of
women, men, boys and girls in achieving food secure communities will not be tapped.

Gender differences affect food security through various pathways. For example, women are
often responsible for growing the food consumed in the home, but differing access to land,
information and inputs limit their ability to produce, therein reducing yields, income and the
availability of food for the household. Likewise, women’s competing roles as mothers,
housewives and income-earners—known as women’s triple burden—leave women with little
time or energy to grow and prepare food, resulting in similar negative impact on the nutrition
of their families. Age also matters when considering gender dynamics. A young mother, for
instance, may not be able to use the new information on improved nutritional practices she’s
learned at the health center as it may be her husband, his first wife, or his mother who
actually makes decisions about food consumption within the household. The food security of
men are also directly affected by gender differences. A young man may decide to migrate to
the city in search of livelihood opportunities, leaving the burden of feeding the family on
those who stay behind. A young man’s decision can also be shaped by traditional patterns of
decision-making; if all decisions are made by community elders without input from others,
young men may decide that they have no place in their home communities and thus go
elsewhere to make their future. Understanding gender and age dynamics within households,
extended families, and communities—and translating that understanding into improved
programming—is essential to ensure, promote and sustain food and nutrition security.

This section outlines the technical requirements for the applicant’s application in regards to
gender integration, gender analysis, staffing, budgeting, M&E, and ensuring that measures are
in place to minimize risk of gender-based violence (GBV).

Gender Integration
Gender integration involves identifying and addressing gender differences and gender
dynamics during design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Given the importance
of gender issues in food assistance programming, and consistent with USAID’s Gender
Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy (USAID 2012) and Agency guidance in
Automated Directives System (ADS) 205, Gender must be integrated throughout the
applicant’s application as a crosscutting theme. Gender must be taken into account in the
(1) discussion of the underlying causes of food security and malnutrition, (2) ToC by
incorporating how likely gender barriers will be overcome and the potential of women, men,
girls and boys will be harnessed, (3) description of project interventions by including ways
the project will ensure equitable participation and benefits by women and men of different
ages and social groups, and by indicating any possible negative effects on gender relations or
gender outcomes, and how they will be dealt with, (4) section on logistical procedures by
outlining how the project will ensure women’s needs and preference will be taken into
account and interventions are as “safe” as possible, and lastly (5) monitoring plans so that
expected and unexpected changes are tracked over the course of project implementation.

Of note, applicants should consider the following, including a brief reference to these issues
in the appropriate sections of the application:

● How activity components are likely to affect relations among women and men,
including their respective access to and control over resources;
● How proposed activities will be carried out in a way that allows for equitable input,
participation and benefit by women and men of different ages and social groups,
and will transform gender relations for the better in relation to food security;
 ● Any possible negative consequences of project interventions on women’s time and
energy and what the project will do to avoid such consequences, plus steps the
project will take to ease women’s “triple burden”—women’s competing roles as
mothers, housewives and income-earners; 1 2
● Opportunities to promote leadership among women and youth in improving food
security in their communities, and how the project will take advantage of each
occasion; and finally,
● The potential for GBV as a result of project interventions and the steps the project
will take to prevent violence associated with the project, or minimize the risk.

Gender Analysis
As with all projects that receive USAID funding, FFP development projects are required to
complete a gender analysis within the first year of project implementation to inform project
design and strengthen programming. Applicants must submit a concept note for the Year 1
Gender Analysis as an annex in their application entitled “Gender Concept Note”. The concept
note should be no longer than four pages.

The Gender Concept Note should provide a brief overview of the analysis to be undertaken
by the applicant. The note should include illustrative questions along the applicant’s
proposed ToC that the analysis is likely to address, the types of tools to be used for data
collection, the proposed duration of the analysis, who will conduct the analysis, an estimated
budget, and how analysis results will be incorporated into the project’s ToC and
implementation plan. Applicants will not be restricted to the details of the concept note
should their application be awarded, but it should be evident from the note that the
applicant has (1) a good understanding of gender issues that can come into play in the
change theory proposed by the applicant, as well as the purpose of a gender analysis within
the context of development food assistance programming, (2) the capacity to carry out a
meaningful analysis, and (3) a clear plan to translate analysis results into programming.
Applicants are encouraged to consider the interplay of gender and other social dimensions
such as age, ethnicity, and origin that play a role in determining both opportunities and
constraints for women, men, girls and boys. The concept note should also include the
makeup of the team the applicant anticipates would conduct the gender analysis, a
discussion of the tools likely to be used for data collection, an estimated budget, and the

1
Examples of negative consequences include mothers having less time for child care or meal
preparation due to time and energy spent participating in project activities and adverse effects of
exposure to agricultural pesticides.

2
Ways to ease women’s burden include establishing food distribution points closer to the household or
reducing the food package size, making it easier for women to carry home.
process the applicant would use to incorporate analysis findings into the ToC and
implementation plan.

The gender analysis should build on existing knowledge and previous gender analyses,
exploring new areas of gender dynamics in relation to food and nutrition security, rather than
repeating what is already known. While applicants are encouraged to use recommended
gender analysis domains to inform the questions addressed in the analysis, FFP seeks a
focused examination, or “drill-down”, of the specific gender factors that can facilitate or
impede progress along the project's proposed ToC. Therefore, rather than a broad
examination of gender analysis domains across food security programming, the analysis
should be designed with the intention of increasing understanding of the specific gender
dynamics at play along the sequence of changes hypothesized in the ToC leading to project
outcomes.

The choice of data collection methods will depend on the key questions the analysis is to
answer. In general, a mix of qualitative and quantitative data is recommended. Primary data
collection during the gender analysis should involve mostly qualitative data, with quantitative
data coming from secondary sources.

Applicants should allow adequate time for identifying key questions, gathering information,
and reflection and analysis. As a general guide, applicants should plan for four to six months
from the initial design to the point when analysis results are integrated into programming:
desk review and field work preparation; data collection; data management, analysis and
report-writing; integration of results into program design; and dissemination of results.
Applicants should also be sure to budget resources for the analysis adequately. Based on
previous experience, the applicant should consider a budget in the $45,000 - $65,000
range.

Conducting a thoughtful gender analysis most often requires a multidisciplinary team that
brings together members with an in-depth understanding of gender within the context of
food security, capacity in quantitative and qualitative data collection/analysis, participatory
methodologies, knowledge of the project areas, and an understanding of the project’s ToC
and the rationale behind it. It is important that both headquarter and field staff are involved
throughout the analysis as it leads to a higher quality, more relevant end product that has the
support of those who are to implement it.

A Consultation on Gender & Food Security with Implementing Partners & Local Leaders
Project staff will be invited to participate in a three-day consultation hosted by FFP in the first
months of Year 1. The consultation will lay the groundwork for the Year 1 Gender Analysis and
will bring together implementing partner staff of the country’s development food assistance
programs, local leaders, and government officials to explore gender and youth factors in the
food and nutrition security of the country’s poor and extreme poor.

During the Gender Consultation, participants will:

● Review key country statistics, studies, and what has been learned to date in food
security programming using a gender and youth lens;
● Identify points in the multiple pathways to improved food and nutrition security
where gender or age dynamics can facilitate or impede progress;
● Discuss ways to track changes in gender dynamics—both expected and unexpected—
over the project lifetime.

The Gender Consultation will prepare implementing partners for a gendered, youth-focused
review of project ToCs during the M&E workshop, and lay the groundwork for development
food assistance activity (DFAA) gender analyses that are keyed into the critical points of
project ToCs in which gender and youth factors are most relevant.3 The Consultation will also
encourage the continuing cross-project collaboration and involvement of communities and
local government in addressing gender/youth issues and ensuring that all project
interventions are inclusive.

Implementing partners will be asked to form a team of six to eight persons to attend the
Consultation. In addition to staff gender specialists, the team should include at least one
senior manager plus technical staff that understand the various program areas of the DFAA.
Members of the team should also participate in the follow-on Refine and Implement (R&I),
and/or M&E workshop(s) to ensure critical gender issues are taken into account in Year 1 R&I
studies and in M&E planning. Ideally the team will continue to monitor gender and youth
integration throughout project implementation. Applicants should include travel and lodging
funds for staff participation in the three-day consultation as part of the gender analysis
budget they propose.

Staff Capacity and Responsibility for Gender Integration

Applicants should have the necessary staff expertise and capacity available to ensure gender
is integrated and addressed effectively at every point in the food assistance activity cycle.
Applicants must describe within the application the gender expertise they will draw upon to

3
In Refine and Implement countries, the Gender Consultation will also help to identify key gender and youth
issues that should be explored in the various studies undertaken during the initial R&I project year.
lead gender activities and must explain their capacity to implement gender-sensitive actions
and track gender changes throughout the entire award period.

The chief of party will be responsible for ensuring gender is effectively integrated in all
project components.

GBV
GBV tends to increase in times of crisis and is thus often present in areas where FFP has
programming. Programs may well exacerbate the conditions that promote GBV or put
members of the community in situations where they are more at risk, and applicants must
consider the possible effects program activities may have on GBV within the household or
community. Applicants should carefully analyze and then address in the design of their
program how potential activities could lead to GBV and what steps will be taken to prevent
or mitigate any harmful negative effects. Applicants are responsible for proposing program
activities that will protect all beneficiaries, with a focus particularly on women and girls, but
may also at times include young men and boys.

Applicants must also ensure that any research, data collection and analysis related to GBV is
safe and follows ethical guidelines. Applicants who intend to collect data on GBV must justify
what they intend to do with the data, why it’s important for project outcomes, and how they
intend to use the findings. Given the potential risk, we suggest the following specific
precautions from WHO guidelines on researching GBV, entitled Putting Women First: Ethical
and Safety Recommendations for Research on Domestic Violence Against Women.4

While provision of services to survivors of sexual and GBV is usually outside the purview of
FFP programming, FFP encourages partners to provide information to FFP program-targeted
communities on where GBV services are available. Applicants are also encouraged to
propose activities that seek to transform the social norms that underlie the acceptance of
violence. This could include activities with potential community level impact, such as
organizing women, involving men, or engaging religious and other traditional leaders in
dialogue about gender dynamics and violence. Due to the sensitive nature of GBV, applicants
who propose program activities to directly address and impact GBV outcomes must ensure
they have qualified staff trained in GBV who have a deep understanding of the local culture.

Attention to GBV is an important aspect of all USAID programming. For information on

USAID’s approach to GBV, please refer to Strategy to Prevent and Respond to GBV Globally.5

4
See http://www.who.int/gender/violence/womenfirtseng.pdf
5
See https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2155/GBV_Factsheet.pdf
Monitoring and Evaluating Gender Dynamics
In 2009, FFP declared “an enhanced focus on gender” as essential to food security and
established gender equity in regards to access and control over resources as a review
criterion for applications. Subsequently, in 2012 USAID enacted an agency-wide Gender
Equality and Female Empowerment Policy gender requiring that all USAID projects (and
thus activities) collect appropriate sex-disaggregated data, ask clear questions about gender
roles in order to uncover both intended and unintended positive or negative changes, and
develop indicators designed to track changes in key gender gaps from baseline to end line.
So that FFP projects meet the 2012 Agency mandates, FFP expanded gender requirements,
adopting a set of gender indicators. Current FFP M&E requirements for DFAAs are:

● Sex disaggregation of baseline, final evaluation, and annual monitoring indicators;

● One required gender-related Standard Foreign Assistance, or “F”, indicator in annual
monitoring;6
● Eight required, if applicable, gender indicators for baseline and final evaluations.

The required gender-related “F” indicator, measured annually and reported to Congress and
the public, is: the proportion of female participants in USG-assisted programs designed to
increase access to productive economic resources (assets, credit, income or employment).

The set of eight new gender indicators measure gender integration along a continuum of
change—the FFP Gender Integration Framework—that starts with access to a resource and
moves to control over the use of that resource. The access side of the framework outlines
two types of access: access to social capital related to a resource, and access to the actual
resource itself.7 The control side of the framework tracks two distinct, but associated, factors
related to control—communication and negotiation: communication on how a resource will
be used and then negotiation as intermediary steps towards the end goal of the continuum:
joint decision-making vis-à-vis the resource. Note that the new indicators measure change in
two areas of program intervention: improved agriculture and livelihoods, and improved
nutritional status. As these are FFP first-level objectives and thus primary areas of action in
virtually all DFAA programming, the new indicators do not require development projects to

6
See http://www.state.gov/f/indicators/
7
Social capital refers to the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that
society to function effectively. Access to social capital refers to the extent to which a person is a part of, or belongs to, these
networks.
change their scope of work, but rather provide the means to measure the outcomes of
interventions that are already being implemented.

The new indicators are:

● % of men and women who earned cash in the past 12 months (61);
● % of men/women in union and earning cash who make decisions alone about the use
of self-earned cash (62);
● % of men/women in union and earning cash who make decisions jointly with
spouse/partner about the use of self-earned cash (63);
● % of men and women with children under two who have knowledge of maternal
child health and nutrition (MCHN) practices (64);
● % of men/women in union with children under two who make maternal health and
nutrition decisions alone (65);
● % of men/women in union with children under two who make maternal health and
nutrition decisions jointly with spouse/partner (66);
● % of men/women in union with children under two who make child health and
nutrition decisions alone (67);
● % of men/women in union with children under two who make child health and
nutrition decisions jointly with spouse/partner (68).

For agriculture and livelihoods, the resource measured is information regarding agricultural
and livelihoods. Earning income and controlling how earned income is used is important
from a gender perspective as access to cash is a relatively rapid pathway to empowering
women and promoting gender equality. In addition, in the asset-poor settings of FFP
programs, women are more marginalized than men as they have little or no access to assets
such as land and other forms of natural resources and physical capital. As women gain access
to greater income, their financial contribution at the household level increases, often
resulting in women gaining more respect and decision-making authority in household
decisions as their contribution to food security grows.

For improved nutrition, the resource measured is information or knowledge about Maternal
and Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN). Improved MCHN practices rely on individuals
making decisions at the household level to adopt new practices. While women are
overwhelmingly the main recipients of behavior change messages in FFP DFAAs, their lack of
decision-making power within the household often limits the extent to which they can adopt
improved practices. Promoting communication and dialogue between women and their
spouse/partner on improved MCHN practices would support greater participation by women
in decision-making on these aspects that would ultimately result in adoption of improved
practices or behaviors for improved nutrition and health.

The new indicators climb the access-control framework, enabling implementing partners to
track anticipated gender changes from knowledge to adoption. FFP projects now focus
primarily on providing program participants with access to resources, such as income or
knowledge, often times without considering whether those participants will have control
over the resource received. For example, if women earn income through project activities,
are they able to decide how to use the new income, or do their husbands take control of the
income their wives earn? Vice versa, how is it decided how income men earn through project
activities is used? Similarly, if women are provided MCHN information, are they able to put
the new information into practice? Are they able to decide who goes to the health center for
what, and when? Are they able to spend money on health needs of family members? The
new gender indicators will enable implementing partners to track if and how decision-
making patterns are changing, and adapt programming as needed.

Extending the measurement on access to resources to capture the extent of control men
and women ultimately have over those resources is an important next step for FFP programs
that will provide important learning for course correction and for the design of future
initiatives. FFP encourages implementing partners to use the access-control framework to
think through, track changes, and function differently as necessary to bring about actual
behavior change.8 Focusing M&E indicators on the end-game—actual changes in household
decision-making patterns—will transform gender relations for the long-term.

Information Resources
USAID's Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy aims to improve the lives of
citizens around the world by advancing equality between females and males and
empowering women and girls to participate fully in and benefit from the development of
their societies.

USAID’s ADS 205 explains how to implement across the Program Cycle new USAID policies
and strategies to reduce gender inequality and to enable women and girls to realize their
rights, determine their life outcomes, influence decision-making, and become change agents
in households, communities, and societies.

8
For example, adding a measure on control over decisions related to health will compel implementing partners to find
ways to increase and improve dialogue between couples so that women have more input into health decisions.
USAID’s Ending Child Marriage & Meeting the Needs of Married Children: The USAID Vision
For Action outlines USAID’s efforts to prevent child marriage and to respond to the needs of
the more than 50 million girls and boys who are already married and have limited access to
education, reproductive and other health services and economic opportunities.

United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to GBV Globally establishes a government-
wide GBV approach and a set of concrete goals and actions for Federal agencies.

USAID’s Working with Men and Boys to End Violence Against Women and Girls reviews the
published and grey literature on male engagement strategies for ending violence against
women and girls in five sectors: economic growth, trade and agriculture; education;
governance, law enforcement and justice systems; conflict, post conflict and humanitarian
assistance; and social development.

USAID’s Scaling Up Interventions to Prevent and Respond to GBV identifies GBV

interventions that are scalable and provides guidance for designing GBV interventions that
can be brought to scale and maximize impact.

USAID/FFP’s Gender Integration in USAID Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and

Humanitarian Assistance Office of Food for Peace Operations: Occasional Paper #7
provides a framework on how to mainstream gender in FFP programming.

More information on addressing gender in programming can be found on USAID’s

Addressing Gender in Programming page.

For information on gender and age issues in food security programming, see:
The Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook is a guide produced by the World Bank, FAO, and
IFAD. It provides an in-depth analysis of gender integration into key technical areas, such as
gender and agricultural livelihoods; gender and rural finance; and gender issues in land policy.

The State of Food and Agriculture is a guide published by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations focused on the role of women in agriculture. It looks
specifically at how to close the gender gap for development. Many of the figures and tables
included in the guide provide useful visuals on gender issues.
Promoting Gender Equitable Opportunities in Agricultural Value Chains: A Handbook is a
USAID publication focused on women in agricultural value chains. It is divided up into two
sections; the first lays out a framework for integrating gender issues in agricultural value
chains, and the second explains the process to do so. USAID, 2009.
A Review of Empirical Evidence on Gender Differences in Non-Land Agricultural Inputs,
Technology, and Services in Developing Countries is a paper published by IFPRI that
reviews existing microeconomic empirical literature on on gender differences in use, access,
and adoption of non-land agricultural inputs in developing countries. It focuses on four key
targeting areas: technological resources, natural resources, human resources, and social and
political capital.
Bringing Agriculture and Nutrition Together Using a Gender Lens focuses on the linkages
between food and nutrition security using a gender lens. It also introduces the Nutrition and
Gender Sensitive Agriculture Toolkit for addressing food and nutrition insecurity through a
gender lens.
Gender and Conflict Analysis is a paper published by UNIFEM looking at gender relations
and gender inequality as triggers or dynamics of conflict. It examines the context, actors,
causes, and dynamics of conflict to consider how gender plays a role through the conflict
cycle.

For best practices on addressing gender opportunities and constraints in food security
programming, see:
Focus on Families and Culture: A guide for conducting a participatory assessment on
maternal and child nutrition is a guide published by the Grandmother Project through
USAID. The guide provides information about understanding family roles and influence to
develop culturally-grounded and effective community nutrition interventions.
Girl-Centered Program Design: A Toolkit to Develop, Strengthen and Expand Adolescent
Girls Programs is a toolkit published by the Population Council. It outlooks beneficiary
targeting and how to conduct needs assessments, determining program structure and
content, and how to conduct monitoring and evaluation. It also includes useful handouts for
girl-focused programs.

For data on gender and youth, see:

Demographic and Health Survey Program (DHS) is a USAID-funded program that
disseminates data on fertility, family planning, maternal and child health, gender, HIV/AIDS,
malaria and nutrition. It is a useful source of reliable data and technical assistance .

Global Gender Gap Reports, published by the World Economic Forum (2015), rank 145
economies according to how they are leveraging their female talent pool based on
economic, educational, health-based, and political indicators. The data can be used when
broken down into gender gap rankings or through individual country profiles.

The World’s Youth Data Sheet, as part of the World Population Data published by the
Population Reference Bureau provides the latest demographic data for the world, global
regions, and countries around the world. It also includes indicators on the status of women in
key areas such as education, employment, and government to get a picture of women’s
progress towards equality.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations publishes a Gender and Land
Rights Database to highlight the major political, legal, and cultural factors the influence the
realization of women’s land rights throughout the world. It includes country profiles,
statistics, a legal assessment tool, and other resources.

OECD Gender, Institutions and Development Database, created by the Organization for
Economic Co-operation & Development breaks down gender indicators country by country
for both a global and more individualized view of women’s status around the world. Factors
looked at include discriminatory family code, restricted physical integrity, and son bias.

Published in a joint effort between UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women, and UN Volunteers, Why
Do Some Men Use Violence Against Women and How Can We Prevent It? Quantitative
Findings from the UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific was
a study conducted with the objective of betting understanding men’s use of different forms
of violence against women (specifically, intimate partner violence and non-partner rape) in
the Asia-Pacific region. Overarching findings were that not all men used violence, men and
women supported gender equality in the abstract but less so in practice, and that men’s use
of violence was associated with a complex interplay of factors at different levels.

Labour market transitions of young women and men in sub-Saharan Africa (Work 4 Youth
Publication Series No 9), is a publication by the Youth Employment Programme on the
design, methodology, and findings of the “school-to-work transition” survey conducted by
the International Labor Office. it focuses on the the individual, household, and educational
characteristics of youth in sub-Saharan African countries.
Also published by the International Labor Office, Young and female—a double strike?
Gender analysis of school-to-work transition surveys in 32 developing countries (Work 4
Youth Publication Series No. 32) explores the experiences and constraints faced by young
women and men in the workforce. Based on the same “school-to-work transition) surveys,
the report comes to the conclusion that young age and female gender are hindrances to
finding productive employment.

F. Climate Risk Management

Overview
Per ADS 201, Climate Risk Management (CRM) is now required for all USAID development
projects and activities. CRM is the process of assessing, addressing and adaptively managing
climate risks. The goal of CRM is to both render USAID’s work more climate resilient (i.e.,
better able to anticipate, prepare for and adapt to changing climate conditions and
withstand, respond to and recover rapidly from disruptions) and to avoid maladaptation (i.e.,
development efforts that inadvertently increase risks). Applicants are expected to describe
how relevant climate risks will be addressed and adaptively managed in all areas of the
proposed activity. Integration of a climate sensitive approach must be context-appropriate
and reflected at every phase of the activity.

For USAID’s purposes, climate risks are potential negative consequences on projects or
activities due to changing climatic conditions. Adverse consequences for development
programs may result from the interaction of a climate-related hazard or stressor such as high
temperature, flooding or drought with the vulnerability of societies and systems exposed to
climate change. The level of risk increases as the magnitude of the negative consequence
from the exposure increases. Risk also increases as the likelihood of the negative
consequence increases. Further information on how USAID defines climate risk can be
found in the mandatory reference on climate risk management at the project and activity
level. USAID has also developed optional tools that can be used to help assess and address
climate risks.

Information Resources
The Climate Risk Management for USAID Project and Activities is a mandatory reference
for ADS 201 guidance for climate risk management in USAID projects and activities.
The USAID Climate Risk Screening and Management Tools were developed to support
climate risk screening and management in strategy, project and activity design. These tools
are meant to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of development interventions by
helping the user to assess and address climate risk.

USAID’s Climatelinks website provides a global knowledge portal for climate change and
development practitioners.

The Climate, Environment, and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Guidance is a tool for
analyzing whether existing and planned cooperation strategies, programs and projects are at risk
from disasters emanating from climate variability, climate change, environmental degradation
and/or tectonic activities.

The Climate Change & Food Security Vulnerability Assessment Toolkit for Assessing
Community-level Potential for Adaptation to Climate Change describes a participatory
methodology designed to provide organizations with the tools to understand the
interrelations between climate impacts, food systems and livelihood strategies at the local
level, while taking into consideration traditional /indigenous knowledge of the participating
community.

G. Environmental Safeguards and Compliance

Overview
Environmental degradation, climate change, and natural disasters are well-known challenges
to development assistance and humanitarian aid, as they can negatively impact sustainable
development and resiliency goals. Improving environmental impacts of FFP projects leads to
both positive food security and environmental outcomes (e.g., safe and available water,
Natural Resource Management (NRM), reduced hunger and malnutrition, etc.). Ensuring
environmental compliance in FFP food assistance projects aims to:
1. Do no harm to the local environment of land, water and flora/fauna, including
humans (e.g., project-related deforestation, medical waste management,
safe/effective pesticides, water quality assurance);
2. Improve community resilience to environmental degradation (consider the added
impacts of climate-related shocks);
3. Rehabilitate degraded natural resources that are relevant to the project’s food security
objectives (e.g., poor soil fertility, contaminated drinking water);
 4. Strengthen knowledge, attitudes and practice of target participants to better manage
community natural resource environments for enhanced project sustainability and
resilience to shocks related to food security.

Technical Design and Integration of Food Security Activities

Environmental safeguards and compliance should be integrated within the application and
described in the Environmental Safeguards Plan annex.

Meeting the environmental safeguards and compliance goals of FFP food assistance projects
consists of the following four requirements:

1) Consultation of Existing Environmental Analyses

A wealth of information on climate change, environmental degradation, and environmental

performance practices provides analyses and guidance to inform the development of FFP
DFAAs. Described below are four key types of existing environmental analyses—some of
which are required and others recommended:
● Applicants are required to draw guidance from the global, USAID FFP RFA-level,
Initial Environmental Examination (hereafter, RFA IEE) which USAID developed to
assess strategic environmental impacts common to all USAID DFAAs. The RFA IEE
also provides further information on the environmental integration effort and the
development of the stand-alone, or “Project IEE”, described in bullet (4) below.
● Applicants must draw from USAID’s global environmental assessments for
commodity fumigation. All FFP development project applications must ensure
fumigation practices in accordance with the USAID Programmatic Environmental
Assessment for the Fumigation of Commodity which identified three key gaps in
fumigation practices (i.e., personal protective equipment, monitoring equipment and
gas impermeable tarps) that must be addressed. Templates for the development of
pesticide compliance analyses are included.
● Applicants are recommended to apply the findings from existing USAID Foreign
Assistance Act Section 118/119 Biodiversity and Tropical Forestry (118/119) analyses.
USAID 118/119 analyses are developed to identify priority environmental threats and
opportunities at the strategic country level that can inform food security
programming which relies on several ecological goods and services. This analysis
involves stakeholder consultations with communities, government, and civil society
organizations to identify key issue areas, such as specific drivers of unsustainable
agricultural practices leading to deforestation.
● Applicants are recommended to draw from national climate change vulnerability
assessments (CCVAs), wherever available. CCVAs contain data on exposure and
 sensitivity to climate stressors and government and community adaptive capacities
and recommend actions for climate change adaptation.

2) Budgeting for Environmental Compliance

FFP requires that all projects have the necessary budget to achieve environmental
compliance (per ADS Chapter 204.2.c). The budget planning for environmental compliance
must begin at the initial application development and become refined later with the
additional analyses provided by the Project IEE (as described in bullet 5, below).
Environmental compliance budgeting elements may include: Salaries (e.g., staffing for
Project IEE implementation), Travel and Transport (e.g., to field sites), Staff Training (e.g.,
training of awardees and participants), Sub-contracts (e.g., development of the Project IEE),
etc.

For example, applicants are expected to invest appropriately in development of the required
Project IEE analysis, and this should be reflected in the proposed budget documents.
Applicants’ budgets are required to support the development of the Project IEE analysis with
a suggested budget range of $25,000-$40,000 for the typical complexity of a DFAA.

USAID is currently developing environmental budgeting guidance that is undergoing public

consultation and pilot implementation, under the USAID Global Environmental
Management Support (GEMS) project. Applicants are encouraged to review the USAID
presentation entitled “Consultation for the Environmental Budgeting Toolkit for USAID
Development Food Assistance Programs,” from March 7, 2012.

3) Staffing for Environmental Compliance

To implement the USAID environmental regulation and address site-specific issues,
dedicated environmental staffing is necessary within the project or field management levels.
The budget narrative should explain how environmental safeguard costs are incorporated
into line items of the detailed and comprehensive budgets in the FFP Detailed Budget
Annex.

4) Environmental Safeguards Plan

Applicants are expected to integrate environmental safeguards and climate change

sensitivities throughout their project narrative. In addition, applicants must include a
description of their plans for completing a Project IEE (see bullet e, below) as an annex
entitled the Environmental Safeguards Plan (submitted as Annex 9). Only successful
applicants will carry out a full Project IEE.

The Environmental Safeguards Plan must address four key elements:

1. How environmental safeguards and climate change sensitivities have been

integrated into application and project design;9
2. How environmental stand-alone and integration indicators have been included in
M&E systems;
3. How funds for safeguarding have been allocated in the detailed/comprehensive
budgets and described in the budget narrative;
4. The strategy for development of the Project IEE.

The plan should be no more than four (4) pages.

5) Developing the Project IEE (Required only for successful applicants)

All successful applicants are required to develop a Project IEE. The goal of the project-level
IEE analysis is to provide a deeper understanding of current environmental impact and
degradation issues at the country, regional/watershed, community and household levels in
activity target areas, as well as the context of the environmental threats and opportunities in
which the activity is operating within. The purpose is to advance the knowledge and
understanding of the context-specific, project-level environmental and climate issues that
would affect activity implementation, project participation, and outcomes. This should in
turn improve and be incorporated into a project design that integrates both climate and
environmental resources and risks. When developing Project IEEs, successful applicants must
take direction from the RFA IEE, described above, and are encouraged to use the USAID
Environmental Compliance Database, which contains relevant environmental impact
analyses for a wide range of USAID development sectors and countries of implementation.

Project IEE Deadline: Development of the Project IEE, including all necessary IEE field-level
analysis and stakeholder consultations, should begin immediately upon award notification.
The deadline for submitting the Project IEE for USAID clearance is no later than the date
established by FFP for the M&E workshop.

9
This should address linkages between environmental sensitivities and safeguards in each technical area. Examples include
describing how current participant cooking practices can be cleaner, labor-saving, and more sustainable to provide positive
health, social, and environmental impacts.
The Project IEE must include the Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP). The
EMMP is an essential analytical tool used during the M&E workshop to refine the Logical
Framework (LogFrame) and Indicator Performance Tracking Table (IPTT). The Project IEE will
be reviewed and approved by the Bureau Environmental Officer for USAID’s Bureau for
Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), prior to the project conducting
any field actions that would normally trigger a Negative Determination, per 22 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) 216. However, associated start-up actions, such as community
consultation, participant targeting, and other key stakeholder engagement, may begin in the
absence of an approved Project IEE.

Policies, processes, and guidance on developing FFP environmental safeguards and

compliance can be found at the USAID FFP Environmental Safeguards and Compliance
page. Requirements for USAID environmental compliance are codified under the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961, Section 117; Federal Regulations (22 CFR 216) and USAID’s ADS
Chapter 204.

M&E Considerations and Indicators

To ensure the ongoing safeguards for environmental goods and services while achieving
food security gains, applicants will integrate environmental considerations into the project
M&E system. This integration process begins with the inclusion of “Environment” as a cross-
cutting theme in the Results Framework where relevant. To reflect this cross-cutting theme,
the IPTTs should include appropriate environmental, or “green”, output and outcome
indicators.

USAID recommends two types of environmental indicators be considered in the IPTT:

stand-alone and integration indicators. Stand-alone environmental indicators simply
measure progress towards the FFP project results that have an environmental focus (e.g.,
climate change, NRM). For such indicators, FFP projects would draw direction from existing
Agency indicators. Environmental integration indicators would be applied to certain actions
with a potential risk for environmental impact (e.g., roads, healthcare waste, irrigation) that
are not addressed by the stand-alone indicators described above. The environmental
integration indicators build upon existing IPTT indicators to measure the quality of actions
related to good environmental stewardship and prevention of potential environmental
impacts when measuring progress towards project results. More information can be found by
viewing the M&E Environmental Considerations presentations.

Information Resources
USAID’s ADS Chapter 204 provides policy directives and required procedures on how to
apply Title 22 of22 CFR 216 to the USAID assistance process. This is to ensure that
assessment of the environmental consequences of all programs, activities, and substantive
amendments are in full compliance with the requirements of this Federal Regulation
implementing the underlying legislation and out of court settlement.

USAID Environmental Compliance Procedures are intended to implement the requirements

of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 as they affect the USAID program. 22 CFR
216 applies to all USAID programs, projects, activities and substantive amendments.

The role of Environmental Safeguards and Compliance in USAID food assistance projects is
to enhance the resiliency of over-exploited natural resources, improve environmental health,
and strengthen partner-country environmental governance and community resilience to
climate and other environmental changes.

USAID’s Global Climate Change page includes information on USAID’s commitment to

promoting climate-smart planning and clean energy development to safeguard today’s gains
in global prosperity and security and to ensure tomorrow’s growth is sustainable.

The GEMS Project provides on-demand environmental compliance, management, capacity-

building, and sound design support to USAID's Environmental Officers, to USAID Missions
and other operating units, and to their projects and programs

The Environmental Compliance Database is a searchable global archive of USAID pre-

implementation environmental review documentation (22 CFR 216 documentation).

The Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plans EMMP Factsheet (The Cadmus Group)
describes the EMMP concept and its role in life-of-project environmental compliance for
USAID-funded activities. It provides practical guidance and examples to inform EMMP
development.

Definitions
Environmental Safeguards: Components of a program that are developed as part of the
activities designed to deal with mitigating potentially foreseeable negative environmental
impacts of program activities, maintaining ecological goods and services and promoting their
sustainable management by community stakeholders. In USAID programs, environmental
safeguards are incorporated into application design and implementation under the mandate
of the USAID environmental compliance regulation, 22 CFR 216.
IEE: An environmental impact analysis, required as a condition for disbursement of program
funding, per USAID environmental regulation 22 CFR 216, the IEE analyzes potentially
foreseeable impacts resulting from program activities.

III. Technical Sectors

A. Agriculture and Livelihoods

Overview
FFP’s agriculture and livelihood activities seek to increase access to economic opportunities
for families largely dependent on agriculture and rural economies for their livelihoods. These
activities aim to enable people to make their own decisions from a set of multiple options
and reflect the realities that, in many of the communities where we work, the most
vulnerable do not own land or a household’s own land holdings will not provide a sustainable
pathway out of food insecurity and poverty. FFP’s organizational principles in this sector
include a focus on profitable, market–linked, sustainable farm and land management; non-
farm income generating opportunities; household economics (including nutrition-sensitive
agriculture); and human, as well as institutional, capacity building. FFP encourages the
development and testing of interventions that both direct participants and non-participants
can adopt and adapt to to increase their incomes and improve the well-being of their
families, and which, because of this, provide an incentive for uptake beyond the geographic
scope and life of a project. A primary objective of activities in this sector is to increase
household productivity and ensure better returns on labor, land, capital and assets. A primary
challenge to activities in this sector is identifying implementation and outreach approaches
which do not create parallel and unsustainable service delivery systems, or which rely
completely on resource transfers for uptake.

With an increasing focus on household and community resilience, activities in this sector will
be both “climate-smart” and reflect a thorough understanding of the context-specific risks
and shocks which erode household assets and increase vulnerability. They will also reflect the
analysis of opportunities and constraints associated with traditional coping mechanisms
and/or new adaptations (e.g. shift away from traditional crops, work migration, movement
out of pastoralism, etc.) that may already be being used to mitigate them.

The websites of the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative (ATAI) of the Abdul Latif
Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) are both truly invaluable resources for finding rigorous
evaluations of a wide variety of interventions, policy analysis and training. J-PAL and its
affiliates have, for example, performed 814 randomized evaluations in 76 countries on topics
ranging from agriculture to health to finance and education. The results of these evaluations
are all freely available on the websites linked. Utilization of this information will help ensure
that the most current and scientifically rigorous evidence is utilized when designing an
activity.

Sector Focus Areas

1. Profitable, Sustainable Farm and Land Management
● NRM
● Input Supply (e.g., seeds, fertilizer, crop protection)
● Appropriate Value Chain Selection
● Financial Management
● Agroforestry
● Mechanization
● Land Access
● Crop Production
● Livestock Production (e.g., dairy, beef, small ruminants, poultry)
● Rangeland Management/Drought Cycle Management (including controlled
destocking)
● Climate (smart adaptation and sustainable practices)
● Agriculture-Nutrition Linkages

Information Resources
The Six "Ins" of Climate-Smart Agriculture: Inclusive Institutions for Information,
Innovation, Investment, and Insurance (CAPRi) reviews the role of institutions in promoting
inclusivity, providing information, enabling local level innovation, encouraging investment,
and offering insurance to enable smallholders, women, and poor resource-dependent
communities to adopt and benefit from Climate Smart Agriculture.

Climate Risk Screening Tools and their Application Guidelines (UNDP and UNEP) provides
an informational entry point to climate risk screening tools. The paper includes an overview
of available climate risk screening and assessment tools, examples of application of climate
risk screening and assessment tools, and a discussion of lessons emerging from the
application of climate risk screening and assessment tools.
Field Assessments & Action Plans (Seed System) presents Seed Security Assessments
(SSAs) that have been conducted in 11 countries. The reports contain specific
recommendations and action plans for the short and medium term. Reports also contain
considerable background material on inter alia: variety release, seed supply mechanisms, and
gendered access to a range of innovations.

Review of Promising Practices in FFP Development Food Assistance Projects (TOPS)

discusses a series of promising practices described under overarching themes (e.g., transfer
of knowledge, market focused programming, and diversifying production) and more specific
activities that showed impact (e.g., micro‐irrigation, livestock shelter, examples of local
coping strategies, and a short discussion on credit).

TOPS Permagarden Toolkit (TOPS) is intended for development practitioners working with
farmers to incorporate permagardens into their farming systems. It includes step-by-step,
clear instructions and visuals, adult education materials, and a training of trainers guide.

Agricultural research, livelihoods, and poverty (IFPRI) explores the types of impact that
agricultural research has had on livelihoods and poverty in low-income countries. The study
provides evidence from a range of case studies on the impact of different types of
agricultural research and technologies on the livelihoods of poverty-stricken populations. The
study also identifies the pathways through which the impacts occur.

Shaping Agricultural Innovation Systems Responsive to Food Insecurity and Climate

Change (World Economic and Social Survey) draws lessons from selected country
experiences of adaptation and innovation in pursuit of food security goals. The paper
examines features of innovation systems that are more likely to build, sustain and/or
enhance food security in situations of rapid change and uncertainty including: (1) recognition
of the multi-functional nature of agriculture and the opportunity to realize multiple benefits;
(2) access to diversity as the basis for flexibility and resilience; (3) concern for enhancing the
capacity of decision makers at all levels; and (4) perseverance and continuity of effort aimed
at securing well-being for those who depend on agriculture and its outputs.

Seeds in Emergencies: A Technical Handbook (FAO) examines how to improve the quality
and effectiveness of seeds provided in emergency operations. The publication has relevance
to development programs as well, as it focuses on seed quality, seed testing, variety type,
seed deterioration, seed storage, seed procurement, seed importation regulations, and
vegetative planting material.
Vegetable Seed Supply and Selection in Humanitarian Response – Seed Aid for Seed
Security Advice for Practitioners (Seed Programs International) provides information on the
various roles of vegetable seeds in humanitarian responses. The brief examines commercial
seed supply, seed saving and storage, seed selection, seed quality, and exit strategy.

The chapters on NRM and crop agriculture in the 2009 Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook
describe the importance of tapping into women farmer knowledge for climate-smart
agriculture.

What Works for Women: Proven approaches for empowering women smallholders and
achieving food security (CARE) outlines lessons learned working with women small holders
and recommends action for national governments and donors.

Improving Nutrition with Biodiversity (Biodiversity International) is a manual on

implementing food systems field projects to assess and improve dietary diversity and
nutrition and health outcomes. Presents seven phases of project design and implementation,
and includes a tools and techniques appendix including interview recommendations, how to
sample, examples of questionnaires and other potential useful tools.

2. Household Economics (Including Nutrition Pathways)

● Agriculture-to-Nutrition Pathways
● Household Budgets
● Village Savings and Loans
● Post-Harvest (e.g., food preservation, storage, food safety)
● Marketing
● Linking to the Private Sector
● Income-Generating Activities (non-farm/off-farm)
● Nutrition-Sensitive Household Gardens for Home Consumption
● Backyard Livestock for Home Consumption

Information Resources
Improving Nutrition through Agriculture Technical Brief Series (SPRING) This series of
briefs illustrates how a set of pathways and principles may assist Feed the Future (FTF)
stakeholders to strengthen agriculture and nutrition linkages across and within country
portfolios. Short vignettes from agriculture activities highlight how the pathways and
principles can be applied in diverse contexts. The conceptual frameworks of the pathways
and principles for improving nutrition through agriculture are described in the first brief. Each
subsequent brief explores a different route between agriculture and nutrition: food
production, income generation, and women’s empowerment.

Child dietary quality in rural Nepal: Effectiveness of a community-level

development intervention (Food Policy) investigates whether children in rural farming
communities of Nepal participating in a community-level, nutrition-sensitive development
intervention observed improved dietary quality compared with children living in non-
participating matched rural communities. The results varied by agro-ecological zone and
season, but showed that particularly vulnerable families could take advantage of
community-level development activities if the interventions were tailored to the specific
local contexts.

MEAS: Linking Farmers to Markets (MEAS) guide provides the field-level practitioner with
tools and applications to reach very poor households. The intended outcome of the Field
Guide is to have greater market engagement for very poor households through enterprise
development activities. The Field Guide focuses on allowing practitioners to more effectively
reach the very poor.

Working with Smallholders: A Handbook for Firms Building Sustainable Supply Chains
(IFC) discusses best practices to expand agricultural supply chains by working with
smallholder farmers. The purpose is to enable more productive interactions between the
private sector and smallholders. The guide examines aggregation; effective training and
communication strategies; standards and certification; increasing access to inputs; improving
farm management skills; incorporating gender; and measuring results.

From Subsistence to Profit: Transforming Smallholder Farms (IFPRI) presents livelihood

strategies and development pathways for smallholder farmers in developing countries and
offers policy recommendations to help potentially profitable smallholders meet emerging
risks and challenges. The study recommends focusing policy and investments on (1)
promoting context-specific farm-size policies; (2) supporting productive social safety nets;
(3) improving risk mitigation and adaptation strategies; (4) linking agriculture, nutrition, and
health; (5) promoting pro-smallholder value chains; and (6) increasing smallholder-friendly
financing and investment.

Savings Groups: What are they? (SEEP) presents a basic description of different types of
savings groups covering the basic approach, variations in methodology, sustainability, links to
other development interventions, and measurement of performance. SEEP also generally
facilitates the exchange of information about savings groups.

Prevention of post-harvest food losses: a training manual (FAO) presents material from a
wide range of disciplines associated with the prevention of food losses; in particular, cereals,
pulses, roots and tubers. It is directed at field staff, project supervisors and extension
personnel involved in food-loss prevention programs.

Small-Scale Postharvest Handling Practices: A Manual for Horticultural Crops (UC Davis) is
an expansive manual which contains low-input post-harvest techniques for small-scale
farmers all over the world. It details causes of post-harvest losses and ways to minimize
those losses, protect food safety, and help maintain quality of fruits, vegetables and
ornamental crops.

Biological control of aflatoxins in Africa: current status and potential challenges in

the face of climate change (World Mycotoxin Journal) is a review of the current state of
aflatoxin control technology (Aflasafe) that is being tested in 11 countries in Africa. The article
is wide-ranging and covers everything from production to costs to scaling to challenges and
efficacy of Aflasafe in reducing aflatoxin contamination.
Beyond Financial Services: A Synthesis of Studies on the Integration of Savings Groups
and Other Developmental Activities (Aga Khan Foundation) summarizes the findings of a
Learning Initiative to study the integration of savings groups and other development
activities. The report concludes that best practices when trying to integrate savings groups
and other development activities include: good planning, matching delivery mechanisms,
recognizing capacity and resource requirements, weighing responsibilities for risks, properly
measuring and attributing costs, assessing sustainability, and proceeding with caution.

Linking smallholder agriculture and water to household food security and nutrition (South
African Water Research Commission) systematically examines the nutritional and water
implications of crop and livestock production. The study finds that crop diversification,
gender issues, and nutrition education are among the important factors that strengthen the
link between agriculture and nutrition. Since food production is the most water-intensive
activity in society, nutritional water productivity (i.e. nutrition per volume water) of foods and
the nutritional water footprint of diets should also be considered as part of the sustainability
analysis of interventions in these areas.
 3. Human and Institutional Capacity Building
● Extension and Advisory Services
● Literacy and Numeracy
● Civil Society Governance (e.g., farmer associations, savings and loans groups,
watershed water user groups)

Information Resources
MEAS Brief # 3: Adaptation Under the New Normal of Climate change: The Future of
Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services (MEAS discussion paper series) addresses how
extension services can be a critical link between farming populations and sources of new
information and tools to improve climate change adaptation. The brief includes (1)
appropriate engagement strategies; (2) working with groups at appropriate scale; (3)
overhauling extension curricula; 4) increased use of information technology; and 5)
advocating for supportive policies and institutional frameworks that need to be addressed.

Linking Smallholder Farmers to Markets and the Implications for Extension and Advisory
Services (MEAS discussion paper series) discusses how to link smallholder farmers to
markets and the implications for agricultural extension and advisory services. The brief has a
long list of conclusions that include, but are not limited to: realizing new institutional
arrangements; building farmer agency; identifying the right market and calibrating
expectations; focusing on market outcomes combining value chain thinking with financial
services; managing risk; stewardship of subsidies; and performance incentives.

Property Rights, Collective Action, and Poverty: The Role of Institutions for Poverty
Reduction (Collective Action and Property Rights) presents a conceptual framework on how
collective action and property rights institutions can contribute to poverty reduction,
including through external interventions and action by poor people themselves. The paper
concludes that people’s action and interactions can also shape both the physical and
institutional environment in which they operate. Understanding these effects can provide
insights into how policies and programs can improve the choices and capabilities of poor
people to pursue their goals.

The Farmer Field School Approach – History, Global Assessment and Success Stories
(IFAD) details the history of the farmer field school (FFS) approach, reports on a global
assessment of this approach, and provides case studies of farmer field schools.
Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Agricultural Productivity and Poverty in East Africa
(IFPRI) is a longitudinal impact evaluation of an FFS project in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The study found that participation in FFSs led to increased production, productivity, and
income in nearly all cases and were especially beneficial to women, people with low literacy
levels, and farmers with medium-size land holdings.

Good Agricultural Governance: A Resource Guide Focused on Smallholder Crop Production

(FAO) focuses on the design, reform, and implementation of policies, laws, regulations and
the allocation of resources in the management of a country’s agriculture and rural
development sector. The guide defines governance and then discusses how governance
should be applied to sustainable intensification, crop diversification, seed systems, and input
supply sectors.

MEAS Brief #2: Reducing The Gender Gap In Agricultural Extension And Advisory Services:
How To Find The Best Fit For Men And Women Farmers (MEAS discussion paper series)
explores the significance of gender relations in agricultural extension and advisory services. It
reviews the history, outlines the key issues drawing on actual field experiences, and proposes
design principles for achieving gender-equitable extension services.

An Oxfam International research study, Women’s Collective Action: Unlocking the Potential
of Agricultural Markets, outlines the best ways to increase the engagement of women small-
scale farmers in agricultural markets.

B. Market Analysis

Overview
Prior to implementing any program that will involve either the distribution of food
commodities or monetary transfers in a community or the promotion of agricultural sales,
partners should conduct adequate and appropriate analysis on the likely impacts on
households—both those receiving assistance and others in the community who are not
receiving it—and on the market system overall.

An appropriate emergency market analysis should generally examine the following

considerations:
● Stability: Price trend analysis (if available) examining price stability as well as
integration for relevant commodities in proposed geographic areas, as well as
relevant source markets.
● Competition: Issues with competition at different levels of the market system, and
whether the proposed project will negatively impact the market dynamics (e.g., by
 increasing the power of a few large producers at the expense of smallholders).
Note any entry/exit barriers for market actors.
● Availability: Local availability of relevant commodities as well as significant local and
regional supply constraints that may affect the proposed project (e.g. other large
procurements or institutional purchases, poor harvests, import tariffs, restrictive
trade policies), including scale of programming transfers relative to normal market
volumes.
● Market actors’ ability to respond to changing levels of demand: The analysis should
demonstrate that vendors can respond to the increased demand that a
cash/voucher project will create, without causing a shortage of the commodities in
question and/or causing prices to rise for other low-income consumers who are not
part of the project.

Applicants must appropriately plan for seasonal fluctuations in agricultural harvests, food
supply, labor markets, and food commodity prices. The analysis should demonstrate that
the proposed project is unlikely to do discernible economic harm to key market actors in the
market system, either in the locations of commodity origin and/or project distribution.

Information Resources
Pre-Crisis Market Mapping and Analysis (PCMA) and Emergency Market Mapping and
Analysis (EMMA) are tools that can be used to map out a market chain for key commodities
to identify which actors and influencing factors most affect the availability of food in a
particular geographic area.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has also developed tools to aid in creating
market-sensitive programming. While the Rapid Assessment for Markets (RAM) is designed
primarily for programming in response to rapid-onset disasters, the Market Analysis
Guidance (MAG) is intended for use throughout the program cycle

Partners may wish to refer to FEWS NET Guidance Documents in countries where they are
available. While FEWS NET primarily provides information on probable outcomes within the
subsequent six months, the website also includes information on seasonal trends, price
information, and other resources that may be useful in planning a food security project.

Partners may also refer to the Minimum Requirements for Market Analysis in Emergencies,
developed by the Cash and Learning Partnership for information on appropriate scope and
rigor of emergency market assessment if working in a region that experiences chronic or
recurring disaster risk.
The Market Information and Food Insecurity Response Analysis (MIFIRA) is a framework
that was developed in 2009 and provides a logically-sequenced set of questions and
corresponding analytical tools to help operational agencies anticipate the likely impact of
alternative (food- or cash-based) responses, and thereby identify the response that best fits
a given food insecurity context.

FFP has also developed a Modality Decision Tool, which is a simple tool to help partners
think through the logic of which food assistance modality is best suited for a particular
context and population's needs.

C. MCHN

Overview
FFP aims to reduce chronic malnutrition among children under five years of age. To achieve
this goal, FFP expects development partners to focus on a preventive approach during the
first 1,000 days of life—from a woman’s pregnancy through the child’s first two years of
age—which is the period when women, infants, and children are most vulnerable to
malnutrition. FFP partners are encouraged to use a synergistic package of nutrition-specific
and nutrition-sensitive interventions designed to prevent malnutrition. This package should
contribute to decreasing the incidence of both chronic and acute malnutrition through
improvements in preventive and curative health services, including but not limited to: social
behavior change communication; growth monitoring and promotion; water, sanitation, and
hygiene (WASH); immunization; deworming; reproductive health and family planning;
malaria prevention and treatment; and other context-specific health services.

Supporting country-led health and nutrition systems is fundamental to the sustainability of

FFP multi-sectoral nutrition programming. While FFP projects are typically community-
based, strengthening linkages to national health systems, engaging with civil society, and
building capacity of institutions and health care workers are important to advance nutrition in
the countries where FFP works.

Finally, with a mandate for integrated community development, FFP programs are uniquely
positioned to ensure that all activities build or strengthen agricultural and economic
pathways to improved nutrition and health outcomes. Partners are encouraged to layer
activities and messaging in their target communities and to promote opportunities for cross-
training and shared learning among staff to reduce the “stove-piping” of MCHN, agriculture,
and other sector activities.

Information Resources
USAID has produced a series of technical briefs around the multi-sectoral nutrition strategy
to assist in programming. The briefs cover programming for 1000 Days; Community
Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM); Intensive Nutrition Programming; Maternal
Nutrition for Girls and Women; Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture; Nutrition Rich Value Chains;
Nutrition, Food Security and HIV; Role of Nutrition in Ending Preventable Child and
Maternal Death; WASH and Nutrition:Water and Development Strategy Implementation.
(Also see FAFSA-2 and FAFSA-2 Summary).
The Lancet Maternal Child Nutrition Series - June 2013 and The 1,000 Days Partnership
website provides resources on nutrition programming for the first 1,000 days from
conception to age two.

Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) is a unique movement founded on the principle that all people
have a right to food and good nutrition. It unites people—from governments, civil society, the
UN, donors, businesses, and researchers—in a collective effort to improve nutrition. Within
the SUN Movement, national leaders are prioritizing global efforts to address malnutrition.
National progress is strengthened as SUN Government Focal Points from each country come
together in the SUN Country Network.

Alive and Thrive held a Forum on Stunting Reduction in Ethiopia that highlighted a number
of lessons learned on reduction of chronic malnutrition.

Sector Focus Areas

I. Health and Nutrition Systems Strengthening

One important and potentially sustainable intervention for improving the health and
nutritional status of women and children consists of working at community-level health and
nutrition systems strengthening. These are general materials that can be consulted for
program design. Specific country programs are referenced in Country-Specific Information.

Information Resources
Strengthening health systems to improve health outcomes is WHO’s Framework for Action
Caring for Newborns and Children in the Community is a three-part package for training
community health workers (CHWs) put together by WHO and UNICEF. The package consists
of Home Visits for Newborn Care, Caring for the Child’s Healthy Growth and Development and
Caring for the Sick Child in the Community.

Essential Nutrition Actions

The Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA) framework is an operational framework for managing
the advocacy, planning and delivery of an integrated package of preventive nutrition actions
encompassing infant and young child feeding (IYCF), micronutrients, and women's nutrition.
Using multiple contact points, it targets health services and behavior change communication
support to women and young children during the first 1,000 days of life—from conception
through the first two years—when nutrient requirements are increased, the risks of
undernutrition are great, and the consequences of deficiencies most likely to be irreversible.
All these actions are proven to improve nutritional status and reduce mortality for vulnerable
populations.

Information Resources
The CORE Group page links to resources related to the ENA framework and other resources.

Essential Nutrition Actions: Improving maternal, newborn, infant and young child health
and nutrition (WHO) provides a compact summary of WHO guidance on nutrition
interventions targeting the first 1,000 days of life to reduce infant and child mortality,
improve physical and mental growth and development, and improve productivity.

II. CMAM: Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition

There are four components to a CMAM program. These are to: (1) identify and refer children
with acute malnutrition at the community level (community mobilization); (2) manage
children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) in the community; (3) manage children
with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) without medical complications in the community; and
(4) manage children with SAM with medical complications, or children with SAM less than 6
months old with facility-based care.

Information Resources
The Global Nutrition Cluster page provides links to CMAM resources, including a decision
tool for MAM, a costing tool for CMAM, and UNHCR and WFP guidelines for selective
feeding.
Guideline: Updates on the management of SAM in infants and children (WHO) provides
global, evidence-informed recommendations on a number of specific issues related to the
management of SAM in infants and children, including in the context of HIV.

The CMAM Forum provides an extensive array of resources related to CMAM programming.
The CMAM Forum has recently begun to turn attention to MAM, although there is still no
WHO-approved guidance on MAM. There is, however, a technical guidance note on
considerations in developing foods for MAM treatment.

For information on Management of Acute Malnutrition, see:

● Annan, Reginald A.; Webb, Patrick; and Brown, Rebecca. Management of MAM:
Current Knowledge and Practice. CMAM Forum Technical Brief: September 2014
● Jimenez, Michelle and Maryanne Stone-Jimenez. Preventing MAM Through
Nutrition-Specific Interventions. CMAM Forum Technical Brief: September 2014
● Mucha, Noreen. Preventing MAM Through Nutrition-Sensitive Interventions. CMAM
Forum Technical Brief: December 2014.
● Webb, Patrick. Standards of Evidence for Research on ‘What Works’ in the
Management of MAM. FAQ October, 2014.
● WHO. Technical note: supplementary foods for the management of MAM in infants
and children 6-59 months of age. World Health Organization 2012.

III. Community Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (C-IMCI) or Integrated

Community Case Management (iCCM) of Childhood Illness
The 2013 Lancet Series on Nutrition, in updating the calculations on the relationship
between undernutrition and mortality, states: “we estimate that undernutrition in the
aggregate—including fetal growth restriction, stunting, wasting, and deficiencies of vitamin A
and zinc along with suboptimum breastfeeding—is a cause of 3.1 million child deaths
annually or 45 percent of all child deaths in 2011.”10 For wasting, stunting and underweight
alone, the estimates were that approximately 1.8 million deaths could be attributed to the
effects of stunting and wasting. In the food-insecure communities where FFP works,
community-based interventions to treat and prevent illness are key to lowering the burden

10
Robert E Black, Cesar G Victora, Susan P Walker, Zulfiqar A Bhutta*, Parul Christian*, Mercedes de Onis*,
Majid Ezzati*, Sally Grantham-McGregor*, Joanne Katz*, Reynaldo Martorell*, Ricardo Uauy*, and the Maternal
and Child Nutrition Study Group. “Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and
middle-income countries”: 2013 The Lancet, Vol 382 August 3, 2013 pp.427 and following.
of these conditions. CHWs are increasingly being included in the interventions to strengthen
overall health systems.

The importance of improving IYCF during illness is key to lowering the risks of mortality and
health-related effects resulting from undernutrition. At the community level, the role of
CHWs and community volunteers should be considered in working to achieve
improvements in the nutritional status of the children in FFP target populations.

Information Resources
The CORE Group’s page on Community Case Management of Childhood Illness has
additional resources and tools.

Caring for newborns and children in the community: Caring for the sick child (WHO) is
designed to help lay CHWs assess and treat sick children age 2-59 months.

IV. Health and Nutrition of Women of Reproductive Age

Women have different nutritional needs during adolescence, pregnancy, and lactation.
Women’s pre-pregnancy and pregnancy nutritional status plays a critical role in fetal growth
and development and health and survival. This includes ensuring adequate micronutrients
before and during pregnancy and lactation, especially folate, iron, calcium, iodine, and
vitamins A and D through supplementation, fortification and food consumption. Education
for the mother on the benefits of early and exclusive breastfeeding should be part of birth
preparedness. Health worker education and continuing training are essential to delivering
quality nutrition services.

In 2015 there were several reviews of relationship between family planning and food security
and promising models for enhancing linkages between food security and family planning
programs.

The first two reviews compile a range of empirical evidence that shows how family planning
can positively impact nutrition and food security, either directly or indirectly. The third review
identifies and synthesizes real world programmatic experiences from 102 health and multi-
sectoral programs, including integration models, platforms, contact points, and providers
used for integrated service delivery. There is also an informational video.

Information Resources
The Nutrition through the life-course (WHO) factsheet provides information on improving
nutrition throughout the life course, separated by 0-6 months, 6-23 months, preschool age,
school age, adolescence, and adulthood, with separate sections for pre-pregnancy and
pregnancy.

The Food and Care for Women page (FAO) provides information on health and nutrition for
women, including increased nutrient needs during pregnancy and proper birth spacing for
improved health of women and infants.

Maternal Nutrition During Pregnancy and Lactation (LINKAGES Project and CORE Group)
focuses on increased dietary needs during pregnancy and lactation.

The Case for Promoting Multiple Vitamin/Mineral Supplements for Women of

Reproductive Age in Developing Countries (LINKAGES Project) discusses and provides
guidance on the selection of appropriate supplements for pregnant women and women of
reproductive age in developing countries.

V. Reproductive Health and Family Planning

Family planning enables a woman to delay, time, space, and limit her pregnancies to ensure
that pregnancy occurs at the healthiest times of her life, and thus helps to ensure the
healthiest maternal, newborn, and child outcomes. Family planning prevents maternal and
newborn deaths by (a) reducing the number of births and thus the number of times a
woman is exposed to the risk of maternal mortality; (b) preventing unwanted pregnancies
and thus preventing the risk of induced abortion; and (c) preventing demographically high-
risk pregnancies. In addition, family planning allows families to achieve their desired family
size, which may enable them to have only the number of children for which they can
provide. All women, including adolescent girls, should have the information and access to
services that allow them to choose whether and when to become pregnant. Increasing the
understanding and support of men and boys is critical to the success of family planning
efforts and should be included in any proposed family planning actions.

The Lactation Amenorrhea Method (LAM) is often a gateway method to postpartum family
planning. Antenatal care (ANC) visits are a good time to introduce the method, explain the
three necessary criteria (exclusive or almost breastfeeding for infants under six months of
age,no other foods, and no menstrual periods) to provide up to 98 percent of protection
from a new pregnancy. Introduction of LAM postpartum provides time for CHW health
system staff to educate families on other possible methods once the three criteria are no
longer applicable.
Information Resources
The Family Planning Sustainability Checklist: A Project Assessment Tool for Designing and
Monitoring Sustainability of Community-Based Family Planning Services (Knowledge for
Health (K4Health) Project) is designed to assist community-based family planning project
planners and implementers to identify key elements to incorporate in a community family
planning project to increase the likelihood of family planning services continuing beyond the
project’s end. This guide includes a checklist and an outline for a facilitated workshop for use
with project partners to identify strengths and weaknesses in the key systems needed to
support continuity of family planning services.

Facts for Family Planning (K4Health Project) presents a comprehensive collection of key
information and messages for anyone who communicates to others about family planning.

The Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University strives to expand family
planning choices to meet the needs of women and men worldwide; advance gender equality
by helping women and men across the lifecycle learn about and take charge of their
reproductive health; and involve communities in reproductive health interventions that
improve their wellbeing. They have an extensive resource library with information about
reproductive health issues.

FANTA (Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance) reviews

1. Desk Review of Programs Integrating Family Planning with Food Security and
Nutrition

2. Impacts of Family Planning on Nutrition and Food Security (full reports and briefs)

FANTA has also produced a related video, which can be found here.

VI. Nutrition Counseling, Assessment, and Support (NACS)

NACS is an approach for integrating nutrition into the care of patients with HIV and
tuberculosis, as well as into other health services. The approach focuses on nutrition
components of clinical services and fosters linkages between clinical facilities and
community programs. The goal is to prevent and treat malnutrition and to link clients to
livelihood and economic strengthening support in order to improve long-term food security.
Information Resources
Defining NACS

Getting the Knack of NACS: Highlights from the State of the Art (SOTA) Meeting on NACS

The Essential Role of Nutrition in the HIV and AIDS Response (USAID)

C. Social and Behavior Change Communication

Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) is important in all sectors of FFP
programming and can lead to improved nutrition practices at the community, household,
and individual levels. Engaging persons of influence, particularly grandmothers, is an
important part of SBCC as they can serve as formidable allies or obstacles to young mothers.
SBCC activities must be grounded by in-depth formative research to ensure that societal
factors, such as culture, geographic context, and participant perceptions are appropriately
considered and addressed. No one communication activity can achieve behavior change or
be successful in influencing social norms. SBCC activities should be designed using a
combination of interventions relating to policy, appropriate technology, education, and
communication techniques addressing different levels of society with clear and consistent
messaging.

Information Resources
USAID's Infant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN) Project has created a collection of tools and
resources for use by community-based nutrition programs. The Tools for reaching
caregivers, households, and communities collection includes literature reviews, social and
behavior change communication resources, and M&E tools. Informed by IYCN’s experience
implementing community approaches in eight countries, the tools fill specific program needs
but can also be adapted for use in other country settings.

Another important resource, which comes from the Hopkins Health Communication
Capacity Collaborative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is the P
Process: Five Steps to Strategic Communication, a tool that guides the user through a step-
by-step approach to strategic communication from analysis through design, development,
implementation, and evaluation.
The IYCN guide Behavior change interventions and child nutritional status provides
information on improving complementary feeding practices based on Trials of Improved
Practices (TIPS) methodology.

The roles and influence of grandmothers and men: Evidence supporting a family-focused
approach to optimal infant and young child nutrition report reviews the impact of
grandmothers and men on child nutrition, and offers recommendations for program
implementers to strengthen community approaches for addressing malnutrition and
improving results.

Role of Social Support in Improving Infant Feeding Practices in Western Kenya: A Quasi-
Experimental Study. This Global Health: Science and Practice online access journal has
published an intervention using quasi-experimental design to explore the effectiveness of
engaging fathers and grandfathers in providing social support to mothers to improve
complementary feeding in Kenya.

The Food Security and Nutrition Network SBC Task Force Resource Library features practical
implementation-focused guides, tools, and training materials on SBCC.

Population-Level Behavior Change to Enhance Child Survival and Development in Low-

and Middle Income Countries: A Review of the Evidence is a special series which includes
several articles showcasing the evidence around behavior change in the context where FFP
projects are implemented.

Starting in the 1970s, the Manoff Group started using Trials of Improved Practices (TIPS) for
formative behavior change research. This TIPS manual is a now the standard guide on how to
analyze current practices with community members and determine the best route for
improving practices and information messaging. how to improve the practices as well as
information messaging. \ Case studies illustrating use of TIPS are available can also be found
here.

Alive and Thrive has produced a series of case studies on rapid social and behavior change. In
addition, Alive and Thrive has produced a document describing different strategies for
Interpersonal Communication & Community Mobilization.

Below are several resources documenting the evidence base for effective SBCC, which are
highlighted in a forthcoming USAID Nutrition Strategy Guidance Brief, titled At-scale
Nutrition SBCC:
Journal of Health Communication. 2014. “Population-Level Behavior Change to Enhance
Child Survival and Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of the
Evidence.” Special Issue. Journal of Health Communication 19(1).

SPRING. 2014. Evidence of Effective Approaches to Social and Behavior Change Communication
for Preventing and Reducing Stunting and Anemia: Findings from a Systematic Literature Review.
Arlington, VA: SPRING. Available at https://www.spring-
nutrition.org/publications/series/evidence-effective-approaches-social-and-behavior-
change-communication.

SPRING. 2015. Designing the Future of Nutrition SBCC: How to Achieve Impact at Scale.
Conference Report and Strategic Agenda. Arlington, VA: SPRING. Available at
https://www.spring-nutrition.org/publications/reports/conference-report-and-strategic-
agenda-nutrition-sbcc.

i. IYCF

Support for improved IYCF, such as improved WASH, spacing and timing of pregnancy, and
early child stimulation should be part of a minimum package for good child growth and
development. Improved IYCF includes early initiation of breastfeeding (during the first hour
after birth); exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life; timely initiation of
complementary feeding, as well as responsive feeding; continued breastfeeding to 24
months or beyond, until the infant has outgrown the need; and feeding of the sick child.
During the period of complementary feeding, it is important to keep in mind frequency,
amount, density, and use of food (this is includes food variety, hygiene and safe food
preparation and active feeding).

In January 2016, the Lancet published a Breastfeeding Series that included updated
information on the epidemiology of breastfeeding as well as a summary of the importance
of investing in improving breastfeeding practices and of proven interventions that improve
practices.

In March 2016 The Lancet then published summaries of reviews entitled Breastfeeding: the
medical profession sweeping at its own doorstep and Timing of initiation, patterns of
breastfeeding, and infant survival: prospective analysis of pooled data from three
randomized trials. These reviews looked into the association between breastfeeding in the
first hour of life as well as continued exclusive breastfeeding which found that each had an
independent effect on the reduction of mortality during the first six months of life. This
review further strengthens the evidence supporting Step Four in the Baby Friendly Hospital
Initiative (http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/bfhi/en/).

Save the Children, with the help of a TOPS grant, has recently updated a tool kit for setting
up IYCF programs in emergency settings.

Core Group’s Nutrition Program Design Assistant, second version has tools to help programs
prioritize key IYCF behaviors.

Information Resources
UNICEF programming guide on IYCF

IYCF Quick Reference Book (0-24 months) (Alive and Thrive-Ethiopia) aims to aid those
who promote and support improved IYCF practices

Learning from the design and implementation of large-scale programs to improve IYCF

Adapting communication strategies for IYCF in different contexts

ii. Early childhood development (ECD)

ECD interventions combined with optimal nutrition in the first years of life lay the
foundation for young children’s capacity to learn and lead healthy productive lives. ECD has
a strong influence on children, including setting behavioral patterns, educational attainment,
occupational opportunities and, ultimately, their lifetime health status.

ECD services for preschool children in developing countries are primarily community- and
clinic-based programs and are essential to strengthen children’s physical/social environment
and monitor their nutritional well-being after the first 1000 days. A combination of
psychosocial and nutrition interventions can be delivered by CHWs and other community
members to promote the activities performed by families that are fundamental to child
health and development, such as optimal feeding and other caring behaviors.

Information Resources
The goal of the U.S. Government Action Plan on Children in Adversity is to achieve a world
in which all children grow up within protective family care and free from deprivation,
exploitation, and danger. Objective 1 of the plan highlights Strong Beginnings with guidance
on early childhood development and prevention of stunting.
The Advantages and challenges of integration: opportunities for integrating early
childhood development and nutrition programming paper from the Annals of the New York
Academy of Sciences addresses integration of ECD programming into nutrition programs,
and the challenges and advantages created.

The Strategies to avoid the loss of developmental potential in more than 200 million
children in the developing world paper, part of The Lancet’s Child Development Series,
examines the effectiveness of child development interventions in developing countries.

Supplementing Nutrition in the Early Years: The Role of Early Childhood Simulation to
Maximize Nutritional Inputs (World Bank)

Clean, Fed, and Nurtured presentations from The BMGF Alive and Thrive project, presented
in January 2013.

An updated Lancet Series titled Advancing ECD: from Science to Scale was launched in
October 2016. The series considers new scientific evidence for interventions, building on the
findings and recommendations of previous Lancet Series on child development (2007,
2011), and proposes pathways for implementation of early childhood development at scale.

D. Food Assistance for Improved Nutritional Outcomes

Partners proposing food-assisted interventions such as food transfers (food or

cash/voucher) for vulnerable women and children under the age of two should consider
appropriate conditionality of the food assistance, as well as appropriate targeting to ensure
participants have access to a comprehensive package of nutrition activities to complement
the food transfer. The most important aspect of a conditional food transfer is to ensure that
both mother and child receive essential energy and nutrients during the critical first 1,000
days. Participant age, nutritional status, sex, pregnancy status, and household dietary
patterns should be taken into consideration in order to ensure cost-effective optimal
nutritional benefit in food assistance programs. Activity and ration design should always plan
for phase over to locally available foods, so that appropriate dietary diversity and adequate
complementary feeding can be sustainable beyond the life of the program. Gaps in
availability of or access to nutritionally dense foods should inform agriculture and livelihood
activity design.

i. Commodity Selection and Ration Design

Information Resources
The Commodity Reference Guide Fact Sheets provide information on commodities
currently available for FFP programming. Each fact sheet contains the following sections:
general information with descriptions of the food commodity, programming guidance,
nutrition/preparation information detailing the commodity’s components and preparation
instructions, nutritional content, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s commodity specifications,
ordering considerations, and links to relevant industry groups for more information on the
commodities and food products.

USAID’s Delivering Improved Nutrition: Recommendations for Changes to U.S. Food Aid
Products and Programs is a two-year review and assessment of quality issues relating to
Title II food aid products. The review is part of a long-standing USAID effort to improve the
quality of food assistance products and programs as priorities and needs evolve.

The WFP Specialized Nutritious Foods Sheet provides information on the specialized
nutritious foods that WFP provides. The sheet lists the foods by use and provides useful
information such as intended participant group, daily ration size, key ingredients and shelf
life.

Guidelines from UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and WHO contain a ration planning tool for
emergencies, including how to choose commodities, factors affecting food preparation,
management of related issues, and recommendations for monitoring and follow-up. Though
designed for emergencies, some portions also apply to general ration design.

NutVal is a free, downloadable nutritional content tool for planning and monitoring food
assistance rations.

Title II Technical Reference Materials. TRM-01: Preventing Malnutrition in Children Under 2

Approach (PM2A): A Food-Assisted Approach (USAID) provides guidance on ration
calculations.

Regarding the management of MAM, a MAM Decision Tool (updated July 2014) is available
from the Global Nutrition Cluster. The purpose of the tool is to support practitioners in
emergencies in deciding the most appropriate intervention for the prevention and treatment
of MAM.
 ii. Locally produced specialty nutrition products, including fortified flours, safety
guidelines

Under the 2014 Farm Bill legislation, Title II 202(e) funds can be used for local procurement
of specialty food products.

Information Resources
Examples of locally produced specialty nutrition products include:
● Wawa Mum is a chickpea-based paste that can be used to supplement the diets of
small children and is produced in Pakistan.
● Unimix is a fortified blended food that can be made into porridge for children under
five years of age produced in Kenya.

WFP’s Managing the Supply Chain of Specialized Nutritious Foods provides guidance on
supply chain management for specialized nutritious foods.

The International Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (iLiNS) Project examines the efficacy
and impact of providing lipid nutrient supplements to infants and pregnant and lactating
women

E. NRM

Overview
FFP projects seek to develop NRM systems and practices that support resilient livelihoods,
serve as a source of sustainable wealth for direct and indirect participants, and contribute to
the effective and equitable governance of natural resources. Vulnerable smallholders in
targeted regions are challenged by weathered and nutrient-poor soils; erratic rainfall,
characterized by high rates of runoff and extended intervals between events; and periodic
droughts. These characteristics limit yields and, in years of hard drought, lead to failure of
annual staple crops; this can cause situation where marginal households may be forced to
sell their productive assets in order to survive, losing their very means to make a living from
the land. These biophysical challenges are exacerbated by socioeconomic constraints that (a)
create disincentives for risk-averse producers to invest in technologies that have a track
record in overcoming biophysical constraints and (b) would limit the benefits accrued from
those investments. These constraints include insecure property rights; limited access to
markets, information, capital, appropriate technical assistance and inputs; poor infrastructure;
and gender inequality.
USAID’s Nature, Wealth, and Power 2.0: Leveraging Natural and Social Capital for
Resilient Development outlines a flexible framework for improving rural development
through better integration of biophysical, economic and governance dimensions, thereby
raising the profile of both economic and power issues as key to poverty reduction and
sustainable NRM in rural areas.

Sectoral Focus Areas

1. Soil Productivity
● Soil organic matter
● Soil fertility
● Conservation agriculture

Information Resources
Practices that influence the amount of organic matter (FAO) examines practices that both
decrease and increase soil organic matter. It discusses the factors that lead to reduction of
soil organic matter, including decreased biomass production, decreased organic matter
supply, and increased decomposition rates. It also describes practices that increase soil
organic matter including compost, cover crops, green manure, crop rotation, perennial forage
crops, zero or reduced tillage, and agroforestry.

Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Crop Intensification in Lesotho (FAO) presents

the results of an evaluation on conservation agriculture work in Lesotho. The evaluation
found that the adoption of a particular technology—a planting basins system, locally called
likoti— resulted in higher agricultural productivity, greater environmental sustainability, and
improved livelihoods and sustainability.
Conservation of natural resources for sustainable agriculture (FAO) explores the
importance and management of cover crops in sustainable agriculture systems. FAO
discusses the positive impacts including, but not limited to, enhancing soil protection,
controlling weed growth, adding soil organic matter, and improving soil structure The paper
explores the challenges as well, including an increased management burden and an induced
nitrogen deficiency at the beginning of the cropping cycle due to cover crop decomposition.
Handbook for Integrated Soil Fertility Management (Africa Soil Health Consortium) is
designed to train extension workers in soil fertility management techniques and workers
involved in rural development that would like to learn more about the principles and
practices of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM). Topics covered include the need for
ISFM, the principles of IFSM, soil fertility management, targeting IFSM, and crop production.
 2. Water Management

● Water harvesting for production

● Soil water
● Erosion control

Information Resources
Improving Land and Water Management (The World Resources Institute) discusses a wide
range of land and water management practices that can address land degradation and
increase long-term agricultural productivity. The paper highlights four of the most common
practices that are relevant to the drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa: agroforestry, conservation
agriculture, rainwater harvesting and integrated soil fertility management.

‘Amenagement en courbes de niveau,’’Increasing Rainfall Capture, Storage, and Drainage

in Soils of Mali (University of Hawaii) describes a water harvesting technology utilized in the
Sahel. The study found that use of this technology led to substantially more water retention
in soils where the ACN technology was installed than in soils where it was not present. The
greatest benefit of this technology was found to be at the end of the rainy season when soil
moisture levels are critical for good crop yields. There is no online link available, but the
article is available from FFP upon request.
Water Harvesting and Conservation (HDRA) presents a number of water harvesting and
water conservation techniques in a clear, concise manner.
Land husbandry - Components and strategy (FAO) is a wide ranging publication on erosion
and different strategies used to address it. The publication addresses the concepts of land
husbandry and erosion control and provides a series of case studies from around the world.
Agricultural Water Storage in an Era of Climate Change: Assessing Need and Effectiveness
in Africa (International Water Management Institute) describes different agricultural water
storage options and describes the development of a simple diagnostic tool which can be
used to provide a rapid evaluation of the need and effectiveness of different water storage
options, under existing and possible future climate conditions.
Health Issues Related to Drainage Water Management (FAO) provides an overview of
drainage, water management, and health, including water related disease and vector,;
integrated control of transmission of vector-borne diseases, environmental management
measures, and the development of control strategies.
 3. Diversified and Productive Landscapes

● Trees/Agroforestry
● Management of Productive Assets
● Governance – Management of Common Assets
● Resilience

Information Resources
NRM and Development Portal (USAID) provides an open access communications bridge
between organizations, communities, consortia, and global partners working on an
integrated approach to NRM linking nature, energy and human health.
Climate-Smart Agriculture: Smallholder Adoption and Implications for Climate Change
Adaptation and Mitigation (FAO) reviews adaptation and mitigation benefits from various
practices and focuses on empirical evidence concerning costs and barriers to adoption.
Findings indicate that up-front investment costs can be a significant barrier to adoption for
certain commitments and practices, and that potential synergies between food security,
adaptation and mitigation opportunities, and costs can differ substantially across different
agro-ecological zones, climate regimes, and historical land use patterns.
Re-Greening the Sahel: Farmer-led innovation in Burkina Faso and Niger (IFPRI) discusses
the various techniques employed by farmers for water harvesting and agroforestry in the
Sahel that have transformed large swaths of the region’s arid landscape into productive
agricultural land, improving food security for about 3 million people. The paper focuses on
the process by which these innovations emerged-through experimentation, exploration, and
exchanges by and among farmers themselves-as possibly the most vital lesson learned from
this experience.
Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry Practices (University of Missouri) is designed for
natural resources professionals and landowners. The manual features descriptions of
establishing and managing the five agroforestry practices and utilizing agroforestry on
agricultural and forested lands. Additional chapters include planning for agroforestry; wildlife
habitat and agroforestry; marketing principles and economic considerations. Appendix
sections include tree, shrub, grass and forage information for agroforestry plantings and
timber sales suggestions.
Climate-Resilient Development: A Framework for Understanding and Addressing Climate
Change (USAID) offers a simplified approach to helping decision-makers at all levels
understand the risks and opportunities that climate change may pose, and address them in
ways that enable development to continue despite a changing climate.

F. Risk Management and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)

Overview
Natural and manmade disasters result in asset losses and have profound effects on
well-being, livelihoods, and food security, especially among vulnerable populations
least able to cope with shocks. Disasters cause breaks in food availability, access, and
stability which can lead to negative coping strategies, hunger, and malnutrition.
Growing population, rapid urbanization, global inequality, climate change,
environmental degradation, and unsustainable overconsumption of natural capital
are modifying hazard levels and exacerbating risks. At the same time, chronic poverty
leaves households vulnerable to other “disasters”—the injury, illness or death of a
wage earner, the failure of a crop, animal disease, fire—all with the impact ofa shock
affecting the entire community. Most of the communities served through FFP’s
development programs are living at the intersection of recurrent shocks and chronic
poverty—deeply vulnerable to the impacts of both “covariate” shocks (drought,
flooding, conflict) which affect entire communities, and “idiosyncratic” shocks (e.g.
illness, job-loss) which affect individuals and households.

Managing risks in social and economic activity therefore requires a combination of

approaches which will avoid accumulation of new risks, reduce existing risks, and
support resilience in the face of risks that can not be minimized. Risk reduction
strategies are proactive, such as crop diversification, use of drought-tolerant crops
and livestock, improving water catchment systems or infrastructure, and others. Early
Warning Early Action systems with triggers for action, flexible funding and
contingency plans are being piloted around the world to strengthen community
preparedness. Household level risk management may include the use of revenue
diversification, labor migration and remittances. Financial services and inclusion (e.g.
village savings and loans), market insurance (health, crop, livestock) and adaptive
social protection programs can help shield households and communities against
shocks.

FFP encourages applicants to consider a variety of strategies to reduce and mitigate

risk, as well as build resilience. Increasing resilience among chronically vulnerable
populations will demand an approach that brings a combination of sectors (e.g. food
security, health, climate change adaptation, social protection, peace building, and
governance) together to strengthen existing capacities and address the context-
specific drivers of vulnerability. A package of DRR and resilience building policies can
deliver benefits that extend beyond the context of disasters.

Information Resources
USAID Policy and Program Guidance on Building Resilience to Recurrent Crisis (USAID)
draws from decades of experience providing humanitarian relief and development
assistance. The guidance aims to reduce chronic vulnerability and promote more inclusive
growth in areas of recurrent crisis by ensuring that USAID humanitarian relief and
development experts work together to better plan and program, with the goal to build
resilience and help vulnerable communities move from cycles of crisis to a pathway toward
development.

Global Assessment Report on DRR (GAR Report) (UNISDR) The Global Assessment Report
(GAR) on DRR is a biennial global assessment of DRR and comprehensive review and
analysis of the natural hazards that are affecting humanity. The 2015 edition examines ways
to create sustainable development.

A Guide to Risk, Vulnerability and Vulnerable Groups (World Bank) provides a useful
synthesis of analytical approaches to risk and vulnerability analysis, social risk management,
and the analysis of vulnerable groups, and outlines options for analytical work to support the
incorporation of vulnerability in poverty analysis. This is an older document (2004);
however, it provides clear definitions, a useful matrix of social risk management and
strategies, and a large number of still-relevant examples of analyses and interventions.

DRR for Food and Nutrition Security (FAO) outlines FAO’s corporate commitment to
reducing risks and building livelihood resilience, thus protecting development gains. It aims
to scale-up and accelerate actions for DRR at different levels, building on FAO’s existing
technical capacities as well as on DRR initiatives and good practices worldwide.

When Disasters and Conflicts Collide (ODI) presents the evidence base for how natural
disasters affect conflict, how conflict affects natural disasters, and how people living in
complex environments are affected by multiple risks. The paper also considers what can be
learned from current practices to improve conflict prevention, state building and disaster risk
management in ways that help build resilience.
Enhancing Resilience to Food Security Shocks in Africa (TANGO International) establishes
priorities for resilience programming by outlining specific steps to be taken to improve
disaster risk management, enhance adaptive capacity, and facilitate effective governance
and other enabling conditions for resilience.

Making DRR Gender-Sensitive: Policy and Practical Guidelines (UN) provides a policy
guideline on gender mainstreaming and practical guidelines on how to institutionalize
gender-sensitive risk assessments, implement gender-sensitive early warning systems, and
use gender-sensitive indicators to monitor gender mainstreaming progress.

Disaster Risk Management in Post-2015 Development Goals (ODI) examines options for
disaster risk management in the post-2015 development framework. The paper explores
three scenarios—a standalone goal on disaster risk management, disaster risk management
within a goal on ‘resilience’, ‘security,’ or ‘tackling obstacles to development’; and integration
of disaster risk management into other goals.

Tools for Mainstreaming DRR: Guidance Notes for Development Organizations

(ProVention Consortium) provides a series of 14 guidance notes for use by development
organizations in adapting programming, project appraisals, and evaluation tools to
mainstream DRR into development work in hazard-prone countries.

Unbreakable: Building Resilience of the Poor in the Face of Natural Disasters (World Bank)
moves beyond asset and production losses and shifts attention to how natural disasters
affect people’s well-being. Disasters are far greater threats to well-being than traditional
estimates suggest. Understanding the disproportionate vulnerability of poor people also
makes the case for setting new intervention priorities to lessen the impact of natural
disasters on the world’s poor, such as expanding financial inclusion, disaster risk and health
insurance, social protection and adaptive safety nets, contingent finance and reserve funds,
and universal access to early warning systems.

Early Warning, Early Action: The Use of Predictive Tools in Drought Response through
Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Programme (World Bank) This paper investigates the use
of early warning tools as part of Ethiopia's Disaster Risk Management framework. Analyzing,
in particular, the Livelihoods, Early Assessment and Protection tool, as well as the Livelihood
Integrated Assessment and Hotspots Assessments, the paper delineates the scope and
objectives of existing early warning tools, their commonalities, and their limitations. From a
disaster risk financing and insurance perspective, the paper investigates possible
enhancements in the existing early warning framework and its use that could facilitate
greater timeliness of drought response. The paper argues that based on the existing early
warning instruments and continued improvements to the early warning systems, it is
possible to enable early action during the onset of a drought.

Forecast-based Action (University of Reading, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center)
examines emerging frameworks for forecast based early action as part of the Red Cross Red
Crescent work to promote early warning and early action.

G. Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH)

Overview
WASH interventions within FFP programs target the underlying causes of malnutrition, such
as health and nutritional deficits resulting from inadequate access to WASH services. This is
accomplished primarily by improving food utilization and broader health outcomes through
WASH interventions that decrease the fecal-oral route of disease transmission and improve
environmental health conditions. FFP partners are encouraged to use a package of WASH
interventions that is evidence-based and reflects an understanding of both impact and
sustainability. This package often includes, but is not limited to: increasing demand for and
access to safe water supply and sanitation services, increasing adoption of key hygiene
behaviors, and strengthening WASH governance and the enabling environment at the
community or local level.
Reflecting the evidence that nutritional gains often require affecting whole-of-community
WASH practices, core approaches are designed to impact WASH at both the household and
community level. Because FFP programs target highly vulnerable and underserved
populations, a primary challenge to partners is identifying approaches that are demand-
driven and self-sustaining, and do not rely completely on FFP/partner resources for impact
and sustainability. FFP also strongly encourages integrated WASH and nutrition
programming, and requires that any proposed drinking water infrastructure investment be
accompanied by hygiene promotion activities, or build upon an existing hygiene program.
The annotated references below reflect three overarching themes:

1. Why WASH is needed to achieve nutrition and health results;

2. How WASH interventions can be designed and implemented for impact on food
security and nutrition;
3. How WASH interventions can be designed and implemented sustainably.
Note that FFP also invests in water access for productive uses (e.g. agriculture or other
income generating activities) and water resource management (WRM).

Information and Resources

USAID Water and Development Strategy 2013 – 2018; The release of the first USAID Water
Strategy is now accompanied by a series of technical guides: WASH and Nutrition
Implementation Brief, Sanitation Implementation Brief, and the Strategy’s Implementation
Field Guide. These briefs cover WASH topics including: WASH-Nutrition Integration points;
the WASH ‘service delivery’ approach; best practice for WASH hardware, software, and the
enabling environment; WASH targets and performance indicators; and regulatory
environmental considerations.

WASHPlus Program 2010 - 2016 was a USAID-funded program dedicated to multi-country

WASH interventions, as well as the development and advancement of WASH-Nutrition
learning and best practice. Materials of pertinence to FFP partners include:
● Integrating WASH into Nutrition Programming
● WASH: Essential Components for Food Security
● Small Doable Actions for WASH Behavior Change

The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), part of the World Bank Group’s Water Global
Practice, focuses on best practice and capacity building across six core topics. Topics with
materials of relevance to FFP partners include:
● Scaling Up Rural Sanitation and Hygiene; including Community-Led Total Sanitation
(CLTS), SBCC, and Sanitation Marketing toolkits
● Private Sector Participation; including PPP and business model toolkits for the rural
poor
● Water & Sanitation Service Delivery in Fragile States; including best practice on the
transition from emergency to long-term country-led development

The Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is a global WASH partnership of governments,
private sector and civil society, external support agencies, research and learning, and other
WASH sector partners. By joining SWA, partners agree to adhere to the SWA Guiding
Principles, and are dedicated to three core issues: increasing political prioritization for WASH,
promoting the development of a strong WASH evidence base, and strengthening national
government-led planning processes.

The UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-water (GLAAS)
program, implemented by the WHO, monitors financial and human resource inputs, as well
as the enabling environment (laws, policies, monitoring) around WASH systems and
services. The 2014 GLAAS Report highlights a number of key findings and recommendations
to improve access and reduce inequalities beyond the 2015 Millennium Development Goals
DGH deadline.

UNICEF WASH Strategy 2016-2030 was developed to guide contributions of UNICEF to

the water and sanitation Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6) and reflects the new
WASH performance indicator definitions and goals. Reflecting similar mandates for working
in humanitarian and highly vulnerable contexts, there is significant overlap in the geographic
portfolio and technical scope of UNICEF and FFP’s WASH activities.

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) is a UN membership

organization focused uniquely on on SDG 6.2—achieving universal access sanitation and
hygiene by 2030. Their Global Sanitation Fund requires coordination of a country’s
sanitation actors as a funding prerequisite, and programs are often driven by dual goals of
gaining access to basic sanitation and adoption of good hygiene practices, including MHM.
The GSF portfolio includes Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Uganda and others, and the
website includes resources and case studies on sanitation and hygiene from these countries.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) Safe Water System provides information
resources dedicated to WASH interventions for low income countries. CDC serves as a
research partner to many development interventions linking water quality and public health.
The Safe Water System website provides links to resources and case studies on topics,
including behavior change, safe water storage, and hand washing.

The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SUSANA) serves to link on-ground experience with
practitioners, policy makers, researchers, and academics. It includes a library of case studies,
conference materials, training materials, cartoons, and research.

Sector Focus Areas

1. Linking WASH and Nutrition

To decrease chronic malnutrition (e.g. stunting), FFP programs must address food utilization
and the ability of the body to absorb and make use of nutrients for both linear and cognitive
growth. Below is a synopsis of the current research and evidence base linking WASH to
growth faltering and broader nutrition and health outcomes.
Overview
Poor hygiene has been identified as a risk factor for poor early childhood development.
Moreover, unsafe WASH practices are correlated with stunting and anemia, which are known
risk factors for child developmental deficits.11 In fact, it was observed that children from
contaminated house (i.e. E. coli concentration >10 cfu/100 mL, inadequate sanitation, and
unhygienic handwashing) were stunted (-0.54 height-for-age z scores, HAZ). This provides
evidence that environmental contamination causes growth faltering12.

In the literature, three biological mechanisms that link WASH and undernutrition were
identified including (1) repeated bouts of diarrhea; (2) soil-transmitted helminth infections;
and (3) subclinical gut infections (i.e. environmental enteric dysfunction, EED), which may be
a key mediating pathway linking poor hygiene to developmental deficits.11,13 Identified
pathways through which WASH may impact early childhood development (i.e.
inflammation, stunting, anemia) include three key vectors of fecal-oral transmission for
young children—soil, poultry feces, and infant food—that are not often addressed within
WASH interventions.12 Also, associations were observed between (1) household access to
improved sanitation (i.e. access to toilet facility); (2) household access to an improved
drinking water source; and (3) mother’s/caregiver’s reporting of washing hands with soap
before meal or after defecation and decreased child stunting.14

Information Resources
USAID Water and Development Strategy: WASH & Nutrition Implementation Brief (2015)
has three key messages: (1) positive nutritional outcomes are dependent upon WASH
interventions and nutrition actions; (2) poor WASH conditions create an additional burden of
undernutrition; and (3) many opportunities for co-programming WASH in nutrition programs
exist.
USAID Webinar on Environmental Enteropathy & WASH (Food Security and Nutrition
Network, 2013) discusses the most recent research findings on environmental enteropathy
(EE), and how to integrate WASH into nutrition and multi-sectoral programs. The webinar
stresses the findings that nutrition-specific interventions can only solve one-third of the

11
Ngure GM, Reid BM et al. 2014.WASH, EE, nutrition and ECD: making the links. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci, 1308: 118-128
12
A Lin, BF Arnold, et al. 2013. Household Environmental Conditions are Associated with Enteropathy and Impaired
Growth in Rural Bangladesh. Am J Trop Med Hyg 89(1): 130-137
13
O Cumming and S Cairncross. 2016. Can WASH help eliminate stunting? Current evidence and policy implications.
Matern Child Nutr 12 Suppl 1:91-105
14
JH Rah, AA Cronin, et al. 2015. Household sanitation and personal hygiene practices are associated with child stunting in
rural India: a cross-sectional analysis of surveys.BMJ Open 5(2): e005180
global stunting problem and that improved WASH is associated with decreased stunting and
has the same average effect as the very best infant feeding intervention.
Background Paper: The Impact of Poor Sanitation on Nutrition (Share and UNICEF, 2015) is
a short document summarizing the evidence of the link between poor sanitation on
nutritional outcomes. It also describes the benefit of increased integration of WASH with
nutritional programs.

Improving Nutrition Outcomes with Better WASH: Practical Solutions for Policies and
Programmes (WHO, UNICEF, and USAID, 2015) summarizes the benefits of WASH on
improving nutrition outcomes, provides practical guidance for integrated programmes, and
summarizes WASH indicators relevant to nutrition. Case-studies of ongoing WASH-
nutrition programmes are provided.

Background Paper: The Impact of Poor Sanitation on Nutrition (Share and UNICEF, 2015) is
a short document summarizing the evidence of the strong relationship between poor
sanitation on nutritional outcomes.

2. Drinking Water Access, Service Delivery, and Governance

Expanding access to safe drinking water at the household and community level can improve
health and nutritional outcomes, as well as provide tangential benefits (e.g. reductions in
women’s workload and increased time for children’s schooling). This sub-sector focuses on
resources for designing water supply interventions that are both impactful and sustainable,
and meet the indicator definition for basic drinking water access. Technology solutions often
focus on provision of safe drinking water only for human consumption and domestic
activities, but it should be noted that FFP development funds may also be used towards
multi-use water supply (MUS) systems that also meet the needs for productive activities,
such as agriculture, livestock watering, or other livelihood activities.

To reflect the broader importance of fecal-oral disease transmission on nutrition and health,
hygiene promotion must accompany all water supply investments. And finally, as increasing
water access typically requires infrastructure provision, partners will apply regional or
national standards and codes, wherever possible, for engineering design and construction.
Where these are not available, international norms and standards will be adhered to. Of
particular challenge to FFP partners and beneficiaries is sustaining service delivery of drinking
water supplies, particularly post-project. Below are resources and case studies highlighting
common failures and best practice around sustainability of rural water supply.
Information Resources - Hardware and Construction
USAID Implementation of Construction Activities: A Mandatory Reference for ADS 303
Partners planning construction activities under assistance mechanisms, including WASH
hardware, should reference ADS 303. Of note for FFP development partners, cooperative
agreements may be used to finance construction when the following conditions are met: (1)
the estimated cost of construction activities at a single project site is less than USD
$500,000; or (2) the total aggregate estimated cost of construction activities under the
award is less than USD $10,000,000; (3) construction is only a portion of award activities;
(4) construction activities are explicitly stated in the budget; (5) no construction activities
other than those explicitly approved are performed; and (5) the AOR has the right to halt
construction, as a term of substantial involvement.

Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) provides evidence-based documentation, supporting

research, and policies and practices for viable technologies and approaches that improve
rural water supply, including resources on hand pumps (Hand pumps: where now?; RWSN &
SKAT, 2014) and hand drilling techniques (Hand Drilling Directory: Cost Effective Boreholes;
UNICEF & Danert, 2009).

The Global Water Initiative of West Africa’s resource library includes a technical series,
available in English and French, on ensuring hardware quality and key factors plaguing
infrastructure quality and sustainability, including: Construction/Infrastructure Quality
Assurance, QA (Assuring Quality: an approach to building long-lasting infrastructure in
West Africa); appropriate technology selection (Making the right choice: comparing your
rural water technology options); and infrastructure monitoring checklists (Monitoring
checklists: Water points and latrines).

Water Supply Well Guidelines for use in Developing Countries (2014) reviews the
minimum, technical requirements for basic protection of groundwater resources and
groundwater extraction via shallow or deep wells. Specific guidance is detailed for well siting;
well construction, including drilling methods, lining/sealing, and disinfection; pumping
equipment; and operations and maintenance.

Hydrogeologists without Borders UK is an international organization of hydrogeologists and

groundwater experts that provides assistance to humanitarian organizations. Services include
water resource assessments, groundwater monitoring, groundwater quality assessment,
borehole or well construction, contract management support, facilitation and engagement
with local hydro-geologists and contractors, and construction oversight and QA/QC.
Multiple-Use Water Services: Toward a Nutrition-Sensitive Approach (FTF) is a review of
MUS in nutrition programs, including promising practices and nutritional impacts. A failures
analysis of program elements is also covered.

A Guide to Multiple-Use Water Systems (Rockefeller Foundation and Winrock International)

serves as a step-by-step approach for practitioners planning MUS investments, as well as a
guide on how to evaluate project impact.

Information Resources - Water Supply Service Delivery and Governance

Monitoring and addressing governance factors affecting rural water supply sustainability
(Global Water Initiative, 2014) reports on a three-country study (Ethiopia, Tanzania, and
Uganda) to identify the following governance factors most significantly associated with
water scheme sustainability: (1) financial management (2) the performance of the
community based management (CBM) structure linked to the water scheme. A number of
recommendations follow from these findings, and are of relevance to FFP partners (e.g.
encourage CBMs to link to VSLAs; revise and deliver financial management trainings to CBMs
on tariff setting).

Do operation and maintenance pay? (2006) reviews the principles of life cycle costing for
rural water supply using the common example of a handpump-fitted borehole. Different
operation and maintenance (O&M) models are reviewed for sustainability and costing, as
well as a review of average costs and design lifes.

User financing of rural handpump water services (RC Carter, 2010) reviews the key
elements for sustainability of rural water supplies, including money for recurring expenses,
consumer acceptance of the technology and required resources, adequate source supply,
and sound design and construction. The author also reviews average tariffs and life-cycle
costs of handpumps.

Linking technology choice with operation and maintenance in the context of community
water supply and sanitation (WHO & IRC, 2003) serves as a technical selection guide for
water supply and sanitation that takes into account project area, community capacity, and
long-term requirements. Information on technology selection (e.g. water source, intake,
pumping, treatment, and storage) including O&M requirements, and required skill level for
each is provided.

The World Bank’s Public-Private-Partnership in Infrastructure Resource Center includes a

sector review of PPPs and private service provider (PSP) contracts for ensuring management
and O&M of rural water projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. Pertinent case studies from Benin,
Mali, Niger, Uganda, Kenya and reviewed, and links to the different models (e.g. affermage,
concessions) are provided. Relevant resources within this site include:
● Public-Private Partnerships for Small Piped Water Schemes (WSP, 2010) reviews
first generation PPP models for small piped water schemes in Benin, Burkina Faso,
Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, and Senegal.
● Global review: Private Operator Models for Community Water Supply (WSP, 2010)
● Délégation de gestion du service d’eau en milieu rural et semi urbain (WSP, 2010)

3. Sanitation: Behavior Change and Facilitating Access

Background
Strong correlation between stunting and poor sanitation practices (e.g. open defecation,
unimproved pit latrines) has been well documented.15,16 More recently, studies have also
demonstrated stunting reductions as a result of total sanitation coverage. The results of a
randomized control trial (RCT), which evaluated the results of a two-year CLTS intervention
(including adoption and use of private latrines, as well as health impacts in children under 5
years of age) concluded that children younger than 5 years of age were taller (+0.18 height-
for-age Z-score, HAZ, CI: 0.03-0.32) and were less likely to be stunted (35% vs 41%) in
intervention villages (i.e. those with the CLTS program) than those in control villages.17

Reflecting current evidence on impact and sustainability, the sanitation sub-sector focuses
on facilitative approaches to changing sanitation behaviors and increasing access. Core
approaches include demand-driven, total sanitation campaigns (e.g. CLTS, PHAST) and
sanitation marketing, which aim to stop open defecation and move households and
communities up the sanitation service ladder. This section provides references on the
benefits of such interventions, as well resources for design and implementation of facilitative
sanitation activities.

Information Resources
USAID Water and Development Strategy: Sanitation Implementation Brief (USAID, 2016)
serves as a sanitation-specific guide to accompany the USAID Water Strategy. The brief
reviews pertinent background on sanitation challenges and benefits, as well as best practices

15
USAID and ICF International, 2014,
16
WSP, 2014, Improved Sanitation Can Make Children Taller and Smarter in Rural Tanzania; available:
https://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/WSP-Tanzania-Stunting-Research-Brief.pdf
17
AJ Pickering, H Djebbari et al. 2015. Effect of a community-led sanitation intervention on child diarrhoea and child growth
in rural Mali: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. The Lancet 3:e701-711
for sanitation programming including the three essential components of implementing
sanitation programming—the enabling environment, sanitation software, and sanitation
hardware. A review of USAID funding levels for sanitation, ongoing USAID programs, and
pertinent indicators is also provided.

CLTS Knowledge Hub (Institute for Development Studies,University of Sussex) includes

numerous resources to help understand the CLTS approach as well as practical guidance on
methods, including:
● Handbook on CLTS(Kar & Chambers, 2008) serves as the seminal resource for the
CLTS approach, and walks partners through the six principal steps of CLTS. The
handbook is particularly useful if designing or evaluating a CLTS program. Available in
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Khmer.
● Facilitating 'Hands-on' Training Workshops for CLTS: A Trainer's Training Guide (Kar,
2010) serves as a guide on how to organize and conduct trainings of CLTS facilitators,
which is useful to trainers, field managers, and activity designers.

Sanitation Marketing Toolkit (World Bank’s Water & Sanitation Program, 2017) serves as an
interactive dashboard for practitioners and program managers of sanitation marketing
campaigns. The website and accompany resources provide ‘how-to’ guides for formative
research; sanitation products’ pricing, placement, and promotion; communication
campaigns; and implementation strategies.

A Practical Guide for Building a Simple Pit Latrine—How to build your latrine and use it
hygienically, for the dignity, health, and well-being of your family (GWI West Africa) is
designed to assist individual households and families who have already decided to build their
own latrine. It serves as a step-by-step pictorial guide to latrine siting, materials and
construction, use, maintenance, and pit emptying.

Considerations for Building and Modifying Latrines for Access (WASHPlus) is a technical
guide on latrine construction that also provides pictorial options for how to modify latrines
for greater accessibility for the elderly, people with disabilities, illness, or limited mobility. The
guide also provides a checklist of minimum standards for school sanitation or hygiene
facilities.

The Water, Engineering, and Development Center (WEDC) Knowledge Database provides
technical WASH guidance on a range of topics, including:
● Latrine Pit Design
● Latrine Slab Engineering
● Selecting WASH Indicators
 ● Managing hygiene promotion in WASH programs
● Introduction to Water Safety Plans
● Preventing Transmission of Fecal-Oral Disease.

The Center for Affordable Water & Sanitation Technology (CAWST) provides technical
WASH services to implementers, and their website includes resources on a variety of WASH
topics including fact sheets for a latrines and sanitation infrastructure options, including:
● Simple pit latrines
● Arboloo latrines
● Aqua-Privy latrines
● Biogas latrines
● Composting latrines
as well as a Manual on Low-Cost Sanitation.

4. Hygiene Promotion and Behavior Change

The Hygiene Promotion sub-sector focuses on interventions to increase the prevalence of
key hygiene behaviors, including (1) handwashing with soap at critical times; (2) safe disposal
and management of excreta; and (3) safe storage and treatment of drinking water. These key
hygiene practices have demonstrated effect on health and nutritional outcomes, and are
broadly proven to reduce diarrheal rates by 30-40 percent.18,19
Notably, the pathways for fecal-oral disease transmission are not limited to these three
hygiene practices, and can stem from broader environmental and/or food hygiene behaviors.
While impact on nutritional status is unproven as yet, additional hygiene pathways with
potential for health and nutritional impact include: children’s interaction and ingestion of
animal’s fecal material, especially in the case of free-range livestock and contaminated soils;
food hygiene practices; and vector transmission of fecal material and pathogens.
Core approaches for hygiene promotion include multifaceted behavior change strategies, e.g.
trainings, communication, community mobilization, and access to hygiene products and
services (hand washing stations, water treatment products, latrines, MHM products). This
section provides references on the benefits of hygiene improvements, as well as resources
for the design and implementation of interventions.

18
Curtis and Cairncross. (2003). Effect of washing hands with soap on diarrhea risk in the community: a systematic review.
The Lancet 3: 275 - 281.
19
Fewtrell et al. (2005). WASH interventions to reduce diarrhea in less developed countries: a systematic review and
meta-analysis. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 5(1):42-52.
Overview
A systematic review of the literature on handwashing prevalence worldwide found that only
19% of the world’s population washes hands with soap after contact with excreta. In fact, for
Low and Middle Income Countries the prevalence ranged from 13-17%. Handwashing
interventions were also reviewed and found that interventions that include handwashing
messages as well as promotion of handwashing with soap decrease the risk of diarrhea by
40% (95 CI: 32-47%) while interventions that discuss general hygiene with no discussion of
soap decrease the risk of diarrhea by 24% (95% CI: 14-33%).20 Another study reported a
meta-analysis of the health impacts, measured as diarrhea mortality, of three WASH
interventions—(1) handwashing with soap; (2) water quality improvements; and (3) excreta
disposal. The study found consistent and striking reductions in diarrheal risk with the
intervention handwashing with soap and estimated a risk reduction of 48% when this
intervention was applied. The study also found 17% and 36% reductions in diarrheal risk
associated with water quality improvements and excreta disposal, respectively, though the
number of studies and study rigor was limiting21.

Information Resources
WASHPlus Project Resources on Hygiene Behavior Change (FHI360, 2010-2016)

Small Doable Actions: A Feasible Approach to Behavior Change (WASHplus, 2015)

MHM Toolkit (SPLASH, 2015)

The Science of Habit: Creating disruptive and sticky behavior change in handwashing (Neal,
Vujcic, et al, 2015)

WASHplus Behavior Change Strategy: Hygiene Promotion Guidelines for Bangladesh

(WASHplus, 2015)

Managing Hygiene Promotion in WASH Programmes (WEDC Guide 13)

Towards better programming—a manual on hygiene promotion (UNICEF) presents

methodologies to promote behavioral change for safer hygiene practices and to help

20
MC Freeman, ME Stocks et al. 2014.Hygiene and health: systematic review of handwashing practices worldwide and
update of health effects.Trop Med Int Health 19(8):906-916.
21
S Cairncross, C Hunt et al. 2010. WASH for the prevention of diarrhea. Int J Epidemiology, 39:1193-1205
maximize effectiveness of hygiene promotion programs. The objective of the manual is to
provide a tool that will contribute towards a reduction in diarrheal diseases.

MHM (WSSC Topic Resources) provides resources for practitioners, including MHM training
materials, videos, in-depth training resources, advice sheets, and lessons learned.

Menstrual Hygiene Matters (WaterAid) reviews the existing need for MHM as an integrated
component of any WASH program. It reviews cultural and practical challenges associated
with MHM and the benefits of integrated MHM programming on education, health, social
inclusion, and psychological well-being. WaterAid also developed modules and toolkits
intended for practitioners that cover a range of MHM topics.

The Five Keys to Safer Food (WHO, 2012) is a global program promoting safe food handling
behaviors and educating food handlers, including consumers. The accompanying manual
describes actions families should take in the kitchen to maintain food safety.

The Handbook on Scaling up Solid and Liquid Waste Management in Rural Areas (WSP)
was designed for program managers and implementers, and focuses on the planning,
institutional, community mobilization, and financial dimensions of implementing a waste
management program in rural areas.

Water Quality - Centralized and Household Water Treatment

By WHO/JMP definition, ‘basic’ or ‘safely managed’ drinking water is protected from outside
contamination, in particular from contamination with fecal matter. Drinking water quality is
regulated by USAID Environmental Compliance Procedures (22 CFR 216), and any drinking
water infrastructure investment must be accompanied by a water quality assurance plan
(WQAP), including assurances for water source protection, monitoring of water quality data,
and governance of water service delivery. For partners not working on drinking water access
in communities, household water treatment (HWT, or POU) can serve as an interim solution
to reduce the disease burden owed to poor water quality, but correct practice of HWT does
not count towards MDG/SDG water targets or indicator definitions for ‘basic’ or ‘safely
managed’ drinking water access.

Among all HWT technologies, reductions in diarrheal disease owed to HWT intervention
studies are often in the range of 15-50% (Clasen et al., 2007). A review of the efficacy of
POU technologies—boiling, chlorination, flocculation, filtration, or solar disinfection— found
that diarrhea was reduced by a quarter by disinfection products, by a half for filtration
systems, and by a third for solar water disinfection.22 HWT is not however, universally
effectively against all classes of waterborne pathogens (e.g. free chlorination is ineffective
against Cryptosporidium), and requires substantial education and behavior change to ensure
correct and consistent use.23 HWT should serve as a temporary disease prevention measure
until more efficacious household or community water treatment technologies can be put in
place, along with a sustainable business model.

Information Resources
CAWST’s Household Water Treatment provides an overview of household water treatment,
and provides detailed fact sheets on 20+ technologies and methodologies for POU
treatment. The fact sheets report on the relative effectiveness for removal of bacteria,
viruses, protozoa, helminths, and turbidity, as well as provide cost estimates and operating
criteria. Specific fact sheets are provided for Biosand Filters, Ceramic Candles, Straining,
Membrane Filters, Chemical Coagulants / Natural Coagulants.

Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality (WHO, 4th ed., 2011) were developed by the WHO as
international norms for water quality and human health on the basis of risk assessment
methodologies. Pertinent sections for FFP partners and activity managers include:
● (p. 138) A review of the efficacy of centralized water treatment technologies;
● (p. 145) A review of the efficacy of household water treatment technologies;
● (p. 149) Guidelines for verification of microbial quality

Technologies applied for drinking water treatment in rural communities (WSP, 2004)
documents appropriate technologies and methodologies (e.g. drip chlorination, tablet
chlorinators, SODIS, and silver-impregnated filters) for drinking water disinfection in rural
Honduras. Advantages, disadvantages, and key sustainability factors for each technology are
covered.

IV. Program Quality

A. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan

Overview

22
TF Clasen, KY Alexander et al. 2015.Interventions to improve water quality for preventing diarrhoea.Cochrane Database
Syst Rev 10
23
Pickering, Crider, et al. 2015. Differences in field effectiveness and adoption between a novel automated chlorination
system and household manual chlorination of drinking water in Dhaka, Bangladesh: A RCT. PLoS ONE 10(3): e0118397.
An M&E plan is a roadmap for project M&E activities. Its primary purpose is to document the
project’s M&E processes to a level of detail that is sufficient to enable all staff, especially new
staff, to exactly duplicate the processes followed by other staff so that everyone produces
equivalent, high quality data without training or additional information. The M&E Plan also
demonstrates to FFP that the Awardee has developed a rigorous system for monitoring and
evaluating project performance that produces accurate, meaningful, and useful data for
decision making.
The M&E Plan required by FFP includes:
● TOC: A set of diagrams with a complementary narrative
● LogFrame
● IPTT
● Performance Indicator Reference Sheet (PIRS) for each indicator in the IPTT
● Annual Monitoring Strategy describing procedures for:
o Data collection
o Data processing and flow from the point of collection to report
o Data quality assurance
o Data management and safeguarding
● M&E Staffing and Capacity Building Strategy
● Evaluation Plan:
o Baseline study
o Midterm evaluation
o Final evaluation

Information Resources
For FFP policy and a detailed guidance on the content of the M&E plan, please refer to the
draft FFP M&E and Reporting Policy and Guidance.

B. Learning, Knowledge Sharing, and Capacity Strengthening

Overview
Strong knowledge systems are essential in the complex and often fragile environments in
which FFP development food security activities are implemented. Clear understanding of
changing local contexts; the shifting roles, perspectives and attitudes of stakeholders; and
their complex interactions can dictate project adjustments and adaptations that will increase
the effectiveness and appropriateness of the work. Active learning processes can enable
shared understanding of local vulnerabilities, assets and coping strategies, as well as barriers
and enablers to implementation and sustained change. Efforts to strengthen both
institutional and community capacities can benefit from continuous learning and reflection
processes that allow for periodic adjustments as necessary. Finally, focused and strategic
sharing of knowledge can enable stronger development responses, avoid preventable
mistakes and duplication, and point to opportunities for iterative and coordinated responses
to emerging challenges.
A strong project learning strategy should be focused, relevant to identified needs and
opportunities, and integrated with implementation and management processes. The
strategy should address the key focus areas indicated below, and include associated budget
costs for the entire activity cycle.

Information Resources:
Local Systems: A Framework for Supporting Sustained Development (USAID) looks at ten
principles for engaging local systems, specifically highlighting the importance of tapping into
local knowledge, embracing facilitative approaches that catalyze change, and embedding
flexibility and responsiveness into how we do our work.

1. Collaborating, Learning and Adapting

● Identify and fill knowledge gaps through research, knowledge sharing, and outside
technical assistance and training;
● Enable strong understanding of the local context and external changes that could
affect implementation over time, as well as the needs and capacities of participants,
communities, and local partners;
● Ensure responsive, adaptive management and improved project implementation
through application of formal learning from performance monitoring, assessments,
and evaluation results, as well as informal learning from dialogue, consultation, and
reflection processes;
● Build sustained knowledge capture through networking and collaboration and
sharing across activities, partners, sectors, and country contexts, and with key
stakeholders from the USAID Mission, host country government, and other donor-
funded activities.

Information Resources
A Guide to Developing a Knowledge Management Strategy for a Food Security and
Nutrition Program (TOPS) was designed to provide practice guidance in creating a
Knowledge Management strategy for development programs in the food security and
nutrition sector.

Designing Participatory Meeting and Brownbags: A TOPS quick guide to linking

development practitioners (TOPS) provides suggestions for learning and knowledge sharing
sessions that encourage peer-to-peer exchange and are conducive to adoption and action.

Supporting Communities of Practice: A TOPS Quick Guide to Linking Development

Practitioners focuses on identifying appropriate formats and approaches for presentations
and facilitated meetings that will promote peer-to-peer learning and effective collaboration.

The Participatory Methods website (Institute of Development Studies) features tips, tools,
and academic papers focused on participatory and facilitative approaches to program-level
research, analysis, planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning.

Tools for Knowledge Sharing and Learning: A guide for development and humanitarian
organizations (Overseas Development Institute) provides detailed guidance on learning-
centered approaches to strategy development, management, collaboration mechanisms,
knowledge sharing, and capturing and storing knowledge.

The Art of Knowledge Exchange (World Bank) walks readers through five steps to
knowledge exchanges that are relevant to development goals, and responsive to institutional
capacity and knowledge gaps.

Multi-Stakeholder Management: Tools for Stakeholder Analysis: 10 building blocks for

designing participatory systems of cooperation (GIZ) looks at stakeholder engagement and
provides a process for analyzing who needs to be involved in the design of a change process,
as well as anticipating who will be affected by the change and how.

Guide to Constructing Effective Partnerships (Enhancing Learning and Research for

Humanitarian Assistance) looks at the challenges involved in research partnerships between
academic institutions and humanitarian organizations and factors for success in
collaboration.

The Partnership Toolbox (WWF/UK) walks readers through a structured approach to

partnership enabling the identification of the type of partnership needed through to
development of the partnership over time. This includes evaluating and learning together in
order for the partnership to deliver shared objectives.

C. Capacity Strengthening

Build and refine capacity strengthening efforts aimed at both community capacities and local
partners.

Information Resources:
Country Systems Strengthening: Beyond Human and Organization Capacity Development:
Background paper for the USAID Experience Summit on Strengthening Country Systems
(USAID) explores the role of human and institutional capacity strengthening in the context
of country systems strengthening, and argues that all capacity strengthening efforts should
be systems focused.

Human and Institutional Capacity Development Handbook: A USAID Model for

Sustainable Performance Improvement (USAID) sees local institutions as adaptive systems
challenged to respond to the changing environments in which they operate, and presents
structured and integrated processes to identify and address root causes of performance
gaps.

Going the Distance: Step by Step Strategies to Foster NGO Sustainability (FHI 360) is a
training guide for building a strong foundation for organizational sustainability, including
strengthening partner organizations’ ability to seek information, form networks and
partnerships, communicate directly, and align strengths with community needs and available
funding.

The Organization Capacity Assessment Tool (JSI) was developed to assist partner
organizations identify their status on seven management elements: governance,
administration, human resource management, financial management, organizational
management, program management and project performance management.
Building Trust in Diverse Teams (Emergency Capacity Building Project) is a toolkit providing
exercises for any team member, manager, or external facilitator to use to develop greater
levels of trust as new teams or partnerships are formed or later in a team or partnership’s
existence.

D. Social Accountability and Governance

Overview:
Equitable access to quality, responsive services is a key consideration in meeting the needs
of the most vulnerable; deliberate work on inclusion is important. Social accountability
approaches and tools can help ensure that service delivery–whether through host country
governments, the private sector, civil society or implementing organizations themselves—is
demand-driven, effective, and meets the needs of the community, including its more
marginalized members.

Social accountability approaches and tools foster three key principles:

Transparency: This ensures the availability of information so that community

members can understand how and why decisions about service provision were made,
how to access services, and how to provide feedback on the quality.

Accountability: This ensures that service providers are incentivized to provide and also
held responsible for the availability, quality and responsiveness of services, along with
equity of access.

Participation: This ensures that community members, including the most

marginalized, have the opportunity to participate in decision-making and feedback on
community needs, desired services, and any issues regarding quality or access.

Through improved linkages, interactions and partnership among community members and
with service providers, social accountability approaches have the potential to increase the
effectiveness of interventions, improve targeting of program participants, increase social
capital in communities, and, ultimately, improve sustainability of efforts over the long-term.

Information Resources:
The Social Accountability e-Guide (World Bank) offers a step-by-step approach to
integrating social accountability into projects. The site includes a comprehensive library of
tools and approaches organized by the three social accountability principles: transparency,
accountability and participation.

Fostering Social Accountability: From principles to practice (UNDP) provides an overview

of social accountability principles and offers guidance on how to incorporate its practice into
programming.

Mapping Context for Social Accountability (World Bank) defines six contextual factors (Civil
Society, Political Society, Inter-Elite Relations, State-Society Relations, Intra-Society
Relations, and Global Dimensions) influencing social accountability and walks users through
two tools to better understand and practically address the barriers and enablers to successful
social accountability interventions.

The Good Enough Guide to Impact Measurement and Accountability in Emergencies

(Emergency Capacity Building Project). Though written for emergency program contexts, the
guide provides useful tips and tools for ensuring that project activities are accountable to and
involve the populations they serve.

E. Conflict Sensitivity in Development Contexts

Overview
Fragility and conflict have destructive impacts on food security, directly threatening lives and
livelihoods while reducing resilience and leaving populations more exposed and vulnerable
to multiple shocks and stressors. Meanwhile, the benefits that development resources can
bring to some communities or groups have the potential to exacerbate conflict or tensions in
the fragile environments in which FFP customarily works.
FFP is committed to adopting conflict sensitive approaches in its development programs to
reduce the potential for negative unintended consequences while also working to strengthen
positive factors in society, reduce divisions, and seek to enhance the positive impact of
operations on the overall situation.
This requires FFP and its implementing partners to work with renewed focus, to take into
account, at all times and whenever possible, the following factors:
1. The conflict dynamics in the context in which it operates, particularly with respect to
inter-group relations and grievances;
 2. The interactions between project interventions and the conflict dynamics in the
context;
3. Adjustments to project design and implementation to minimize negative and
maximize positive impacts on the conflict dynamics.

Information Resources
The two below resources include Conflict Sensitivity Guidance Developed for FFP by
USAID’s Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation.
Conflict Sensitivity and Food Security Programming (Office of Conflict Management and
Mitigation (CMM), USAID), outlines key considerations programs should take into account in
fragile, active conflict and post-conflict environments, to better plan for how to ensure that
food assistance activities do not exacerbate underlying grievances, but instead support
existing resilience capacities.
Conflict Diagnostic Considerations for Food for Peace (CMM, USAID) Given the importance
of understanding the conflict context for a conflict sensitive approach, this document
outlines for FFP the key areas where conflict sensitivity is particularly challenging and
provides recommended diagnostic questions that can assist FFP and its implementers to
avoid or mitigate these challenges throughout the program cycle.
Information Resources - Conflict Assessment
Conflict Assessment Framework, Version 2.0 (CMM, USAID) describes the revised conflict
assessment framework (CAF 2.0) developed by CMM. Its purpose is to provide guidance to
USAID staff and development partners who will be undertaking and utilizing conflict
assessments in the course of their work.
CMM Conflict Toolkits (CMM, USAID) provide USAID missions with access to concrete,
practical program options, lessons learned, and options for partners, mechanisms and M&E
tools for implementing more effective conflict programs.
● Climate Change and Conflict
● Forests and Conflict
● Land and Conflict
● Livelihoods and Conflict
● Minerals and Conflict
● Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding
● Supporting Peace Processes
 ● Water and Conflict
● Women and Conflict
● Youth and Conflict

Introduction to Conflict Sensitivity

How to Guide to Conflict Sensitivity (Conflict Sensitivity Consortium) draws upon

experiences in the Department For International Development (DFID)-supported Conflict
Sensitivity Consortium to illustrate real-world examples of applying conflict sensitivity. It
aims to provide practical advice suitable for anyone aiming to improve conflict sensitivity,
whether in the field of development, humanitarian aid, or peacebuilding work.

Conflict Sensitivity and Assistance

Conflict-Sensitive Approaches to Development, Humanitarian Assistance, and

Peacebuilding Resource Pack (Africa Peace Forum, Center for Conflict Resolution,
Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, Forum on Early Warning and Early Response,
International Alert, Saferworld) documents good practice, available frameworks, and lessons
learned. At its heart is the concept of conflict sensitivity—the notion of systematically taking
into account both the positive and negative impact of interventions on the contexts in which
they are undertaken, and, conversely, the impact of these contexts on the interventions.

Options for Aid in Conflict: Lessons from Field Experience (CDA) is a lessons-learned
manual. It is meant to help the field staff of international aid agencies to understand their
working contexts better and to develop programming approaches that support peace rather
than war.

Peace Exchange is a USAID-supported global community of practitioners, donors, and

academics who aim to improve conflict sensitive development programming by collecting
and building knowledge on a diverse set of materials, experiences, and reflections.

Conflict and Food Security Programming

Harvesting Peace (Woodrow Wilson Center, USAID) explores the linkages between conflict
and food security in order to help inform more effective programming. This resource
explains how conflict can reduce the amount of food available, disrupt people’s access to
food, limit families’ access to food preparation facilities and healthcare, and increase
insecurity about satisfying future needs for food and nutrition.
Food Security and Livelihoods Programming in Conflict: A Review (Humanitarian Practice
Network) draws on lessons of humanitarian response in conflict contexts, strategies that
combine approaches to protecting and promoting livelihoods, while also maintaining the
ability to meet basic needs. The lessons from these strategies can also be applied in
development contexts. This document emphasizes having the flexibility to adapt responses
when the nature of conflict changes.

Monitoring and Evaluating Conflict Sensitivity

Monitoring and Evaluating Conflict Sensitivity (Conflict, Crime, and Violence Reduction
Initiative at DFID) gives practical guidance on how to monitor and evaluate the unintended
consequences of a large development program. It includes a discussion of the
methodological questions that arise when embarking on a process to monitor and evaluate
conflict sensitivity, as well as a range of practical and field-tested tools for use with a variety
of different sized interventions (e.g., country operational plans, sector plans).
 E. Sustainability
Overview
FFP seeks to maximize long-term impact through establishing effective sustainability and
exit strategies. These strategies build capacity of host country entities, whether private or
public, to achieve long-term success and stability and to serve their clients without
interruption and without reducing the quality of services after external assistance ends. FFP
holds that sustained resources, capacity (both technical and managerial), motivation, and
linkages among program entities are crucial to long-term sustainability. Furthermore, FFP
seeks to implement effective models, build local capacity, and create an enabling
environment that is adapted to the specific contexts of the countries where FFP works. FFP
seeks to create, wherever possible, self-financing and self-transferring models that will
continue to spread under their own momentum both during and after the project. FFP
expects that these models will be adopted and adapted by a significant proportion of the
population helping to improve both sustainability and impact of the interventions.

Several years ago, FFP asked FANTA to carry out an assessment of Exit Strategies and
Sustainability in Four FFP Programs that were in the process of closing out or had recently
closed out: India, Kenya, Bolivia and Honduras. A synthesis report was published in 2015:
Sustaining Development: A Synthesis of Results from a Four-Country Study of
Sustainability and Exit Strategies among Development Food Assistance Projects with
Recommendations (linked below) was published in 2015 authored by Beatrice Lorge Rogers.
Jennifer Coates. Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy,
The synthesis report provides a summary of findings and lessons learned across the four
countries studied, as well as recommendations for FFP and organizations that implement
FFP projects. In addition, country-specific reports are available for Kenya, Bolivia, Honduras,
and India.

● Synthesis Report - Full report

● Synthesis Report - Executive Summary
● Kenya Country Study - Full Report
● Kenya Country Study - Executive Summary
● Bolivia Country Study - Full Report
● Bolivia Country Study - Executive Summary
● Honduras Country Study - Full Report
● Honduras Country Study - Executive Summary
● India Country Study - Full Report
● India Country Study - Executive Summary
 1. Sustained Resources

● Self-Financing Mechanisms
● Transferring Functions to Local/National Governments
● Fee for Service Models
● Exit Strategies

Information Resources
What We Know About Exit Strategies: Practical Guidance for Developing Exit Strategies in
the Field (C-SAFE) provides step-by-step guidance on how to develop, implement, and
monitor sound exit strategies for FFP developmental relief projects and to improve
understanding to enable development of appropriate and flexible exit strategies.

Formal and Informal Fees for Maternal Health Care Services in Five Countries (Policy
Project) examines fee for service models for maternal health care services in five countries. It
looks at actual costs to consumers for antenatal and delivery care; current fee and waiver
mechanisms; the degree to which these mechanisms function; the degree to which informal
costs to consumers constitute a barrier to service; and reviews current policies and practices
regarding the setting of fees and the collection, retention, and use of revenue.

Taking the Long View: A Practical Guide to Sustainability Planning and Measurement in
Community-Oriented Health Programming (ICF Macro) is a manual designed to assist
project managers, planners, and evaluators in their efforts to improve their approaches to
planning for and assessing sustainability in health projects implemented in developing
countries. It is intended as a practical guide for health project managers, especially those
implementing community health projects in resource-constrained settings. It focuses on a
specific framework, the Sustainability Framework (SF), developed through the USAID Child
Survival and Health Grants Program (CSHGP).

2. Capacity

● Training of Associations/Savings Groups, etc.

● Business Training
● Household and Community Resilience
● Strengthening of Microfinance Institutions
● Strengthening Local/National Government Institutions
Information Resources
Understanding Peri-urban Sustainability: The role of the resilience approach (STEPS
Centre) focuses on how resilience approaches can be used as a practical tool in helping to
understand complex dynamic socio-ecological systems and, in particular, how resilience
approaches can enhance environmental integrity and social justice.

From Extreme Poverty to Sustainable Livelihoods: A Technical Guide to the Graduation

Approach (CGAP) provides a “how-to” roadmap for practitioners wishing to implement
programs based on the Graduation Approach: an integrated, five-step methodology aimed at
transitioning extremely poor populations into sustainable livelihoods.

A multifaceted program causes lasting progress for the very poor: Evidence from six
countries (Science) investigates whether a multifaceted Graduation program can help the
extreme poor establish sustainable self-employment activities and generate lasting
improvements in their well-being. This remarkable study concludes that a multifaceted
graduation approach to increasing income and well-being for the ultra-poor is sustainable
and cost-effective.

Sustaining linkages to high value markets through collective action in Uganda (Food Policy
Journal) outlines how collective action combined with strong leadership and an iterative
market-led learning process enabled a smallholder farmers’ association to meet the
considerable challenges of achieving the stringent quality parameters of a modern food
outlet in Uganda.

3. Motivation

● Economic Incentives
● Environment of Investment, Not Entitlement
● Facilitating Private Sector Involvement

Information Resources
Guidelines for Successful and Sustainable Involvement of ISMEs in Southern Africa
Agribusinesses (USAID Consultant Report) identifies documents and reports that can
provide insight or specific examples of successful approaches for stimulating and supporting
indigenous small and medium enterprise development in agribusiness, emphasizing financial
and technical services.

Building an Enabling Environment for Agricultural Technology Commercialization: Bridging

the Gap between Innovation and Uptake (Enabling Agricultural Trade) explores the enabling
environment for the distribution and utilization of agricultural technologies supported by the
public sector in developing countries. It presents guidelines for improving private-sector-led
commercialization activities based on existing literature, general consensus, and best
practices from around the world.

Field Review of USAID’s Approaches to WASH in Madagascar: Success Factors and

Lessons Learned (WASHplus) reviews USAID’s WASH interventions in Madagascar. It
focuses on subsidy free infrastructure development and maintenance.

4. Linkages

● Private Sector Used for Service and/or Input Delivery

● Long Term Partnerships Formed with other Development Actors
● Facilitating Market Linkages

Information Resources
Partners in Technology Generation and Transfer: Linkages between Research and Farmers'
Organizations in Three Selected African Countries (ISNAR) examines experiences in Burkina
Faso, Ghana and Kenya of linking local research institutions to farmers’ groups. The study
found that the farmers’ organizations have poor or no linkages to research institutions and
concludes that better linkages are needed and can be accomplished by: (1) balancing the
decision-making power between research and farmers’ organizations with regard to setting
and implementing the research agenda; (2) establishing more effective linkage mechanisms,
some of them being initiated by farmers’ organizations; and (3) jointly defining sound linkage
policies and strategies.
Facilitating Systemic Change in Value Chains: Lessons Learned for Strengthening Country
Systems (KDMD) reviews USAID experience with inclusive value chain development and
discusses lessons learned about facilitating systemic change in markets. The review highlights
the importance of the facilitation approach and concludes that the facilitation approach is
preferred to direct delivery of program services, because it leads to more sustainable
solutions that will continue after the project is over.
 Food Security Information for Action

Food Security Information Systems and Networks

Lesson 3
Improving Food Security Information
Systems

Learner Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and implemented

by the Food and Agriculture Organization.

© FAO, 2007
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

Table of contents
Learning objectives ............................................................................................2

Introduction.......................................................................................................2

Planning the assessment.....................................................................................2

Assessing the demand ........................................................................................5

Assessing the supply ..........................................................................................8

Comparing information demand with supply .......................................................10

Assessing the institutional environment ..............................................................12

Developing a strategy .......................................................................................14

Examples of FSIS assessments and recommendations .........................................18

Summary.........................................................................................................20

If you want to know more.................................................................................20

Learner Notes 1
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Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• identify the steps needed to assess different information systems concerned with food
security analysis, in terms of their relevance and performance; and
• understand how to take advantage of identified strengths and how to address weaknesses
in the food security information systems (FSIS).

Introduction
In order to achieve important food security objectives, decision makers need access to
comprehensive, reliable and up-to-date information on the overall food security situation that is
easy to understand.

This lesson will help you to assess key aspects of the different information systems
concerned with food security analysis in any one country.

Since there is no one approach to carrying out this type of assessment, this lesson presents a
‘process’ which can be adapted to take into account the country specific context.

Planning the assessment

The assessment process needs to specifically examine the links between the provision of
information and its use in addressing various food security concerns.
Information needs are continually changing. They have evolved from a focus on food production
and supply issues, to the inclusion of factors influencing household access to food, and the
incorporation of information in the context of market liberalization policies.

An awareness of the linkages between nutrition, food security and livelihoods has further
increased the breadth and depth of information needs.

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Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

Increased concerns with people’s exposure to various risk factors, has increased the need to
understand the dynamic aspects of food security in analyzing people’s vulnerability status.
In the past, the major focus of the development of Food Security Information Systems has been
on the technical aspects of information systems. These are essential to the efficient functioning
and effectiveness of any information system or network of systems.
Technical aspects of information systems relate to:
• the selection of indicators;
• data collection techniques;
• data base development and data base management;
• analytical methods; and
• presentation, reporting and communication tools.

However, it is also recognized that closer attention must be paid to understanding the
institutional context and capacities within which information systems or networks operate in
a specific country.
In particular, there is the need to understand the relationship between information generation
and action.

In order to do this, an assessment should also provide insights into:

• the decision making processes around food security actions;
• who the key stakeholders and decision makers are;
• if and how information is used for making those decisions; and importantly
• assess to what extent the information provided is demand-driven, which is an essential
aspect for the sustainability of the FSIS.

Are in-country food security information systems efficient, effective and relevant to changing
circumstances? Do they meet information needs?

Answers to the above questions are critical for the formulation and implementation of improved
food security policies and programmes. The assessment process presented here can be used to
develop a national strategy to strengthen food security analysis and related information systems.

Learner Notes 3
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Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

Steps in the assessment process are:

1. Assessing the demand for food security information
2. Assessing the existing supply of food security information
3. Comparing demand and supply to identify limitations, overlaps and gaps
4. Assessing the institutional environment
5. Developing a strategy to strengthen the food security information systems

Different types and levels of participation will need to be employed during the assessment.
As awareness of the characteristics of information activities develops over the assessment, a
common vision for the future orientation and policy linkages of the information network will
develop, together with options for coordination mechanisms. This should lead to a consensus on
how to improve the quality of information and how information can be linked and better used to
guide the actions most relevant to different country contexts.
The assessment will also help to identify how to channel resources to meet agreed upon
information objectives and priorities.

A team could be assembled to assess the national food security information systems leading to
the definition of a strategy and operational work plan at country level.

The team composition should take account of:

• the desire to include key stakeholders to ensure ownership of the process and outputs;
• a workable team size;
• the mix of disciplines needed; and
• time and resource availability.

Let’s consider how this team would work through the various steps in the assessment process.

Learner Notes 4
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Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

Assessing the demand

1) Assessing the demand for food security information.

Food security information systems should be demand driven.

The starting point for an assessment of the effectiveness of national food security information
systems should be an analysis of the national food security situation.
By reviewing the incidence, nature and causes of food insecurity and vulnerability, the team will
understand the priorities for food security policy and programme formulation.
This will allow them to identify the related information needs.
(Note: Different food security interventions may be needed in countries where food insecurity is
primarily the consequence of recurrent shocks (such as drought) as opposed to countries where
chronic poverty is a primary cause of hunger.
Different types of food security information will be needed to support decisions on interventions.)

It is important to recognize that different stakeholders may interpret and see food insecurity
differently. For example, some may say:

“We need to bolster food availability by expanding agricultural production”; or

“We need to establish a safety net to provide for the needs of the chronically destitute”; or
“We need to ensure that the victims of floods and drought receive adequate emergency
assistance including food aid”.

The needs expressed by the stakeholders highlight different food insecurity concerns.
A consensus needs to be established that accommodates all valid perspectives.
In building up a picture of national food security issues, you should consider the following
checklist of questions, which may be adapted to the specific situation of your country:

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Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

List of actions

Review the available literature to see how analysts have already characterized the incidence
and causes of food insecurity. For example:

- World Bank Poverty and Vulnerability Analyses

- Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
- National Food Security Policies
- Food Security related Baselines

Examine key data sets from diverse sources (World Bank, VAM unit from the World Food
Programme, FEWS-NET etc.) to determine:

- Who are the food insecure and where do they live?

- What is the nature, frequency and degree of their food insecurity?
- What is the nature of their livelihood systems and what kinds of constraints are they
experiencing?
- Who are the vulnerable and where are they located?
- What is the nature and degree of the risks that they face?
- What is the nature of their coping strategies in response to these risks and how
effective are they?

Consult with the main stakeholders (Government, donors, UN agencies, civil society and
researchers) to understand the range of opinions in how food insecurity is interpreted and the
current priorities for action.

Compare data obtained from the various sources enumerated above and triangulate
information from what you have gathered.

People who are responsible for making decision related to food security interventions are the
primary users of the food security information system.
The demand for information potentially comes from a diverse group of stakeholders1. This
includes not only the decision makers themselves, but others with the ability to influence the final
outcome.

1
For more information about stakeholder analysis, please see Annex “Stakeholder Analysis”. It can help to identify and rank the main
user groups.

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Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

Potential users include:

• Policy makers & their advisers in government
• Government officials, parliamentarians and their technical staff at the national/sub-national
level
• Local government authorities
• Civil society
• The donor community
• Mass Media
• Researchers
• Training institutions
• Private sector
The team will then need to identify and prioritize the major types of information that these
user groups require. This process will help suppliers of information tailor products to match user
needs and capacities. To obtain the most accurate targeted users needs list, it may be necessary
to undertake several rounds of meetings or interviews. The assessment can be carried out
through group meetings, individual or semi-structured interviews or by a questionnaire.
If the financial means exist, organizing a producers/users workshop can be quite efficient.
It is important that all targeted users groups (down to sub-national groups) be given adequate
opportunity to articulate their needs.

The information captured during the discussion can be presented in a table:

How to use this matrix:

To fill in the matrix you would transfer the information already recorded in the first two steps of the
assessment:

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Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

1) List the main information systems already identified in the first column.
2) List the output generated by each information system in the second column.
3) List the users’ information needs from each of these systems in the third column.
4) The final step is to compare if the information is appropriate to the users’ needs.

Assessing the supply

2) Assessing the existing supply of food security information.

The second step in the assessment process is to make an inventory of data and information
explaining different food security dimensions provided by existing information systems related
and identify their respective strengths and weaknesses.
You need to assess the quality, timing and format in which food security information is made
available in the country.

Even in the poorest countries data is collected. While not all of the information systems focus on
food security as their primary objective, the data and information they collect may still be
relevant. On the other hand, the information may be fragmented, poorly integrated or
incomplete. You should make a general inventory of existing food security data and
information as each country will have different types of information systems, generating
different information products, which need to be described. To investigate the type of information
produced, the assessment could employ a combination of the following methods:
• formal questionnaires
• individual interviews
• workshops
The inventory should be considered a tool that can be updated on a regular basis.

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Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

For each of the providers of food security-related data and information identified, the following
assessment criteria should be covered:

• Strengths and weaknesses

• Purpose for which data and information is collected or analyzed
• Coverage and level of disaggregation
• Types of data collected
• Periodicity and coverage of data collection
• Data management procedures
• Information products
• Means of communication
• Main users
• Financing arrangements

A data sheet may be helpful for recording this information. A separate sheet should be completed
for each information system addressing food security concerns.
Here is an example of a datasheet for nutrition surveillance system:

Name
of system & Name of System: Nutrition Surveillance System
Name of the Name of Provider: Nutrition Unit, Ministry of Health
provider

Type & purpose Monitoring health status of children under five.

Geographical It covers the two main regions known for chronic nutritional risks.
coverage
Data collection Immunization coverage collected through monthly survey reports.
and periodicity

Statistical validity Which administrative level the data is valid to.

Data accuracy Assessment of major threats to data accuracy.

Data management Stored in an excel spread sheet

Information - Baseline information

products (outputs) - Monitoring reports & situation assessments

Learner Notes 9
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Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

- Policy and programme evaluation and feasibility studies

Information - Monthly bulletin
dissemination - Yearly statistical abstract
Reporting
procedures - All products are available on the internet at: www.nutrition.com
- The weekly bulletin is distributed by email to subscribers.
Principal users & Senior national staff in the Ministry of Health
relative uses of
the information
Collaborating UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank and MSF.
institutions
Financial Govt budget of $ X and donor support of $ Y
arrangements
Strengths High level of confidence amongst users in the accuracy of the data
Weaknesses Long delays in releasing data and reports

Comparing information demand with supply

3) Comparing demand and supply to identify limitations, overlaps and gaps

The third step in the assessment process is to compare the demand for information with
the supply.
The assessment team should analyze the information produced against the articulated users’
information needs. This analysis should answer the following key questions:

• Is data/information missing and/or overlapping?

The matrix will demonstrate whether there are information products that are missing or
whether there is duplication of efforts. It will also help to see whether there is a lack of
harmonization between the diverse food security information systems.

• What are the limitations of the information supplied to the users?

The assessment team will analyse the limitations in terms of: the quality of the information
provided to the users; how often it is produced; in what format; how it is communicated;

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Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

how much of the information produced is lost through the hierarchy (i.e. are decision
makers obtaining the real picture of the situation?)

• Is the data/information appropriate to the users’ needs?

By comparing the information produced with users’ information needs, the assessment
team will be able to identify redundant data and information that is not being demanded
or used.

The analysis can take place in a User-Producer Workshop.

During the workshop, a panel discussion can be designed to elicit from the users groups
information on food security, nutrition, vulnerability and poverty.
The users should be able to express their needs for decision-making, planning, policy and
programme formulation and monitoring to the producers who are present.

However, a lack of funds may constrain the workshop approach. In this case, it may be necessary
to conduct a ‘paper’ analysis. A matrix can bring together the results of the demand side analysis
with the supply side analysis:

How to use this matrix:

The users groups are listed in the first column with information priorities for these groups in the
middle column. The final column contains an analysis of how adequate and accessible the current
information is to the user groups.
Remember: information priorities and needs are not static as they may change during the course of
a year or a programme. Therefore, this table may need periodic updating.

Learner Notes 11
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Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

Assessing the institutional environment

4. Assessing the institutional environment.

The fourth step in the assessment process involves the team looking at institutional roles and
responsibilities. The team will need to examine collaboration and coordination mechanisms2 and
the networks that may have been established.
An analysis of the institutional environment should consider:

1. The institutional mandates

An assessment of institutional mandates and inter-institutional linkages will reveal gaps and/or
duplication in roles and activities.
• Which institutions have a mandate for food security policy development and
implementation of food security activities?
• Is there is an institution that has the mandate to serve as the focal point for food
security activities?
• Is inter-sectoral work seen to add value to the work of individual institutions?3

2. Mechanisms for Information sharing

Given the cross-sectoral nature of food security issues, information should be shared among
institutions for integrated food security analysis.
The extent to which this happens depends on:
• the information culture of the country;
• the legal framework for the national statistical system;
• the existence of institutional mechanisms for dialogue and information exchange; and
• the availability of technological and financial resources that facilitate sharing4.

2
Given that food security information systems address various food security dimensions cutting across disciplines, their activities are
by definition multi-sectoral. Institutions and individuals may have already recognized the need for some form of inter-institutional
coordination mechanism to integrate their activities and outputs with those from other sectors.
3
Please, look at the Annex “Institutional Mechanisms and Mandates” for a checklist of questions that can help you analyze institutional
mandates and inter-institutional linkages.
4
Please, look at the Annex “Information sharing among institutions and organizations” for a checklist of questions can help you
analyze the degree of information sharing and the constraints to improved cooperation.

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3. The degree of integrated analysis among institutions

Even if there is a culture of information sharing, there is still a requirement to provide an
integrated analysis. Some institutions or organizations may do this to meet their own or their
donor’s requirements, but this may not fully reflect in-country needs.
This aspect of information analysis is often weak usually due to technical limitations and poor
analytical capacity, which tend to result in inconsistent messages to decision makers5.
Example

As an example, let’s imagine that a team has identified linkages between national and sub-
national levels in the information systems. Here is what they have found:
Identification of weak links between sub-national and national information system
activities.
Information flows across levels, sectors and subject areas are poor. Data are disaggregated at the
district level along departmental lines and fed to different departments e.g., crops, veterinary,
livestock or fisheries. It is thus not possible to get a comprehensive picture from any one
information source at either the district or national level. The lack of collaboration and information
sharing even within the same ministry is a key issue to address.

5
Please, look at the Annex “Iintegrated analysis for food security information” for a checklist of questions that can help you assess
the current arrangements for joint analysis and identify opportunities for improving this collaboration.

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Developing a strategy

5) Developing a strategy to strengthen food security information systems.

The preceding steps in the assessment process should provide the basic material to develop a
strategy to strengthen national food security information systems.
One useful tool for synthesizing the evidence gathered and drawing out recommendations is to
conduct a SWOC analysis.
The purpose of a SWOC analysis is to identify the main Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
and Constraints that characterize a particular situation or entity. SWOC analysis is often used as a
management tool.

In this case we will apply a SWOC analysis to the national Food Security Information Systems.
This will enable you to organize, summarize and even prioritize the wealth of information you
have gathered through answering the questions in the assessment process.
The SWOC approach essentially looks at internal and external processes to detect the positive and
negative factors that impact on the total outcome.

Learner Notes 14
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

Each question may be analyzed against the following dimensions:

• Political:
Level of sensitization among policy decision makers; government commitment towards the
information system process.
• Institutional:
Degree of inter-sectoral integration or mandates, focus/ objectives, process of information
transfer, etc.
• Technical:
data quality/analysis/flow, access to new technological advances and methodological tools.
• Financial:
Availability of resources, reliability of resource flows.
• Human resources:
Skill level, members, mandates.

The following are the five step of a SWOC analysis. Remember that the process of undertaking
the analysis is as important as its results.

Step1.
Each SWOC analysis should be undertaken by the Assessment Team as a whole. If the Team
includes more than seven members, create groups of team members. Groups should contain a
minimum of two and a maximum of four persons per group.

Step 2.
On a large board or wall, draw the following blank table:

Learner Notes 15
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

On a flip chart, write the words Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Constraints at the top
of four pages (one on each page).

Step 3.
Starting with Strengths, ask each member or group to identify the strengths for each row in the
matrix e.g. What are the main strengths of the political environment? What are the institutional
strengths? Etc.
You should allow a minimum of 30 minutes for this part of the process. Allow more time if you
observe that individuals/groups are still adding items to their list.

Step 4.
Working with the whole Assessment Team, list all identified strengths on the relevant page of the
flip chart.
Through discussion, narrow down the list by crossing out repeated items, dropping those that the
Team decides are inappropriate, and combining others that are similar.
Try to make sure that all members of the Team contribute to the discussion. When the list is final,
transfer the agreed items to the blank table prepared in Step 2.

Step 5.
Repeat the process in order to identify weaknesses, opportunities and constraints.
When discussing opportunities, you should consider circumstances or potential factors that could
be exploited so as to improve the impact, sustainability or cost-effectiveness of the programme
you are assessing.

Not all national systems have an equal need to be strengthened and they do not require support
in the same areas.
However, recurrent themes from assessments in many countries have been identified. These
include:
1. Lack of political commitment because of:
• competing demands for the allocation of scarce resources;
• difficulty in perceiving immediate and tangible benefits of investing in better food security
information systems;
• lack of political influence of the potential beneficiaries in arguing for better food security
information; and

Learner Notes 16
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

• political openness where data is sensitive; this may slow down its release or even result in
censorship.

2. Institutional constraints
• These are often caused by the absence of effective inter-sectoral and cross-ministerial
linkages (e.g. no inter-ministerial task force with a strong mandate), which frustrate
efforts to promote the sharing of data collection tasks and information.
• Other constraints include legal and/or administrative aspects of information sharing.

3. Technical constraints resulting from:

• lack of trained manpower to manage complex information systems and conduct multi-
sectoral analyses of the kind required to tackle food security issues;
• inability of technicians to stay abreast of current best practices for designing and
implementing information systems relevant for measuring and monitoring food insecurity
and vulnerability; and
• technical difficulties of compatibility for data sharing and integrated analysis.

4. Financial constraints
• The collection and analysis of primary data and other information at the sub-national or
household level is costly, especially if surveys have to be conducted on a periodic basis
and in large numbers.
• Surveys may not be conducted on time or at the optimal frequency, sample sizes may be
too limited, measurement and analytical equipment may be outdated, restrictions may be
placed on the dissemination of results.
• Budget constraints will also affect the capacity of the FSIS to maintain up-to-date
computer hardware and software, vehicles for field surveys, printers and toners for report
preparation and communication equipment (incl. e-mail and Internet).
• As with other constraints, insufficient funding affects the effectiveness and morale of the
FSIS team; if not addressed, constraints will result in high staff turnover or poor quality
information products.

The successful implementation of such a strategy for strengthening food security information
systems is highly dependent on the commitment of key political decision-makers to provide
adequate and continued support.

Learner Notes 17
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

This support is likely to be forthcoming if the FSIS produce useful information products.
This will help convince political decision-makers that the information system deserves support.
A strategy that effectively improves information quality and usefulness is likely to be self-
sustaining.

The targeted dissemination of well presented products to key decision-makers and other
potentially influential information user groups can contribute significantly to this end.
Complementing the dissemination of published products with well-timed, targeted and publicized
workshops involving important decision-makers and other user groups can significantly reinforce
this support.
In addition, specific strategies are needed for building and reinforcing the demand for good
information products.

Key components of a strategy to strengthen FSIS include defining:

• A priority set of data and information outputs, coverage, and periodicity
• An institutional framework and coordination mechanisms
• An action plan, budget and identification of available resources

Examples of FSIS assessments and recommendations

A typical assessment report might include the following sections:

1) Background and introduction

2) Summary of situation analysis of food security and vulnerability concerns

• National Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Report
• Risk profiles including identification of vulnerable groups

3) Users’ information needs

• For monitoring progress towards reducing food insecurity and vulnerability at
national and sub-national levels
• For early warning of acute food insecurity at national and sub-national levels

Learner Notes 18
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

4) Inventory of stakeholders:
• information producers and users

5) Institutional mandates for food security and vulnerability information:

• data collection, data management, analysis and interpretation, dissemination,
communication, utilisation and coordination.

6) Priority gaps and weaknesses in meeting priority information needs

There are several examples of food security information system assessments that have been
conducted. You may want to consult these resources6 for a practical example of how food
security information systems have been analyzed and the type of recommendations that have
been made.

6
You may find the following examples as pdf documents attached to this lesson:
Example from Lesotho, Example from Samoa, Example from Fiji

Learner Notes 19
 Course: Food Security Information for Action. Unit: Food Security Information Systems and Networks
Lesson 3. Improving Food Security Information Systems

Summary

• An assessment of a food security information system should start by analyzing the overall
food security situation in the country and identifying the range of stakeholders with the
power and interest to improve food security.
• You need to examine what data and information these users need to support their
decision making.
• Next you should make an inventory of data and information provided by existing
information systems, assessing quality, timing and format.
• A comparison of the users’ information needs with the supply of data and information will
identify gaps, overlaps and redundancies.
• You should also consider institutional mandates and inter-institutional linkages, and the
opportunities for integrated analysis.
• This assessment should then form the basis for developing a strategy to strengthen the
food security information systems and/or networks.

If you want to know more

Suggested references:
• McEwan, M (2003) Assessing National Information Systems: Analysis for Action. FIVIMS,
FAO, Rome.
• FIVIMS Guidelines: To conduct an assessment of a national FIVIMS leading to the
definition of a strategy and operational work plan, FAO, Rome 2003.
• FAO. 2001. Handbook for defining and setting up a Food Security Information and Early
Warning System (FSIEWS). FAO Agricultural Policy and Economic Development Series.
FAO-UN.
• FIVIMS, 2000. Guidelines for National FIVIMS. Background and principles. IAWG-FIVIMS.
FAO-UN.
• FAO (2005) Formulation of a National FIVIMS Strategy. End of Workshop Report. Matautu-
uta, Apia, Samoa, 30 September – 4 October 2002.

Learner Notes 20
Food Security Information for Action

Vulnerability

Lesson 1

What is Vulnerability?

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and

implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations

© FAO, 2008
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 1 - What is Vulnerability?

Table of contents

Table of contents.........................................................................................................1
Learning objectives .....................................................................................................2
Introduction..................................................................................................................3
What vulnerability means ............................................................................................4
Vulnerability’s critical dimensions ................................................................................5
Summary ...................................................................................................................10
If you want to know more ..........................................................................................11

Learners’ Notes 1
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 1 - What is Vulnerability?

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• understand the concept of vulnerability;

• appreciate the difference between vulnerability and food insecurity; and
• comprehend how the outcome of vulnerability is determined by exposure to risks
and the capacity to cope with these risks.

Learners’ Notes 2
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 1 - What is Vulnerability?

Introduction

Vulnerability is a well established concept that has more recently been applied to the
analysis of food security. This lesson provides a basic explanation of the concept of
vulnerability and clarifies the main components.

By incorporating an understanding of vulnerability, food security policy and programs

broaden their efforts from addressing the current constraints to food consumption, to
include actions that also address future threats to food security.

As a consensus on the terminology is still lacking, the main alternative ways of describing
vulnerability are explained and compared to minimize potential confusion.

Learners’ Notes 3
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 1 - What is Vulnerability?

What vulnerability means

There are several common misunderstandings of what it means to be “vulnerable” in the

analysis of food security.

Some people think that being “vulnerable” is simply another way of describing someone
who is “poor” or “food insecure”.

So let’s start by explaining the differences in these terms:

Poverty and food insecurity are generally used to describe people’s welfare at the
present time.

The idea of vulnerability complements this with a ‘forward looking’ perspective that is
used to predict how the welfare of individuals and households may change in future, as a
consequence of being unable to counter adverse events that may happen to them – like
prolonged lack of rainfall, or infection by the AIDS virus.

The concept of vulnerability plays an important role in predicting the onset of food crises
and facilitates a better response. But in addition by creating an understanding why food
crises occur, it also opens up the possibility of taking actions to prevent or minimize future
crises.

There a number of alternative definitions of vulnerability. While no single definition has

been formally adopted, these share similar elements.

For example:

“Vulnerability represents defenselessness, insecurity and exposure to risks, shocks and

stress ... and difficulty in coping with them”.

“Vulnerability is the exposure and sensitivity to livelihood shocks”.

“Vulnerability is the inability of some communities or households to cope with

contingencies and stresses to which they are exposed.”

The phrase ‘living on the edge’ provides a good image of what it means to be vulnerable.
‘Living on the edge’ conveys the idea that a small push can send a person, or people, over
the edge. Those who are vulnerable live on the boundary between being able to eating
enough food and starve.

Rising vulnerability occurs when people are pushed closer to the edge by factors that are
outside their control.

Learners’ Notes 4
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 1 - What is Vulnerability?

Vulnerability’s critical dimensions

Vulnerability is defined in terms of the following three critical dimensions:

1. vulnerability to an outcome;
2. from a variety of risk factors;
3. because of an inability to manage those risks.

Let’s look at each of these three components in turn.

The outcome

In the first instance, it is important to be clear about the outcome that a person or
population is vulnerable to when speaking about food security.

In the way that food security outcome can be measured in different ways, so can the
vulnerability to such outcome be defined in a number of possible ways. For example,
people can be vulnerable to:

• food consumption (kcal/day) below a certain level;

• malnutrition manifested in children by stunting or wasting and in adults by a low
Body Mass Index (BMI);
• reduced access to a diversified diet.

In the food security context, vulnerability can be defined as:

“The probability of a person or household falling or staying below a minimum food security
threshold within a certain timeframe”.

Risks

People confront a variety of risks to their livelihoods. Risks are natural or manmade
phenomenon that may cause physical damage, economic loss and threaten human life
and wellbeing.

Examples include earthquakes, a drought or conflicts.

These risks have varying degrees of intensity and severity.

It is also important to consider the extent to which people are exposed to these risks. What
are the chances that individuals, households, communities or nations experiencing the
phenomena?

Learners’ Notes 5
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 1 - What is Vulnerability?

\For example…
It is important to relate the probability of flooding to those whom it affects.
If a flood occurs in an unpopulated area it will have minimal food security impacts.
It is helpful to distinguish two main types of risks that may trigger changes in levels of
household food security: Shocks and Trends or Stresses.

Shocks
There may be a very rapid deterioration in food security as the result of a shock.
Shocks are irregular, unpredictable and vary in intensity.
Shocks may affect individuals, households or communities.

Many shocks are related to climatic causes. A typical example of food security is a crop
failure caused by drought. However, shocks can originate from a wide variety of causes,
that may be either natural or man made.

They can be classified into a number of categories:

• Natural
• Economic
• Political
• Health
• Technological

Table 1: Categories of shocks

Category Shocks
• Floods;
• Drought;
• Storms;
• Tsunamis;
Natural
• Earthquakes;
• Volcanoes;
• Pest attacks; and
• Livestock disease epidemics.
• Sudden price rises;
• Job losses;
Economic • Interest increases;
• Changing terms of trade; and
• Economic recession.
• War;
Political • Internal displacement; and
• Coup d’Etat.

Learners’ Notes 6
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 1 - What is Vulnerability?

• Human illness;
Health • Work related accidents; and
• Death.
• Fires;
Technological • Accidents; and
• Sudden technology changes.

Risks can also be divided into:

• co-variant risks, that affect many people simultaneously (e.g. droughts, earthquake or
war); and
• idiosyncratic risks that affects individual households (e.g. crime, unemployment or
sickness).

This distinction is important in thinking about how any assistance should be planned and
targeted.

While national level emergency relief programmes may be warranted to respond to co-
variant risks such as an earthquake, idiosyncratic risks are more appropriately addressed
through policies and programmes that respond to individual needs – such as health and
education services or insurances.

Risk management capacity

In order to understand how people are affected by risks, it is clearly not enough to
understand only the shocks and trends themselves.

First of all, some livelihood groups are more prone to be affected by a certain risks than
others.

People actively manage the risk that they face in a variety of ways. The ability to avoid that
food consumption is affected by a negative event depends on the risk management
capacities or ability to prevent, mitigate or cope with the risk factors.

The determinants of risk management capacity include:

• The initial food security status and context

There is a significant overlap between households that are currently food insecure
and those that are vulnerable of being so at a future point in time. Food insecure
households can be trapped in food insecurity for several reasons including: losses
of income due to sickness or a poor asset base; food insecure mothers giving birth
to food insecure children; or children having low educational attainment because of
malnutrition.

• The level of assets and diversity of livelihood activities

A household with more diverse assets and livelihood activities is more resistant to
shocks and stresses and more likely to recover than a household with limited assets
and livelihood activities.

Learners’ Notes 7
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 1 - What is Vulnerability?

• The existence of and the ability of households to access external risk

management instruments
Some shocks are beyond what a household itself can manage. The existence of public
safety net programmes, community support systems, and crop insurance can be
essential for households with limited assets and livelihood activities.

Let's look at an example of coping strategies.

Example: Risk management strategies in the Sahel

Rural producers in the Sahel deal with unpredictable conditions all the time. They are
experts in juggling multiple strategies, and the majority do not consider themselves
“vulnerable”.

Pastoral and agricultural strategies include various elements:

a) Pastoralists’ strategies
- different forms of mobility;
- spreading risk by spreading livestock among different herders;
- keeping a variety of breeds and species of livestock adapted differentially to wetter
and drier conditions; and
- livestock trade (destocking and restocking).

b) Farmers’ strategies
- spreading risk by having multiple fields in different areas (with different soils, slopes
and aspects, and just different spaces - the rainfall variation in the region is such that
even fields a few km apart can fare very differently);
- using early-maturing plant varieties and selecting for genetic diversity; and
- investing in small stock.

Both Pastoralists’ and Farmers’ strategies

- send part of the household to find work elsewhere during the hungry season or
longer in the case of drought (women are often less able to migrate, and therefore
adopt a different range of strategies from men).forage for wild foods;
- collect and sell wild products;
- engage in small-scale trading (often specialized traders, e.g. Woodabe women are
famous for their knowledge of traditional medicinal herbs).
- use credit; and
- choose to go hungry - reducing the number of meals a family eats each day in order
to protect their assets to ensure long-term viability.

Where a shock (e.g. a drought) affects many households at the same time, strategies such
as reliance on wild foods or looking for alternative sources of income (e.g. through working
in fields or as herders) become over-subscribed.
It is useful to appreciate that there are two basic risk management strategies. The
strategies can either seek to anticipate the eventuality of shocks in advance (ex ante
prevention and mitigation) or manage the consequences after a shock has occurred (ex
post coping).

The vulnerability of a household depends heavily on asset ownership and how this
changes over time.

Learners’ Notes 8
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 1 - What is Vulnerability?

1) Ex ante prevention and mitigation

Ex ante risk management strategies help households to build up assets in order to provide
a buffer against uncertain events. These strategies also diversify activities to vary the
exposure to different risks.

For example…
A household may combine agricultural production (which is highly dependable on the
effects of drought) with a small business in town (which is much less dependable on
drought).

Successful strategies will build assets over time, in which assets are traded up in
sequence.

For example…
Shifting from chickens to goats, to cattle, to land; or, cash from non-farm income to farm
inputs to higher farm income to land or to livestock. By increasing the financial ability to
withstand losses, this will reduce people’s vulnerability over time.

2) Ex post coping
Ex post coping often relies on accumulated assets to cope with the effects of shocks and
negative trends.

Typically in the early stages the coping responses will seek not to erode assets, such as:

• reducing consumption of non-food items;

• sending a family member to town to look for work; and
• gathering wild food, doing with less food.

However, as a crisis deepens, assets may be sold, causing a downward spiral.

In general, families will seek to protect their ability to recover from the shock, and therefore
will dispose of moveable assets first: savings, stocks and livestock.

Later on, they may dispose of implements, buildings, even land, thus making it more and
more difficult to recover from the shock and increase their vulnerability.

Successive coping strategies

There has been a lot of research into the various coping strategies used by households.
While the specific strategies used vary widely, a common progression is usually evident:
1. Changes in diet reflected by eating less preferred food and eating less frequent
meals are coping strategies adopted in the earliest stage.
2. The second stage is characterized by the sale of non-productive assets, such as
jewellery and other assets that serve as crisis insurance.
3. The third stage of is marked by the sale of productive assets used to generate
income to buy food – including land and draught animals. At this stage food
insecurity is often severe.

Learners’ Notes 9
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 1 - What is Vulnerability?

Summary

Vulnerability in food security terms can be defined as “The probability of a person or

household falling or staying below a minimum food security threshold within a certain
timeframe”.

Vulnerability is not the same as food insecurity: food insecurity describes the current state
of a person’s welfare, while vulnerability refers to chance of remaining or becoming food
insecure at some future point in time.

Vulnerability can be understood in terms of three critical dimensions: vulnerability to an

outcome (outcome), from a variety of risk factors and because of an inability to prevent,
mitigate or cope with the effects of those risks.

There are two main types of risks: shocks (such as floods, droughts, job losses, wars,
illnesses, accidents, etc.) and trends (such as deforestations, declining commodity prices,
increasing accountability, etc). These can hit individuals (idiosyncratic) or many (co-
variant).

The ability to avoid that risks negatively affect food security, depends on the risk
management capacity or the ability to prevent, mitigate or cope with a negative shock or
trend.

Learners’ Notes 10
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 1 - What is Vulnerability?

If you want to know more...

Online resources

Alwang, J., P.B. Siegel, an S. L. Jørgensen. 2001. Vulnerability: a View from Different
Disciplines. Social Protection Discussion Paper 0115. World Bank. (http://www-
wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2002/01/17/000094946_
01120804004787/Rendered/PDF/multi0page.pdf)

Ellis, F. 2003. Human Vulnerability and Food Insecurity: Policy Implications

Overseas Development Group (ODG).(www.odi.org.uk/Food-Security-
Forum/docs/vulnerability_theme3.pdf)

Løvendal, C.R. and M. Knowles 2005. Tomorrow’s hunger: A framework for analysing
vulnerability to food insecurity. ESA Working Paper 05-07
(http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/af140e/af140e00.htm)

Trench P., John Rowley, Marthe Diarra, Fernand Sano, Boubacar Keita. 2007. Beyond
Any Drought. Root causes of chronic vulnerability in the Sahel. The Sahel Working Group.
June 2007 (www.iied.org/mediaroom/docs/Beyond%20Any%20Drought.pdf)

Learners’ Notes 11
Food Security Information for Action

Vulnerability

Lesson 2

Vulnerability Assessment

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and

implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations

© FAO, 2008
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 2 - Vulnerability Assessment

Table of contents
Learning objectives 2
Introduction 3
The vulnerability framework 4
Levels of assessment 5
Vulnerable groups 7
Uses of vulnerability assessment 9
Risk management terms 13
Selecting the right method 14
Summary 17
If you want to know more... 18
Annex 1: Table comparing various tools for vulnerability assessment 20

Learners’ Notes 1
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 2 - Vulnerability Assessment

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• define the purpose and scope of vulnerability assessment;

• understand how vulnerability assessment relates to early warning monitoring
activities, food security response planning and national policy and programme
development;; and
• identify the criteria to select among the tools available for conducting vulnerability
assessments.

Learners’ Notes 2
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 2 - Vulnerability Assessment

Introduction

This lesson explains how the concept of vulnerability is applied in practice to conducting
Vulnerability Assessments and how the assessment results can be useful in decision
making.

The main areas of vulnerability assessment and analysis that have been developed from
the vulnerability framework are identified and discussed.

A central concern of this lesson is linking assessment results to action. The various ways
in which vulnerability assessment results are used to reduce food insecurity are discussed.

Finally, a typology of the major food security related vulnerability assessment approaches
and methods is presented along with criteria to select the most appropriate method in a
specific context.
.
Vulnerability Assessment (VA) is an important component of food security analysis. VA is
distinguished from other aspects of food security analysis by its emphasis on the
constantly changing conditions faced by households, and of their responses to those
conditions.

Because of this dynamic perspective, the analysis can be used to support both:

• efforts to address the short term constraints to food access; and

• reduction of longer-term threats to food security and well-being.

Vulnerability analysis is not a single or standard measurement system. Instead,

vulnerability analysis brings together different data sets to investigate causes of food
insecurity and predict changes over time.

Learners’ Notes 3
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 2 - Vulnerability Assessment

The vulnerability framework

Vulnerability assessment methods share a common conceptual framework.

The analysis may begin with an assessment of the chronic or current level of Food
Security (FS) and then incorporate the elements of risk and coping capacity into an
analysis that is more forward-looking and dynamic.

At its most inclusive, vulnerability analysis incorporates a number of sequential steps:

1. Situational Analysis - What is the current level of food insecurity?

2. Assessment of risks/hazards - What are the major risks, the intensity and severity?
Who is exposed to these risks?
3. Vulnerability analysis - What is the ability to manage these risks?
4. Assessment of Risk to food insecurity - Given these factors, what is the prognosis
for future food security?
5. From analysis to action - How can this information and analysis be used to reduce
future food insecurity?

There is no single way to undertake a vulnerability assessment. Indeed, the scope of the
vulnerability framework makes it extremely difficult to conduct a comprehensive
vulnerability analysis within a single assessment process.

Many different methodologies have been applied to the task, each relevant to a particular
dimension of the vulnerability problem and a particular question of strategic or operational
importance.

Learners’ Notes 4
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 2 - Vulnerability Assessment

Levels of assessment

Vulnerability assessment can be conducted at multiple levels.

Table 1: Levels of vulnerability assessment

Level Description
Household The concept of vulnerability is most frequently used to understand the
relationship of risk and coping at the household level.
This is a basic unit of social organization where resources are shared.
Findings of similar households can be aggregated to efficiently
characterize population groups (households with similar livelihood
strategies, female headed households …) and to develop
recommendations for them.
However, depending on the purpose of the assessment, it may be
appropriate to investigate, analyse or report on vulnerability at different
levels of social organization.
Individual At the lowest level vulnerability is a characteristic of an individual.
There are important intra-household differences in vulnerability. For
example, depending on the local social customs and norms, a shortage of
food at the household level may impact the children, women and men
very differently.
Understanding these differences can be critical to planning and
implementing interventions.
Community It may also be appropriate to assess vulnerability at the community level.
Collecting vulnerability information at the community level, usually through
participatory techniques, is typically cheaper than household level
surveys. Furthermore, understanding the dynamics of inter-household
relationships can be critical for understanding vulnerability.
Community participation in the analysis links well to community level
action to address shocks affecting households or individuals.
Within a Often vulnerability is collected and analysed within livelihood or agro-
livelihood zone ecological zones.
In regions where livelihood options are limited, which includes many rural
areas, it is possible to define geographical zones within which livelihood
activities, risks and risk management strategies are relatively
homogenous.
Collecting and analysing information at this level allows relatively large
areas to be efficiently characterized and recommendations developed for
these zones.
Administrative There is often a demand for information, analysis and recommendations
zone at various administrative levels, such as the district or regional level.
This level of analysis recognizes that many solutions to reduce
vulnerability, especially related to shocks which affect many (co-variant),
fall outside of the household. For example, the social services provided by
government can be critical.
Key decision makers are often located within these administrative units,
and require analysis targeted to their jurisdiction.

Learners’ Notes 5
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 2 - Vulnerability Assessment

National or A vulnerability analysis can be undertaken at the national or even global

global level level.
This information may be useful in helping to identify areas of high
vulnerability and target national or global resources to address this
problem.
It can also assess the implication of national or international policy level
choices on vulnerability.

The methods used for data collection and analysis will be adapted according to the level of
assessment used.

There is also a considerable amount of interaction between the different methods.

Example
For example, The results of several community level assessments may be aggregated to
develop a district level vulnerability assessment.

Vulnerability assessment for food security is an emerging profession.

There is still a heavy reliance on simple narrative analyses and more formal, quantitative
methods are only beginning to emerge.

Learners’ Notes 6
 Course - Vulnerability
Lesson 2 - Vulnerability Assessment

Vulnerable groups

A common feature of many vulnerability assessments is the identification of vulnerable

groups.
Although the ultimate goal of food security interventions is to enhance the welfare of
individuals, analysing the complex set of information pertaining to each person would be
impossible. Therefore people are clustered into groups of individuals with shared
characteristics.
Often, such common characteristics are either of demographic nature (e.g. age, gender),
location specific (e.g. people in high altitude mountains) or occupation specific (e.g. fisher
folk or urban labourers).

Such vulnerability profiles indicate:

• Who and how many people are vulnerable (which is important for making resource
allocation decisions);
• Where they are (which improves geographic targeting); and
• Why they are vulnerable (which allows us to understand what type of interventions
are required).

The nature and extent of vulnerability varies amongst social groups, between and within
different livelihoods and between rural and urban areas.
Understanding these variations plays a key role in identifying interventions and targeting
those that are most vulnerable and excluding the less vulnerable.
Particular groups may be vulnerable for quite different reasons, and therefore the type of
support that is appropriate for them may also differ.

Examples of vulnerable groups

Some examples of groups that are routinely identified as particularly vulnerable are:

• children under the age of five (vulnerable especially to undernutrition, malnutrition and
infectious diseases);
• lactating mothers (vulnerable to undernutrition in the context of nursing babies);
• the elderly (vulnerable due to loss of assets, or ability to use their assets productively,
or additional burdens of care for the ill and orphans due to HIV/AIDS);
• female headed households, including widows and divorced women (vulnerable due to
loss of access rights to land, lack of time to cultivate land, and loss of previous
partner’s contribution to household livelihood);
• people with disabilities (lack of access to production or earning opportunities; social
exclusion);
• families with members with HIV/AIDS or other chronic illnesses (vulnerable due to lack
of labour, and disposal of assets to cover medical costs);
• Occupational groups with low/variable income, such as fisher folk, agricultural
labourers and marginal farmers (vulnerable because of weather dependency, highly
variable income, and limited income diversification);and
• remote rural populations (vulnerable due to over reliance on a single livelihood source,
lack of diversification options, high transport costs, poor information).

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Factors leading to vulnerability

The factors leading to vulnerability differ across the different groups.
Common characteristics used to cluster vulnerable groups include:
• demographic characteristics;
• geographical location;
• position in society; and
• sources of livelihoods or main income.
Gender plays a significant part in these different vulnerabilities – women are often more
vulnerable than men.
For example in southern Africa the prevalence of the HIV infection among women is 20%
higher than for men.

Think of the possible limitations of using “vulnerable groups” as a basis for targeting
interventions....

Example
It can happen that not all members of the defined vulnerable group are equally vulnerable.
(e.g. some women-headed households have far greater assets than the poorer male-
headed households...).
Furthermore, it could happen that the criteria used to determine inclusion in a programme
exclude many of the newly vulnerable (e.g. the farm workers who have lost their jobs do
not qualify for assistance).

While the use of vulnerable groups can help in targeting limited resources, the use of
standard criteria without a careful analysis of the relevance to the local context may be
counter-productive. Vulnerability can be thought of as a continuum with some people being
more vulnerable than others, even within the same group.

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Uses of vulnerability assessment

An understanding of vulnerability can be helpful in analysing food security problems and

formulating advice and recommendations in a range of different contexts. Whilst three
distinct contexts are presented below, a VA often can serve several purposes.

Let’s look at the main situations where vulnerability assessment can be usefully applied:

1. Early Warning System

2. Emergency Programming
3. Risk and vulnerability reduction

1. The Early Warning System

A primary purpose of an Early Warning System (EWS) is to monitor the incidence of

shocks or hazards in order to give timely warning to decisions makers. This information
may be used to trigger appropriate response plans.
Potentially there are a large number of shocks that could negatively affect food security in
a given country. However, establishing a EWS to monitor the incidence of all of these
shocks would be expensive and probably unnecessary.

Shocks that could negatively affect food security

Potentially there are a large number of shocks and trends that could negatively affect
food security in a given country. Amongst the co-variant shocks affecting many people
simultaneously are :
drought;
floods;
storms;
disease and pest outbreaks;
volcanoes;
earthquakes;
tsunamis;
landslides;
war;
increases in food prices or inflation; and
macro-economic crisis, e.g. sudden devaluations.

A risk and vulnerability assessment can provide an estimation of the most important
shocks and hazards for a location or population group.
This would include:
• an analysis of the frequency and characteristics of these phenomena;
• how many people are exposed to these risks; and
• how susceptible people are and their ability to manage these without external
assistance.

Taken together, this information will help a EWS manager to prioritize which hazards and
shocks to monitor in a specific area.

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Case study: Linking vulnerability analysis to early warning - Djibouti

In this case the baseline vulnerability analysis provided essential context information for
designing an appropriate EWS.
Food security is often closely linked with agricultural production outcomes. Hence, a
chronic or temporary production deficit against local food requirements immediately
translates into chronic or temporary food insecurity. Consequently most early warning and
food security monitoring systems draw heavily from two information sources: (1) crop
and/or livestock production data; and (2) market price information.
Prior to establishing an early warning system in Djibouti, FEWS NET, with assistance from
the Government of Djibouti, undertook a national baseline food economy study. This study
profiled the major characteristics of different food economy zones. It included elements of
vulnerability analysis; identifying the major hazards and the relative capacity of different
types of households to withstand them.
The study pointed out that:

• The vast majority of the population lives in Djibouti City and depends on non-
agricultural formal, or informal, employment. Casual employment in the construction
sector is critical for the poorest groups.
• Persistent drought, conflict and a desire to access health and education services has
led to a major decline in nomadic pastoralism.
• There is an increasing dependence of the rural population on the urban economy, with
assistance flowing from the city to rural areas in the form of regular remittances of
money and/or food.
• The country produces minimal amounts of food and is almost entirely dependent on
food imports.

Therefore in the case of Djibouti it was decided that monitoring domestic agricultural
production and wholesale prices was of limited relevance. Instead the key variables
included in the EWS were urban employment statistics (formal and informal), the cost of a
food basket in the urban market and factors influencing the food trade.

2. Emergency Programming

Vulnerability analysis can also be applied in helping to prepare an emergency response to

a specific shock.

Example: Emergency response to a specific shock

If a region experiences a prolonged lack of rainfall, the food consumption of the affected
population may not decline immediately.
However, if the shock is severe enough in terms of duration, intensity or coverage, then
the food security situation may well deteriorate in the period before the next harvest.

A vulnerability analysis can be conducted to analyze the short-term food security

consequences for a given shock. In this case the emphasis is on predicting the food
security outcome.

A vulnerability assessment can provide the context to predict the impact of shocks and
hazards, and forecast the probable food security impacts. It can give an indication of how
close to the edge people are before the shock and the extent of their ability to cope with
the effects. Depending on the VA method employed this may produce recommendations

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that:
• target assistance to the most severely affected regions and socio-economic
populations; and
• calculate the actual quantity of assistance (food, cash or other transfers) required.

In the context of emergency programming, VA is closely related to strengthening ex-post

coping mechanisms.

Case study: Vulnerability Assessment in Nepal

Following a failure of the winter rains of 2005/06 in the far-west and mid-west regions of
Nepal, a preliminary assessment indicated a failure of the rain-fed winter wheat crop.
Consequently the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agricultural
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organized a vulnerability assessment in order to:

• verify and validate information on current food availability, market conditions and the
extent and scale of crop damage;
• identify affected villages and populations;
• recommend an appropriate response strategy for addressing the impact of the
drought.

The assessment collected data on:

• agricultural production;
• food self-sufficiency;
• crop losses;
• the food gap;
• food availability on markets; and
• coping mechanisms.

This information was used to analyse the probable food security status of the population
later in the year.

Based on this analysis, the recommendations included the immediate provision of

emergency food assistance and an expansion of food for work programmes. In the
medium term, seed distribution and micro-irrigation projects were also recommended.

Predicting the consequences of potential shocks

A similar analysis may be conducted to predict the likely consequences of potential

shocks, rather than actual shocks.
In this case it would be termed scenario planning and in particular used to develop
contingency plans.

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3. Risk and vulnerability reduction

A further application of vulnerability analysis is in guiding the design of interventions to

reduce people’s long-term vulnerability.
If we can reduce people’s exposure to risk or reduce their sensitivity to shocks and/or
strengthen their ability to manage risks, then the incidence and severity of future food
crises can be reduced.

In this context the emphasis is on analysing the causal factors underlying vulnerability to
food insecurity.
The focus here is on present livelihood characteristics, risks and interventions.
This analysis primarily supports recommendations for medium and longer-term
interventions to strengthen ex-ante risk management, in both development and emergency
programming.
VA can produce recommendations to minimize vulnerabilities by avoiding (prevention) or
limiting (mitigation and preparedness) the adverse impacts of shocks.

This analysis can be used to formulate, fine tune or review either programme or project
level activities or strategies and policies.

Case study: Vulnerability Assessment in Sahel

In 2005, there was a food crisis in the Sahel that highlighted the extent of the region’s
vulnerability. This increased international attention to the region and led to large sums of
money being provided to help those people survive the immediate crisis. However, several
agencies shared a concern that too much attention had been paid to the quite specific
situation and too little to the unacceptable and growing levels of vulnerability that pre-dated
the crisis and persisted afterwards.

Consequently the Sahel Working Group (an inter-agency group) conducted a study to
analyse how vulnerability is understood and addressed by development agencies and
government departments in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The areas of investigation
included a theoretical examination of the way that vulnerability is understood, an analysis
of the root causes of vulnerability in the Sahel and an analysis of the impact of past aid
programmes on vulnerability. The methods used were primarily interviews and a review of
other studies.

The conclusions and recommendations were broad and long-term, with an emphasis on
finding ways of reversing the increasing vulnerability in the region. Specifically the
assessment called for:

• a commitment to significant and sustained increases in funding for long-term

development, with less short-term emergency interventions;
• support to maintain the mobility of pastoralists;
• measures to reduce the impact of drought and improve the ability to manage the
impact of drought as part of development plans;
• greater decentralization to improve accountability and representation of local interests
in decision-making.

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Risk management terms

The following are definitions of risk management terms:

• Prevention: Measures designed to provide permanent protection or reduce the

likeliness or intensity of a hazardous event so it doesn’t become a disaster (e.g.
reforesting an unstable slope to prevent landslides).
• Mitigation: Measures taken to respond to and manage a hazardous event. These
measures prepare people to react appropriately before, during and after the event
(e.g. temporary evacuation of people and property from threatened locations,
insurance against crop losses).
• Coping: Measures taken to minimize the adverse impacts on communities or
households after a hazard has occurred (e.g. providing food assistance to assist
drought affected populations).

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Selecting the right method

The contrasting examples of vulnerability analysis given illustrate the tremendous diversity
of objectives and analytical approaches which fall under the umbrella of vulnerability
assessment.

Several points should be apparent about Vulnerability Assessment (VA):

• Vulnerability Assessment is not a single method. This term can be used to describe
a large variety of methods that address one or more elements of the vulnerability
framework. The common characteristic is that it is a forward looking analysis.
• Vulnerability Assessment is not necessarily a distinct analytical process. Elements
of vulnerability analysis may be incorporated into many tools, such as food security
baselines or early warning systems.

There is no such thing as a standard “vulnerability assessment methodology”. A multiplicity

of purposes for VA has resulted in a multiplicity of VA methods.
The question for a manager is how the idea of vulnerability can be applied to contribute
useful information to their decision making tasks.

See the Annex 1: Table comparing various tools for vulnerability assessment

In conducting a vulnerability assessment, the starting point should be clarity on the

purpose or objective, of the analysis.
From this it is possible to identify a typology of approaches to vulnerability assessment and
the methods that can be used.

Table 2: Vulnerability Assessment Methods

Objective Uses VA Approach VA Methods
Early To derive a qualitative A historical analysis of Can be accomplished
Warning understanding of the patterns in food access through a variety of
System proper socioeconomic and consumption, as qualitative and
context for early well as the causal quantitative methods,
warning indicator patterns of relationships including a simple
selection and use in the between those narrative analysis or the
short term, typically outcomes and use of statistical
within an agricultural household risk exposure methods to derive
season. and risk management explicit relationships
capacity. between key variables.

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Emergency To calculate the severity A comparison of Many use a combination

Programming of acute short-term historical patterns of of secondary
changes in food security food access and quantitative indicators to
outcomes across consumption to current construct current
regions and socio- levels, with less explicit vulnerability indexes
economic groups. emphasis on causal and field assessment
relationships. methods, either formal,
survey-based
assessments, or rapid
assessment methods
that combine
quantitative and
qualitative information.
Risk and To obtain an An historical analysis of Can be accomplished
Vulnerability understanding of the patterns in food access through a variety of
Reduction causal structure of and consumption, as qualitative and
vulnerability, well as the causal quantitative methods,
highlighting sources of patterns of relationships including a simple
risk and determinants of between those narrative analysis or the
coping capacity in order outcomes and use of statistical
to identify appropriate household risk exposure methods to derive
areas of short and and coping capacity. explicit relationships
medium term between key variables.
interventions to support
sustainable reduction in
transitory or chronic
food insecurity.

Ultimately the choice of vulnerability assessment method will depend on a variety of

institutional and technical considerations. These include:

Institutional issues
• Which institutions are participating in and responsible for the assessment?
• What is their organizational mandate and response capacity?
• What decisions need to be taken as a consequence of this assessment? – and
when?

Technical issues
• What data and information is already available?
• What financial resources are available (for secondary or primary data collection
and analysis)?
• What skills do the analysts possess (for qualitative and quantitative methods of
enquiry)?

Existing VA methods have been developed to meet the specific information needs of the
various institutions involved.

Case study: How methods are adapted to institutional needs

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Within the USAID Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS) Project, VA was initially used to
help place its famine early warning indicators in their proper socioeconomic context, as a
means to improve the interpretation of those indicators.

However, the purpose of VA has evolved from:

• developing a more informed basis for predicting severe episodes of food insecurity; to
• targeting the most food insecure and vulnerable populations and monitoring their
situation over time.

Methods were explicitly chosen/developed to answer these questions.

Where national governments have different institutional structures and capacities, and
different information needs, the optimal approach to VA for national planning purposes
might be different, or encompass various aspects of the various methods developed to
date.

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Summary

Vulnerability Assessment can be used to describe an analysis of different parts of the

overall problem of why people may become food insecure in the future.

Vulnerability analysis starts by assessing the current level of food security, and then
incorporates the elements of risk and risk management into an analysis that is more
forward-looking and dynamic.

The main applications of vulnerability analysis are to:

• provide a context for early warning;
• improve emergency response planning; and
• lead to long-term reductions vulnerability and food insecurity through development
interventions.

There is no one analysis approach or method, and the selection of an appropriate

technique will depend on a mix of institutional and technical considerations.

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If you want to know more...

Online resources

Cannon, T, John Twigg and Jennifer Rowell. Social Vulnerability, Sustainable Livelihoods
and Disasters. Report to DFID Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Department (CHAD)
and Sustainable Livelihoods Support Office.
(http://www.livelihoods.org/info/docs/vulnerability.doc)

Riely, F. 2000. FIVIMS synthesis document: a comparison of vulnerability analysis

methods and rationale for their use in different contexts.
(http://www.fivims.net/documents/RielyVGProfilingMethodsAnnex.doc)

World Food Programme (WFP). Vulnerability Analysis: Concepts and case studies in
emergency, recovery and development settings. 2004.
(http://vam.wfp.org/main/docs/Vulnerability_Analysis-Some_Examples-Final.pdf)

Christian Romer Lovendal and Macro Knowles, 2006. Tomorrow’s Hunger: A Framework
for Analysing Vulnerability to Food Security.
ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/008/af140e/af140e00.pdf

John Hoddinott and Agnes Quisumbing, 2003. Methods for Microeconometric Risk and
Vulnerability Assessments.
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/otherpubs/spdp0324.htm

Additional reading

WFP. 2006. Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) Far-west and Mid-west
drought – Nepal. Draft Report. May 2006.

FEWS NET. 2004. Djibouti Livelihood Profiles. October 2004

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Annex 1: Table comparing various tools for vulnerability assessment

Tool Advantages Disadvantages Time Resource Level of Degree of Best

required requirements technical skill standardization application in
required with other vulnerability
measures analysis
Rapid Quick Difficult to convert to Low Low Relatively high None Livelihood
assessments Many possible tools quantitative data and so in terms of baseline
using available according not easily integrated participatory assessment
participatory to the context into quantitative data and facilitatory
tools Participatory bases and not easily skills
Inclusive mapped
Key informant Quick Reliability depends on Low Low Relatively high None Baseline
interviews Draws on local participants in terms of assessment for
knowledge Only people with participatory vulnerability and
position in society and facilitatory identification of
included, excludes skills vulnerable
marginalized groups groups
Aggregation difficulties
Expert panels Quick May not be community Low Low Relatively high None Baseline
people with real in terms of assessment for
knowledge of the participatory vulnerability and
situation in the and facilitatory identification of
community or skills vulnerable
households groups
Livelihoods Quick Difficult to convert to Med Low Relatively high None but widely Baseline
analysis Participatory quantitative data and so in terms of accepted assessment for
Inclusive of not easily integrated participatory, vulnerability and
community into quantitative data facilitatory and identification of
members bases participatory vulnerable
Local knowledge Aggregation difficulties methodologies groups
Focus group Quick Not converted to Low Low Relatively high None Baseline
discussions Many possible tools quantitative data in terms of assessment for

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Tool Advantages Disadvantages Time Resource Level of Degree of Best

required requirements technical skill standardization application in
required with other vulnerability
measures analysis
to select specific to participatory, vulnerability and
the context facilitatory and identification of
Participatory participatory vulnerable
Inclusive methodologies groups
Household Detailed information Often too many High High High in terms High Baseline where
surveys Representative variables included and of field work no national
sample there is difficulty in and analysis statistics are
Quantitative data determining the best and available and
for comparisons indicators for inclusion management continual
and statistical and analysis. of large data assessment to
analysis Questions can miss bases. create time-
Many variables can critical issues. series data for
be included Can miss causal comparisons.
relations
Brainstorming Quick Quality of data depends Low Low Relatively high None but good Triangulation
sessions Clarification of key on who participates and in terms of as a base for with other
vulnerability groups on good facilitation. participatory, triangulation methods
Not able to be included and facilitatory
in quantitative data skills
National If available, usually Not specifically High but Very high but Relatively high Good Useful for
surveys such representative and collected for low if if existing in terms of secondary data
as large scale. vulnerability analysis already data used this analysis. sources for
agricultural Wide range of and so can have existing is baselines
production, variables. missing indicators. inexpensive.
health, Quantitative data Sometimes not able to
welfare etc. for statistical be disaggregated at
analysis district levels.

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Tool Advantages Disadvantages Time Resource Level of Degree of Best

required requirements technical skill standardization application in
required with other vulnerability
measures analysis
Census data If available, usually Not specifically High but Very high but Relatively high Good Useful for
representative and collected for low if if existing in terms of secondary data
large scale. vulnerability analysis already data used this analysis sources for
May be available in and so can have existing is baselines
time series. missing indicators. inexpensive.
Wide range of Sometimes not able to
variables. be disaggregated at
Quantitative data district levels.
for statistical Data sensitivity means
analysis sometime unwillingness
to share.

Learners’ Notes 22
Food Security Information for Action

Vulnerability

Lesson 3

Vulnerability Indicators

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and

implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations

© FAO, 2008
Table of contents

Table of contents.........................................................................................................1
Learning objectives .....................................................................................................2
Introduction..................................................................................................................3
Information to understand vulnerability........................................................................4
Vulnerability indicator sets...........................................................................................5
Vulnerability indicator sets: FS status indicators .........................................................6
Vulnerability indicator sets: Risk and risk management ............................................11
Measuring indicators .................................................................................................15
Collecting data...........................................................................................................16
Selecting vulnerability indicators ...............................................................................18
Summary ...................................................................................................................22
If you want to know more ..........................................................................................23

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Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• understand the type of information needed to measure and monitor vulnerability;

• identify the strengths and weaknesses of different vulnerability indicators; and
• identify the criteria to select and combine appropriate indicators in a specific food
security context.

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Introduction

This lesson starts by recapping the concept of vulnerability and why vulnerability indicators
are relevant to decision making.

It then reviews a range of potential indicators that are used to illuminate the vulnerability
status. For each of these indicators the various strengths and weaknesses are discussed.

Inevitably the choice of which indicators to use is context specific. Various criteria are
therefore discussed which can help to guide this choice

Vulnerability analysis provides a forward looking perspective on food security conditions

that allows decision makers to anticipate and respond to future crises.

In principle, this is valuable information that can be used both in emergency and
developmental contexts.

In practice, identifying appropriate indicators to measure and monitor uncertain future

events is highly challenging. Unlike other disciplines, such as nutrition, there is still little
agreement on how to measure “vulnerability”.

However, different indicators exists which can help us to understand the nature and
changing levels of vulnerability.

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Information to understand vulnerability

The practical benefits of applying the concept of vulnerability are two-fold:

1. It plays an important role in

predicting the onset of food By creating an understanding of why
crises and can facilitate an food crises occur, this analysis can be
appropriate response. used to take proactive measures that
help prevent or minimize future crises.

2. In order to intervene and reduce

In order to do so there is the need
vulnerability, existing risks and
risk management strategies to continually measure and monitor
must be identified. changing levels of vulnerability.

In both contexts, monitoring changing levels of vulnerability is relevant to determining the

effectiveness and efficiency of intervention measures adopted and makes the necessary
adjustments to policies and programmes.

Information on vulnerability is provided to decision makers in the form of narrative and

indicators. This unit focuses on what can be measured, in other words indicators.
A vulnerability indicator helps us to understand the probability that a household or
individual - at a future point in time – is food insecure. It is:
• a way of characterizing the dimensions of vulnerability;
• a pointer to how levels and causes of vulnerability are changing.

A good indicator should alert decision-makers to a problem before it gets too difficult to fix.

While there is a strong justification for measuring and monitoring the levels of vulnerability,
it is theoretically and practically challenging to identify suitable vulnerability indicators.

Vulnerability and uncertainty are closely related. Whilst food security measures an
outcome in a known past, vulnerability seeks to measure the probability in an unknown
future.
Vulnerability Analysis (VA) is not a single or standard measurement system. As with a
puzzle, different pieces of data (or indicators) help us to understand different causes of
food insecurity and predict how these change over time.

A variety of indicators may be used to assess the various dimensions of vulnerability to

food security.

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Vulnerability indicator sets

The concept of Vulnerability in food security can be summarized as follows:

Vulnerability = Exposure to Hazards + Inability to manage risks

[Outcome]

Drawing from this framework, useful indicators which can help decision makers
understand levels of vulnerability can be classified into three main categories:
1. Food security status indicators.
2. Indicators of the degree of exposure to risks.
3. Indicators of ability to manage these risks at different levels.

Potentially, there is a wide range of information which is relevant to decision makers under
these categories. In this lesson we will look in detail at a selected list of key indicators
which are particularly relevant to vulnerability analysis.

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Vulnerability indicator sets: FS status indicators

A Vulnerability Analysis (VA) utilizes information on food security levels in a variety of

ways:
• At one end of the spectrum vulnerability analyses can be near synonymous with a
food security assessment. One way that vulnerability analysis is used is to estimate
levels of acute food insecurity, as the consequence of a shock that has been
experienced, or directly extrapolate into the near future from the current food
security status.

• Alternatively a vulnerability analysis may set out to analyse the hazards, coping
capacities and resilience in order to guide prevention and mitigation efforts well in
advance of a specific shock. In this case a (historical) analysis of food security
outcomes from specific shocks can be useful, for example in identifying the most
important hazards and the most vulnerable groups to be targeted with assistance.

In all these situations the definition of indicators of food security is an essential component
of the vulnerability analysis.

Indicator sets used to monitor and measure food security can be grouped under the
following main categories:

A) Food Consumption Indicators.

B) Income and Expenditure Indicators.

A. Food Consumption Indicators

Food security can be thought of as the adequate consumption to food of sufficient quantity
and nutritional quality.

However, it is widely appreciated that the direct measurement of food consumption is

extremely resource intensive and rarely feasible outside of a research context. Therefore
alternative – more indirect - measures are necessary.

There is a growing interest in the use of proxy indicators such as:

α) Dietary Diversity.
β) Perceptions of food sufficiency and security.
γ) Number of meals per day.

Let’s explore these indicators in more detail.

α) Dietary Diversity
Dietary diversity is the (sometimes frequency weighted) sum of the number of different
foods or food groups consumed by an individual or household over a specific time period.

The use of dietary diversity as a proxy for consumption derives from the fact that
households consume a wider variety of foods when their incomes rise.

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This indicator is a proxy for quality of diet (which is in itself an important component of food
security) and is highly correlated with adequate caloric and protein intake, quality of protein
consumption, and household income.

The following table indicates some strengths and weaknesses of this indicator.

Table 1: Dietary Diversity indicator’s strengths and weaknesses

Strengths Weaknesses
• Easy interpretation; • It varies in different contexts, making it hard to
• Cost-effectiveness; interpret and compare findings.
• Accuracy; and • It is difficult to determine what the minimum intake
• Simplicity to measure value is before counting the item as a food (for
example, some spices with relatively limited nutrient
content are often added to traditional dishes).

β) Perceptions of food sufficiency and security

This measure captures food security criteria important to a community by asking
households to identify what they perceive as the key food security dimensions.
This is a perception-based or subjective measure that reveals the local understanding of
food insecurity.

The following are some strengths and weaknesses of this indicator.

Table 2: Perceptions of food sufficiency and security indicator’s strengths and

weaknesses

Strengths Weaknesses
• It combines information on food • Susceptibility to reporting biases.
sufficiency with measures of quality • Difficulty of confirming results
and people’s perceptions of their own independently.
vulnerability. • Challenges of cross country comparison.
• The data are less costly to collect • Can differ from more objective measures.
than quantitative consumption data.

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The Federal Food Security Measure

The Federal Food Security Measure (FFSM) is used by the United States Government as
a national indicator of food insecurity. This differentiates between four levels of food
security:
I) Food secure households;
II) At risk (vulnerable households);
III) Food insecure without hunger; and
IV) Food insecure with hunger.

The measure is based on people’s own experience of food insecurity. At a personal level
this is quantifiable in an instinctive way. The tool employs 18 questions on five themes:
− Uncertainty or anxiety that the food budget or supply could be insufficient to meet
basic needs (covers the situation, resources and supply).
− Perceptions of inadequate quality (for adults and children).
− Perceptions of inadequate quantity of food (including aspects of dietary diversity,
nutritional adequacy and preference).
− Adults reducing food intake.
− Children reducing food intake and the consequences of these reductions, i.e. the
actions taken by the household to augment the food budget or food supply (coping
strategies).
− Feelings of shame associated with resorting to socially unacceptable means of
obtaining food.

The tool is simple and requires only four to ten minutes per household, making it possible
to conduct rapid interviews and repeat surveys for longitudinal and continual monitoring
studies. The reliability of the tool has been validated statistically and a number of studies
continue to test the tool.

γ) Number of meal per day

This indicator is a proxy for adequacy of caloric intake by household members.

Data collection is relatively easy and inexpensive and does not require determining meal
size or composition.
It is most useful in capturing transitory food insecurity, but is less sensitive to chronic food
insecurity or deficiencies in diet quality.

Cultural influences may determine the actual number of eating occasions that occur, as
well as the definition of the term “meal”, making it difficult to compare this indicator across
locations.

This indicator is useful as a food consumption indicator, only if differences in context are
taken into account.

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B. Income and Expenditure Indicators

Another approach to the question of whether people are able to consume sufficient food
at a future point in time is by analyzing their patterns of income and expenditure. This
helps assess whether households are able to meet their minimum consumption needs.

The most direct way to capture this information is to measure all sources of household
income, including:
• production;
• sales,
• wages;
• salaries; and
• transfers.

To accurately measure food access, calculations of household income must incorporate all
agricultural production and sales, (e.g., field, garden, and tree crops; livestock; fish; items
hunted or gathered), value-added products, wages and salaries, and various transfers,
including remittances.

Indicators of income may be difficult or expensive to measure directly because:

• the process of data collection is time consuming and expensive;

• it is complex to record the total household income derived from different household
members and their many diverse economic activities;
• respondents may perceive an incentive to distort their responses, as in the case of
the underreporting of incomes levels which may be tied to the targeting of benefits.

To overcome these problems, there has been considerable interest in identifying more
reliable or efficient income indicators. A great deal of research has gone into identifying
proxy indicators for household income.

Income Indicator Proxies are often desired because they are less time consuming to
collect, and therefore, less expensive. More importantly, given the concern for under-
reporting of incomes from respondents, proxies are thought to be more easily observed by
the survey enumerator, and therefore, more credible.

At the same time, there is rarely a one-to-one relation between changes in direct indicators
and changes in their proxies. Thus, the use of proxies involves a trade-off of one potential
set of biases against another set of biases.

Proxy indicators for income include:

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• Percent of total expenditure on food

Households that spend a high portion of their income on food (i.e., more than 70
percent) are very likely to be food insecure. To compute this proxy measure, data
should be available on all household expenditures. Similar to the indicator
described above, data collection requires considerable time, resources, and skill.
• Expenditure on specific commodities
Experience has shown that it is usually easier to obtain information about
household expenditures for specific goods than about total income from all sources
or all expenditures. If the expenditure on a single good or a small number of goods
is highly correlated with household income, the observed expenditure on these
goods can be used as a proxy of household income.

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Vulnerability indicator sets: Risk and risk management

Determining the hazards which households are exposed to, and their susceptibility or
resilience to these shocks, is a natural component of such an analysis.
It is necessary to determine:
• the risks that households are exposed to;
• the effects of shocks and trends on household welfare; and
• the effectiveness of livelihood strategies to manage the adverse effects of these.

Suitable indicators need to be identified in each specific context to measure these

elements.

The most widely used indicators of risks are:

• the frequency of past shocks;
• who was affected; and
• the consequences.

This information may be collected:

• at the community level, in the form of a timeline; or
• at the national level, from quantitative datasets.

The first stage in risk analysis is to identify the types of hazards. There are many ways to
classify hazard types.

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Ways to classify risk types

Hazards can be categorized in broad terms such as:
• Health and Life Cycle Risks: Illness, injury, occupational accidents, disability,
epidemics (i.e., HIV/AIDS), famines, old age, death in the family;
• Social and Political Risks: Crime, domestic violence, civil war, exclusion based on
ethnicity, class or gender, political unrest, coup d’états;
• Natural Risks: Heavy rainfall, landslides, floods, droughts;
• Economic Risks: Unemployment, harvest failure, business failure, resettlement,
financial crises, personal debt, macroeconomic policy failures; and
• Environmental Risks: Pollution, poor sanitation systems, deforestation and land
degradation.
• Technology risks: Fire, redundancies.

The analysis needs to focus on the main hazards identified and their main characteristics,
including:
• the shock prone locations;
• the probabilities of shocks/trends occurring;
• the temporal dimension: which time of the year does the shock occur, what’s the
duration, is it a continued trend etc…;
• what was the historic impact.

Other factors influencing the future probability of hazards should be taken into account,
including:
• climatic change;
• environmental destruction; and
• resource degradation.

Analysing people’s susceptibility and ability to manage risks is challenging. Direct

measurement of the household or individual response to uncertain future events is
particularly challenging.

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Case study: Southern Africa 1991/92 compared to 2001/03

The humanitarian crisis in southern Africa in 2001-03 has been generally linked to the crop
failure of 2001-03. In 2001 crop production fell by between 13 to 37 of the five year
average.
In consequence 16 million people were identified whose lives or livelihoods were
threatened.
However, in comparison, during 1992 the crop production fell by a full 66% from the five
year average, but a minimal number of people required humanitarian assistance at that
time. The core difference was that the ability to cope has fallen dramatically over the
decade.
In this case further analysis was needed to identify the underlying causes of vulnerability
and appropriate response measures, including rebuilding risk management capacities.

A number of proxy indicators are widely used. Examples of these indicators are presented
in the following table.

Table 3: Examples of Proxy Indicators

Proxy indicator Description
This indicator estimates, as a measure of income diversity:
• the number of different household income sources; or
• the number of different crops grown.
It is intended to capture household income diversification strategies
Diversity of
that can help reduce income variation.
income sources
It is based on the assumption that a more diversified set of income
sources will have lower variability in total income earned.
This information is easy to obtain. However, its interpretation can be
challenging, as the degree of resilience conferred by income
diversification is not always clear and may be context specific.
This measure can either be obtained through household surveys or
community participatory techniques to determine the number of months
in a year a household has adequate food provisions.
It captures information on:
Food self- • production and self-sufficiency;
sufficiency • storage; and
• purchasing power.
As with other qualitative indicators, disadvantages of this measure are
that it is susceptible to reporting biases and it is difficult to make cross-
country comparisons due to context specificity.
Asset ownership is important to monitor in the food security context
because assets buffer or insure household consumption when incomes
are insufficient. As household incomes increase, additional income
may be used to acquire assets. Households acquire assets that can be
Household sold on a periodic basis to compensate for shortfalls in consumption or
assets income. Livestock is a classic indicator asset.
While assigning assets value is difficult, counting them is easy and can
generate an asset index for the purposes of creating wealth rankings.
Changes in the value of an asset index can be a good indicator of
household wealth and vulnerability to food insecurity, as well as a

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proxy for household income.

The interpretation of asset sales is to some extent context specific
(e.g., livestock sales in pastoral societies are interpreted differently
than livestock sales in agrarian societies). Asset sales are considered
an indication of food insecurity, and productive asset sales are a good
indication of household vulnerability to more severe food insecurity
because, in this case, a household is willing to compromise future
income streams for the fulfillment of immediate consumption.

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Measuring indicators

There are usually a number of ways of measuring any indicator.

Example
For example, an indicator defined as the “average total calorie consumption per capita”
may be measured through:
• a detailed dietary intake survey based on the weighing of food portions by survey
enumerators; or
• from information based on a 24-hour recall of survey respondents.

Similarly, measures of household income can be derived as a lump sum estimate based
on the recall of a household head over the past month, or as an aggregate of income from
individual household member activities based on individual recall.

In some areas, there is international consensus on either measurement or analysis

protocols for an indicator.

Example: WHO recommended methods

The World Health Organization has published recommended methods for obtaining
anthropometric measurements and developing indexes for wasting, stunting, and
underweight.

For many food security indicators no such standards exist. In these cases, indicators
should be defined in ways that are methodologically rigid and appropriate to the local food
security context.

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Collecting data

Data collection can be carried out using a number of methods.

Data may be collected for the same indicator using quantitative or qualitative measures, or
a mix of both depending on the context and purpose:

• qualitative data often has much explanatory power, helping to shed light on causal
relationships and is particularly useful in analysis and planning at the local level;
• quantitative data may be cheaper to collect, is easier to aggregate, and allows for
statistical significance and thus generalization over larger areas.

Data collection can take place using primary or secondary data sources:

• Primary data is data collected for the express purpose of vulnerability assessment,
often using informal and qualitative methods, including participatory tools, or key
informant interviews, expert panels and focus group discussions, but also utilizing
household surveys.
• Secondary data analysis typically draws on various existing information and data,
including formal large-scale (national) surveys, such as the Living Standard
Measurement Surveys (LSMS), Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), census
data or agro -ecological GIS data.

The way that specific indicators are collected, combined and interpreted can be formalized
in a specific methodology.

Example
For example, the Household Food Economy method combines indicators of income,
expenditure and coping strategies to estimate the ability to meet minimum consumption
needs.

Another example of a methodology is the Coping Strategy Index (CSI).

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Example: the Coping Strategy Index (CSI)

he CSI, developed by D. Maxwell and later adopted by WFP and CARE International, is a
relatively simple method grounded in local food insecurity experience used in a variety of
settings and for various purposes, but principally to monitor the level of food insecurity.

Coping strategy indices evaluate the strategies employed by households that are unable to
access adequate amounts of food. Because there are several strategies for coping with
food insecurity, it is often quicker and less costly to measure the presence of these coping
strategies than directly recording consumption information.

There are four types of coping strategies that food insecure households typically use:

1) changing the diet towards less costly and less preferred alternative foods;
2) maintaining food access through non-sustainable means (e.g., borrowing money,
consuming seed stocks, begging);
3) decreasing the number of individuals being fed by the household (i.e., migration); and
4) rationing available foods by reducing meal size or frequency.

The tool is based on assessing responses to the question of what households do when
they don’t have enough food and don’t have the money to buy food. A simple set of
questions that require 6-7 minutes per household is used to determine how often
households employ a list of coping strategies identified by community focus groups.
Information on the frequency and severity in a particular local context is then weighted
according to the severity, as defined by the community, of identified coping strategies, and
combined into a single score, the CSI. Depending on the strategy observed for a
household, its placement on a scale of severity can then be assessed.

The advantage of a coping strategy index is that it captures notions of food adequacy and
vulnerability. Some disadvantages of this approach are that: contextual differences make
comparisons across households and localities problematic, misreporting may lead to
biased results, and the index tends to underreport the number of severely food insecure
households.

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Selecting vulnerability indicators

An important principle to consider when choosing specific indicators’ measures lie in how
to maximize the quality of the information and its benefit to decision-making against the
costs of collecting, processing, and analyzing that information.

This process requires considerable caution as the temptation often is to retain too many
variables. A lean and neat collection of indicators is easier to map and monitor than a large
number of indications.

In deciding which indicator or which measure should be used several criteria should be
considered. These include:

• Purpose
• Credibility
• Cost
• Comparability

Purpose
As the scope of vulnerability assessments are so broad, a primary selection criteria is the
intended link to decision making.

Example
For example, very different indicators are needed to inform short term emergency
assistance decisions as opposed to more developmental actions of vulnerability reduction.
In the former case there will be far more focus on Early Warning indicators and indicators
of food security outcomes, while in the latter case indicators of risks and risk management
capacity is of particular relevance.

Time sensitivity is another important consideration in assessing indicators for differing

information uses. In general, indicators used for relief need to be near real time, while
developmentally aligned information may draw from indicators that can be updated less
frequently and made available with longer time lags.

Credibility
It is important that an indicator is credible if it is to influence decision making. This depends
on a number of factors.

Objectivity is perceived as important. Indicators based on a self-evaluation of people's own

food security status, such as whether or not they “were worried about going hungry” are
less objective than responses to questions related to more objective facts, such as daily
meal frequencies.

The precision of a measurement implies a more or less credible indicator. A credibility

concern of a more technical nature relates to the “margin of error” and the “confidence
level” of an indicator derived from sample data.
This is a function of the degree of expected precision in the indicator and the size of the
sample from which the indicator estimate is obtained.

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Credibility can be enhanced by involving decision makers in the methodology selection

and analysis stage and also by establishing an inter-agency/inter-institutional dialogue
throughout the process of selection, collecting and analysing data.

Cost
The cost of obtaining an indicator is typically related to the time, personnel and logistics
costs associated with data collection, processing, and analysis.

Time, personnel and logistic costs

These costs may vary significantly by indicator and data collection method. Often, the use
of low cost indicators may imply difficult trade-offs in terms of their accuracy and credibility
which need to be considered in selecting indicators.

It is important to look at existing data before undertaking any survey:

• Indicators derived from existing secondary data are relatively inexpensive, but can
be difficult to link directly to specific program beneficiaries; while
• The cost of survey-based indicators - typically more expensive than indicators
obtained from secondary data - vary considerably.

Calculating the cost of collecting any given indicator is relatively straightforward, but the
benefits associated with that additional piece of information may be difficult to define and
quantify.

Calculating benefits
Where information is used to support ongoing management decisions, it may be more
difficult to separate the effects of the information from the quality of the management staff
and other factors.

Comparability
Comparability is essential for guiding resource allocation decisions between programs or
areas. Comparability requires that indicators are conceptually equivalent.

Example: Conceptual equivalence

The percentage of food insecure households based on measures of dietary intake cannot
be compared to similar percentages based on the level of per capita food expenditures.

In cases where the indicator definition and data collection methods have been
standardized, such as with many anthropometric measures, comparability across
programs is more straightforward.

Therefore, it’s important to harmonize the indicators used as much as possible.

Even using these criteria there is no magic formula for selecting vulnerability indicators,
and no agreed guide as to how many indicators should be selected.
No single indicator adequately captures the full complexity of vulnerability.
It is also clear that any indicator has both advantages and disadvantages.

All indicators have significant limitations. and there is often a justification for including
multiple indicators to measure the same aspect of vulnerability. This allows analysts and
decision makers to triangulate the results.

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When multiple indicators move simultaneously in the same direction then we can have
more confidence in the results.

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Example: Afghanistan 2001 - Combining nutritional survey and food economy

analysis
In August 2001, Concern commissioned a nutrition, food security and health assessment
in Badakshan Province in north-east Afghanistan, following three years of drought.
The survey used both quantitative and qualitative methods to estimate the prevalence of
acute malnutrition in children and mothers. The survey also provided information about
agriculture, household food security, coping mechanisms, and patterns of morbidity and
mortality.

The survey found only 11% prevalence of wasting, which in itself was not extremely
alarming. However other information indicated a severe crisis with the population on the
verge of famine. Crop yields were very low for the second consecutive year. Poorer
farmers had already sold their livestock to compensate for production shortfalls. Livestock
prices were low and wheat prices were high. The loss of animals also affected dietary
quality, e.g. less milk, meat, animal fat and eggs. Most people were reducing meal
frequency and quantity. Preferential feeding of children was increasingly common.
Borrowing was increasing, at effective interest rates of 350%. Sale of land was a last
resort before displacement with land prices plummeting. Most poor households had
already sold their assets. Prices for household assets were extremely low so this was no
longer anything but a stop-gap measure. The supply of casual labour exceeded demand
and wage levels were insufficient to meet household food requirements. Labour migration
was widespread.

The survey performed a basic food economy analysis. It determined that in 2000 there
was a 24% food gap filled with one or more of the coping strategies outlined above.
However, in 2001 the food gap was 22% higher. Given exhaustion of coping strategies the
survey authors concluded that this food deficit gap was likely to be higher.

The survey also predicted that if farmers were to resort to two ‘crisis’ strategies – selling
their remaining cows, sheep, goats to buy grain, or eating seed stock – the food gap could
be reduced to 12%, but these strategies would impair people’s ability to survive in
subsequent years. Based on these calculations the survey predicted the percentage of
farmers who could meet household consumption needs by employing different strategies.

The report concluded that when interpreting nutritional surveys it is vital to consider
context. In this case, a figure of 11.5% wasting would not convince donors to fund
immediate emergency nutritional interventions. However, the contextual data clearly
showed a near-famine situation.

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Summary

Indicators of vulnerability are important in order to inform decisions ranging from

emergency relief planning to longer term more developmental interventions.

“Vulnerability” cannot be captured in a single measure or indicator, in the way that

something like nutritional status can be measured. Vulnerability is forward looking and by
nature subject to uncertainty.

A variety of indicators address different dimensions of vulnerability, including context and

food security status, the exposure to risks and people’s ability to manage these risks.

There are many potential indicators of vulnerability that can be helpful to decision makers.
These may be collected using a variety of methods.

Selecting the appropriate indicator in any context needs to take into account the purpose
for which it is being used, the credibility of the information, the cost and the comparability.

Given the challenges of measuring vulnerability, triangulation between multiple measures

is essential.

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If you want to know more

Online resources

FIVIMS, Using Indicators and measurements of hunger, food insecurity and vulnerability
(http://www.fivims.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=37).

Additional reading

FANTA 2003 Food Access Indicator Review. Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance
Project (FANTA) Washington, DC

GTZ 2004 Guidelines Risk Analysis – a Basis for Disaster Risk Management
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH

Hoddinott J and Yisehac Yohannes Dietary Diversity as a Food Security Indicator

IFPRI, Discussion Paper 136, June 2002.

Maxwell, D., B. Watkins, R Wheeler & G Collins. 2003. The Coping Strategy Index: a tool
for rapidly measuring food security and the impact of food aid programmes in
emergencies. Paper from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) International

Riely F, Nancy Mock, Bruce Cogill, Laura Bailey, and Eric Kenefick 1999 Food Security
Indicators and Framework for Use in the Monitoring and Evaluation of
Food Aid Programs. Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project (FANTA)
Washington, DC.

Food Aid Programs. Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project (FANTA)
Washington, DC.

WFP 2004 Vulnerability Analysis: Concepts and Case Studies in emergency, recovery and
development settings. January 2004, WFP - VAM Rome.

Learners’ Notes 23
Food Security Information for Action

Baseline Food Security Assessments

Introduction to Baseline and

Action-oriented Assessments

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and developed

by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

© FAO, 2008
 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

Table of contents
Learning objectives ................................................................................................2

Introduction ...........................................................................................................2

What is a Baseline Assessment? ..............................................................................3

Why is a Baseline Assessment needed? ...................................................................4

What is an Action-oriented Assessment? ..................................................................7

How is an Action-oriented Assessment used? ...........................................................8

Differences between Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments .............................. 10

How are Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments related? ................................... 12

Resource Constraints ............................................................................................ 13

Assessing Capacity ............................................................................................... 15

Summary ............................................................................................................. 16

If you want to know more... ................................................................................. 17

Learner Notes 1
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Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• understand what baseline and action-oriented assessments are;
• identify differences in terms of purpose, scope and the use of information;
• be aware of how baselines and action-oriented assessments complement each other; and
• be aware of resources and capacity required for each type of assessment.

Introduction

Baseline and action-oriented assessments are investigations undertaken in order to better

understand the food security status of a given population, under specific circumstances, at a
particular point in time.
Overlooking these important assessment steps in conducting a food security activity could lead to
inappropriate and ineffective decisions and actions.
This lesson illustrates what baseline and action-oriented assessments are and how they differ and
complement each other.

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What is a Baseline Assessment?

A baseline food security assessment is a comprehensive description of the food security status of a
given population in a country or region at a specific point in time.
Baseline assessments might include one or several of the following components:

1. Characterization of how the populations live (description of their livelihoods).

Livelihoods are the various ways people adopt in order to make a living.
These will depend on a number of factors related to the surrounding environment:
• the natural/geo-physical environment in which they live, such as, weather and climate
variability, mountains, valleys, forests, pastures, mineral resources, rivers and lakes, soil
fertility…
• the availability and accessibility of infrastructures and services including roads, markets,
health and education facilities, employment opportunities...
• the institutional settings, including the political, administrative and social contexts…
• the various farm and non-farm activities conducted and assets owned by individuals,
including productive and non-productive assets (types of food and cash crops grown,
livestock, land, houses, farm and transport equipment…). The identification of assets is
useful to rank population groups according to wealth and socio-economic status.

2. Understanding the risks and hazards they are facing.

In conducting their daily lives, people are exposed to risks that can have potentially
devastating impacts on their livelihoods.
Risks are “the probability of harmful consequences, or expected losses (deaths, injuries,
property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted or environment damaged) resulting from
interactions between natural or human-induced hazards and vulnerable conditions”.
In a baseline assessment, the range of potential risks that can result in a food crisis or from
the deterioration in people’s livelihoods should be identified.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

3. Understanding their capacities to deal with risk.

Once the potential risks have been identified, a baseline assessment should analyse the
capacity of the population to cope with and recover from the impact of these risks -- their
resilience. In a risky environment, people have developed coping strategies and resilience in
order to deal with the various hazards they face.
It is important to identify these mechanisms to determine:
- how successful they are in helping to overcome the immediate effect of different hazards;
- how sustainable they are to supporting people’s livelihoods and food security status in the
medium to long term.

Baselines are conducted fairly infrequently, as people’s livelihoods typically change relatively
slowly. For example, an assessment may be updated every five or more years, or whenever a
dramatic change occurring in the country or region has impacted the baseline conditions (such as a
natural disaster, changes in administrative divisions).
An initial baseline assessment should be representative of all the prevailing livelihood systems
in the country in order to provide a comprehensive picture, taking into account the administrative
and agro-ecological zones in the country. This comprehensive picture will help identify where the
most vulnerable population groups are located, or “hot spots”.
Please note that given the high cost related to conducting a baseline assessment, subsequent
updates might be limited to specific locations where risks of food insecurity are the highest.

Why is a Baseline Assessment needed?

Baseline assessments provide a reference point and rationale to guide various decision-making
processes. A credible and reliable diagnosis of a food security situation can be used:

1. As a reference guide for understanding changes and trends.

2. To inform policies and programmes for long-term development and
poverty/vulnerability reduction strategies.
3. To support programmes and projects for emergency preparedness and disaster
mitigation.

Let’s consider each of these three main uses in more detail.

Learner Notes 4
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Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

1. As a reference guide for understanding changes and trends.

Information provided through baseline assessments indicates the state of food security at a
specific point in time for a specific population.
Repeating this type of assessment at another point in time helps identify changes and trends, i.e.
improvement/deterioration in the food security status of a given population, as well as the
explanatory factors. It also helps identify indicators that should be monitored on a regular basis.
Example

Example: Monitoring the achievement of the MDGs

One use of baseline assessments is to monitor the progress of programmes towards achieving
certain objectives, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
One MDG is halving the number of people who live on a dollar a day or less by year 2015. Baseline
assessment results can indicate whether the gap between what needs to be done to achieve the
MDGs and what is actually being done is narrowing or widening.

2. To inform policies and programmes for long-term development and poverty/vulnerability

reduction strategies.

Baseline assessments help to identify mechanisms and key constraints, challenges and
opportunities towards achieving food security.
Analysing people’s livelihoods can help to develop more appropriate policies in order to strengthen
the most sustainable coping strategies and increase populations’ resilience. In other words,
baselines help to find ways of addressing various constraints that can feed into policies and
programmes for long-term development.

Example
Example: Identifying the causes of poverty and vulnerability.
In Zambia, a baseline assessment conducted by the World Bank helped identify the underlying
causes of poverty and vulnerability, which included institutional, policy and structural factors as well
as risk factors such as climate, health and animal-plant disease and price fluctuations.
The Zambia baseline assessment also highlighted how the coping strategies of the population had
weakened over the years and identified ways of strengthening them that included improved policies
and programmes.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

3. To support programmes and projects for emergency preparedness and disaster mitigation.

Baseline assessments may help to understand the impacts of potential disasters to better plan for
emergency preparedness. Having depicted a situation before the occurrence of a shock helps
to better understand the potential magnitude of the problem, how people could cope with it, the
possible level of performance of the institutions they can rely upon and what type of external
assistance may be needed.
Baseline assessments can help identify where the chronically vulnerable populations are located
and how they can be assisted, before shocks occur.

Example
Example: Emergency preparedness
C-SAFE is a joint project of three non-governmental organizations that was implemented from 2002
to 2005 in Lesotho, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The main objectives of the project were to improve the
nutritional status of vulnerable population groups, protect their productive assets and strengthen
household and community resilience to current and future shocks.
For monitoring and evaluation purposes, a baseline survey was conducted at the beginning of the
project, anticipating the need to measure outcomes from the actual interventions.
Objectives of the assessment:
The baseline had two main objectives:
(1) establish baseline values of livelihood indicators against which future measurements of goal-
related changes could be made; and
(2) increase the understanding of livelihood security factors impacting the lives of rural households.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

What is an Action-oriented Assessment?

An action-oriented assessment is used to address a specific issue or problem in order to

come up with recommendations that could be immediately translated into actions to solve the
identified problem or address the specific issue.
Action-oriented assessments are often triggered by a mid-term evaluation/the end of a project or
programme or by a monitoring or early warning assessment that indicates the occurrence of a
problem, shock or hazard and the need for more specific information in order to better respond to
the prevailing situation.
Examples include:
• emergency needs assessments (i.e. the broad range of sectoral needs including food
security assessments and food needs assessments)
• measuring the impact of a specific project or programme.

An action-oriented assessment can inform decision-makers on:

• whether or not to intervene
• the nature and scale of the intervention that is required
• prioritization and allocation of resources
• how effective the programme decisions have been.

The information obtained helps to justify the approach taken and measures the extent to which the
predicted outcomes of the project/programme have been achieved.
This provides further justification and rationale for initiation of new projects or programmes, or
their continuation, revision or termination.
Action-oriented assessments are part of the process of response/project design, implementation
and evaluation.

Action-oriented assessments provide an understanding of the magnitude of the problem, how long
it will last, who are the most vulnerable groups, and what is the best response in terms of what is
needed, how much and for how long.
They should also help identify what would happen if no action was taken or if there was an
inadequate response.

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 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes
Example

Example: Emergency assessment

OXFAM’s experience in Orissa, is an example of emergency assessment. Several villages were hit by
cyclones and flood.
OXFAM conducted an emergency assessment in Orissa in order to determine what was the impact
of the shock, which categories of people were the most affected, in which locations and why; and
how to combine food and non-food aid interventions effectively and for how long.
This emergency assessment indicated immediate responses required to prevent acute malnutrition
and loss of lives, as well as interventions to help rebuild livelihoods.

How is an Action-oriented Assessment used?

In the case of a project evaluation, the outcomes of the assessment can help fine-tune previous
actions and lead to a new orientation of the project.
In the course of a project, an action-oriented assessment might be triggered either as a mid-term
evaluation in order to check whether previous actions undertaken are producing the expected
outcomes, or after the occurrence of a specific shock.
Example

Example: Assessment conducted after the occurrence of a shock during an ongoing

programme.
OXFAM had already started a pastoral development programme in 1994 following successive
droughts in the Wajir district, in north-east Kenya.
After the 1999 drought and the declaration of emergency in the district, a multi-agency emergency
food security assessment was conducted and the results were used by OXFAM to modify the
actions undertaken in its pastoral development programme.

In a food security emergency assessment, problems might be related to lack of food

availability, in the event of crop failure due to drought; or a lack of food access, in the event of
market failure due to either skyrocketing prices or lack of supply by traders.
An action-oriented crop assessment may be required to assess the extent of the crop failures. A
market assessment may be triggered by unusually high prices for the season or lack of
commodities. In this case, the assessment aims to understand the causes of the shock and the

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 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

impacts on the most vulnerable, and identifies ways of addressing the problem (including food aid,
subsidized sales, etc.).
Results obtained from such action-oriented assessments contribute to decisions regarding
mobilizing required financial, human and logistical resources, planning for appropriate interventions,
and targeting effectively and efficiently.
These results can also be used as important advocacy tools in attracting government and donor
attention to a specific problem and, subsequently, funds to support emergency relief.

Let’s consider the following example:

In 2005, the Government of Niger and UNICEF conducted an emergency nutritional survey in order
to assess the magnitude of malnutrition and recent illness among young children.
The survey results indicated that among children aged 6-59 months, 15.3% had Global Acute
Malnutrition and a greater mortality rate than the emergency threshold (2 deaths per 10,000
children per day); during the preceding two weeks, 72% had fever, and 49.1% had diarrhea.
Among children aged 9-59 months, 33.7% had not been vaccinated for measles.

The outcome of the assessment was used to trigger an emergency response.

In fact, the example shows that nutrition assessments may be triggered by unusual high frequency
of visits to health centers in a given area at a specific time of the year.
A nutrition assessment would strive to understand how dietary intake and anthropometric status of
a population group or subgroup have evolved following a crisis. Results from nutrition assessments
help identify appropriate measures to be undertaken including supplementary feeding, oral
rehydration, clinical therapy, etc.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

Differences between Baseline and Action-oriented

Assessments

Let’s now focus on the differences between a baseline and an action-oriented assessment.

In terms of purpose, the differences are:

BASELINE ASSESSMENTS ACTION-ORIENTED ASSESSMENTS

Baseline assessments are a multi-purpose Action-oriented assessments are focused on

exercise with broad objectives. They help analysing a problem and identifying what the
decision-makers have a better knowledge and outcomes and impacts are, in order to trigger
appreciation of a given food security situation. a response or corrective action.
They are focused more on informing medium-
and longer-term development planning,
programme and project design, monitoring
and evaluation. They provide a reference point
to compare situations during a crisis.

The difference in terms of scope is threefold, including: the range of issues involved, the
timeframe and the geographical area of intervention.

BASELINE ASSESSMENTS ACTION-ORIENTED ASSESSMENTS

A food security baseline assessment
will look at a range of issues An action-oriented assessment will
affecting the food security status of focus on problem analysis in order to
ISSUES a given population in order to come come up with specific
up with a holistic picture and a recommendations calling for corrective
comprehensive understanding of and immediate actions.
the prevailing situation.

A baseline assessment might be An action-oriented assessment is

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 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

used as a reference guide for at organized on an ad hoc basis,

TIMEFRAME least four to five years if the according to specific needs, and the
prevailing situation is not subject to information is particular to that point in
a dramatic change. time and usually becomes quickly
outdated.
A baseline assessment intends to An action-oriented assessment is
cover a more representative part of organized on an ad hoc basis,
GEOGRAPHICAL the country. according to specific needs, and the
information is particular to that point in
time and usually becomes quickly
outdated.

In terms of use of information, the difference between a baseline and an action-oriented

assessment lies in:
• the number of people who potentially could use the outcome of each assessment type;
• the way the information is used.

BASELINE ASSESSMENTS ACTION-ORIENTED ASSESSMENTS

A baseline assessment has a larger potential In contrast, the impact of action-oriented

number of users than an action-oriented assessments for the primary beneficiaries is
assessment and can be used for designing expected to be more immediate, as the
medium- and long-term development policies, objective is often to change the course of a
academic research, or directly by programme project, to save lives or improve the nutritional
and project managers. The impact on the status of affected populations.
primary beneficiaries will be more indirect.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

How are Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments related?

We now understand that baseline and action-oriented assessments are distinct products.
However, they are closely related in their use and application. Understanding the relationships
between the two helps in designing both types more effectively. In particular:

1. Baselines provide a context for action assessments

An emergency needs assessment requires a wider analysis of the food security context in order to
obtain a better understanding of the problem and come up with appropriate recommendations.
Example:
In the drought-affected district of Wajir in Kenya, an analysis of the context helped better
understand who the people affected by the 1999 drought were, what basic services they had
access to, and to what extent the Wajir economy was connected to the rest of the Kenyan
economy. The food security context provided in the baseline survey also emphasized the level of
civil insecurity resulting from clan conflict over grazing land as well as the conflict in neighboring
Somalia.

2. Baselines provide benchmarks and references in order to better assess emergency

situations.
Food security issues analysed in an emergency assessment (post-crisis situation) provide more
credible conclusions if they are compared to a benchmark of a reference period (pre-crisis) derived
from a baseline.
Example:
The nutritional emergency situation in Niger helps illustrate this purpose.
Baseline data collected previously by Médecins Sans Frontière (MSF) had shown that …
“[historically during] the lean period (between the exhaustion of food reserves and the new
harvest), from June to September … the number of [clinic] admissions is high: between 250 and
300 per week. After the harvest, in October, the number of admissions diminishes and maintains
itself at a low level (around 50 to 100 per week) until May. However, in 2005, since January, the
number of admissions is abnormally high and the situation is rapidly worsening. In March, the MSF
feeding programme in Maradi recorded 200-300 admissions per week, which shows that the
situation is very critical” (MSF Nutritional Emergency in Niger, July 2005).

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

3. Baselines help to differentiate chronic and transitory food insecure populations

A chronically food-insecure population group regularly experiences hunger, while a transitory food-
insecure group is affected occasionally. Within a given population, different households may
experience different types of food-insecurity.
Differentiating between a chronic and a transitory food insecure population is crucial in order to
design appropriate interventions, and this is possible if a baseline assessment is already available.
Similar interventions are not appropriate in both cases, and baseline assessments usually provide
this type of classification of the population under study.

Action-oriented assessments should ideally be preceded by or rely upon a baseline assessment in

order to gain a thorough understanding of the current situation, and help select key indicators to be
measured as part of the action assessment.
Results and lessons learned from action-oriented assessments can also serve as a basis for updating
a previous baseline assessment.

Resource Constraints
Several types of resource constraints can emerge while conducting each type of assessment,
including time constraints, staff requirements, logistical requirements and financial resources.
However, these constraints are different for each type of assessment.

BASELINE ASSESSMENTS ACTION-ORIENTED ASSESSMENTS

Baseline assessments are planned and organized Action-oriented assessments are conducted
in advance and are not subject to time promptly in order to address a specific problem
constraints. However, their comprehensive or in an emergency situation. They are usually
dimension requires a substantial amount of under severe time constraints but require less
human, logistical, technical and financial human and financial resources.
resources. Therefore they are not always
feasible for practical and financial reasons.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

Sometimes an action-oriented assessment is called for but there is no baseline assessment to guide
the process. In these situations one of the following options can be adopted:

IF... THEN...

The organization that is conducting the Existing staff, who have long experience of the
assessment has a good knowledge of the area area, can understand the context and the
and has already been working previously in the background of the action-oriented assessment.
region... Previous knowledge can then be used as
baseline information.

The organization does not have a good A brief survey of the structural food security
knowledge of the area... situation can be conducted concomitantly with
the action-oriented assessment.
Key informants and resource persons including
local representatives from central authorities,
local NGOs, village representatives and traders
can be asked about the prevailing pre-crisis
situation.

Learner Notes 14
 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

Assessing Capacity
Knowing the general level of performance of existing institutions and their willingness to participate
helps to better understand the potential role they can play in providing support and services to the
assessment process.
External assistance could then be provided to fill any capacity gaps as well as develop programmes
to help support capacity building.

BASELINE ASSESSMENTS ACTION-ORIENTED ASSESSMENTS

Baseline assessments have flexibility in time to As action-oriented assessments are often

allow a thorough assessment of the existing conducted promptly, multi-agency initiatives are
capacities in order to conduct the assessment. usually required to combine different expertise
This could include an inventory of resource and mobilize resource persons at local and
persons from academic institutions, local and decentralized levels, including local authorities,
international NGOs, and civil servants at national village representatives, local NGOs and traders.
and decentralized levels who could participate.

What are the roles involved in conducting baseline assessments?

In conducting a baseline assessment, it is important to find available human resources to assist
with:
1. Conducting secondary data research and analysis and identifying information gaps that need to
be filled with primary data collection. This research and analysis can be conducted through
academic institutions and research centres.
2. Elaborating a methodology for conducting the whole data collection work, including sampling,
questionnaire design, data management and analysis and interpretation of findings.
3. Training enumerators in data collection, participatory interview and survey methods and child
anthropometry, if necessary, and hiring supervisors responsible for the quality control of
enumerators’ work.
4. Writing and editing intermediate and final reports.
5. Coordinating the whole process and making sure that all inputs are managed and processed
properly.

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 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

In summary, several people and institutions may take part in both types of assessments: local and
international NGOs, national and local administrative officials, leaders and staff, representatives
from the private sector, civil society, academic and research institutions, etc.
Researchers from academic institutions and research centres are more likely to be involved in
baseline assessments, where secondary data and analytical capacity are more appropriate.
Available time and financial resources, as well as the objectives of the assessment will also guide
the selection of appropriate resource persons and institutions.
In both cases, two considerations should be taken into account given the specific circumstances
and objectives of the assessment:
 While well informed local skills are useful and cost-effective, using external resources
may also be considered in order to take advantage of an independent opinion. This could
be the case, for example, when assessing food aid needs of an affected community.
 In an emergency situation where the purpose of the assessment is to save lives,
timeliness and utility of the assessment may be traded against quality and accuracy.

Summary
 A baseline food security assessment is a comprehensive description of the food security
status of a given population in a country or region at a specific point in time.
 Baseline assessments can be used: as a reference guide for understanding changes and
trends; to inform policies and programmes for long-term development and
poverty/vulnerability reduction strategies; or to support programmes and projects for
emergency preparedness and disaster mitigation.
 An action-oriented assessment is used to address a specific issue or problem in order to
come up with recommendations that could be immediately translated into actions.
 In the case of a project evaluation, the outcomes of an action-oriented assessment can help
fine-tune current and future actions and lead to a new orientation of the project. In a food
security emergency, an action-oriented assessment may be required to assess the extent of
the problem.
 Baseline and action-oriented assessments are closely related in their use and application.
Baseline assessments can provide context, benchmarks and references for interpreting the
results of action oriented assessments.

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Baseline and Action-oriented Assessments - Learner’s Notes

If you want to know more...

Online resources:
 Mali Rural Community and Household Food Security Profiles. WFP.
http://vam.wfp.org/main/docs/vulnerability_Analysis-some-Examples-Final.pdf in Technical Paper
Vulnerability Analysis: concepts and case studies in emergency, recovery and development settings.
January 2004. WFP-VAM-Rome.
 Concepts and Principles of Household Food Security and Relief Food Management. SCF/UK
www.savethechildren.org.uk.
 FEWS NET technical note, guidance, baselines: www.FEWS.net.
 A review of emergency food security assessment practice in Ethiopia:
www.odi.org.uk/hpg/papers/HPGWFP_Ethiopia.PDF
 Young H., S. Jaspars, R. Brown, J. Frize, H. Khogali. Food security assessments in emergency: a
livelihoods approach. Humanitarian Network Paper 36, ODI, June 2001.
http://www.odihpn.org/documents/networkpaper036.pdf

Additional readings:
 Shoham J., Food Security Information Systems supported by Save the Children U.K., a review. 2005.
London.

Learner Notes 17
 Food Security Information for Action

Baseline Food Security Assessments

Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and developed

by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

© FAO, 2008
 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 2: Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method – Learner’s Notes

Table of contents
Learning objectives ................................................................................................2

Introduction ...........................................................................................................2

Baseline Assessment Methods .................................................................................3

Strengths and weaknesses of each method ........................................................... 14

Blending Methods................................................................................................. 16

Defining an appropriate method ............................................................................ 18

Summary ............................................................................................................. 20

If you want to know more….................................................................................. 20

Learner Notes 1
 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 2: Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method – Learner’s Notes

Learning objectives

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

• compare the various food security baseline assessment methods; and
• understand the criteria for defining an appropriate method, building on the options
available.

Introduction

All baselines essentially have a common purpose of helping us to understand livelihoods,

risk/hazards and vulnerability/resilience and provide a means to establish a benchmark from which
to analyse similar issues under various food security contexts.
This lesson will help you to appreciate the features of different baseline assessment methods as
well as provide criteria and a mechanism to determine which methods may be most appropriate for
your particular circumstances.
Baseline assessments can be undertaken and information used in three main decision-making
contexts:
 To reduce the incidence or severity of shocks and/or increase the resilience of communities
and households to these shocks, through planning ‘development’ or longer-term
interventions.
 As a benchmark for understanding through monitoring the impact of programme
responses (either short or long term) on food security, and informing the adjustment/re-
targeting of ongoing interventions.
 As a benchmark for understanding how a specific shock or hazard has impacted on the food
security of a specific population and so helping to plan short-term humanitarian
assistance.

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Lesson 2: Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method – Learner’s Notes

Baseline Assessment Methods

We will consider some examples of baseline assessment methods and approaches and the way they
are applied in different food security situations for different purposes.

Major types of baseline methods that are currently used by different agencies include:
1. Poverty And Vulnerability Baseline Assessments
(World Bank)
2. Livelihoods Assessments
(e.g. CARE, OXFAM)
3. The Household Economy Approach
(E.G. Save The Children Uk, FEWS-NET, Food Economy Group)
4. Comprehensive Vulnerability Food Security Assessments
(World Food Programme - WFP)
5. Programme- And Project-Specific Baseline Assessments
(e.g. C-SAFE Southern Africa)

Let’s see each baseline in more detail.

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Lesson 2: Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method – Learner’s Notes

1. Poverty And Vulnerability Baseline Assessments

(World Bank)
Poverty and Vulnerability Assessment (PVA) methods are designed to guide macro policy choices
that influence the overall levels of poverty and food insecurity.
The main objective of the PVA is to make a thorough diagnosis of the prevailing situation and to
understand the underlying causes of poverty and vulnerability of both rural and urban
dwellers, as well as constraints and opportunities in order to draw up policy recommendations at
a macro level for decision-making.
In the case of Zambia, the PVA conducted in 2005 was designed to feed into the Fifth National
Development Plan and update the previous World Bank Poverty and Vulnerability Assessment
conducted in 1995.

Here are some features of Poverty and Vulnerability Baseline Assessments:

Poverty and Vulnerability Assessment

PVAs use a combination of secondary and primary sources of information. In the case
of Zambia, the 2005 PVA relied heavily on the 2002 Living Conditions and Monitoring
Survey (LCMS) as well as on other reports, including the Demographic and Health
Survey Survey and the Population Census.
method It also relied on primary data collection through urban and rural participatory studies
on poverty and vulnerability.
These surveys were conducted in 2004 in collaboration with NGOs and researchers
from the University of Lusaka (Zambia).

Skills and time required for a PVA are quite substantial given that different types of
expertise are needed at various steps in the process.
Skills and The process is also very participatory, and an extensive consultation process is used
time between the drafting of the concept paper until the final report is produced and
required endorsed by a wide range of stakeholders.
Intermediate drafts of the report are discussed at each stage of the process through
a series of workshops in which various categories of stakeholders participate. The
Zambia PVA took approximately 18 months to complete.

Frequency Frequency of updating is variable and depends on several factors including available
of resources and stakeholders’ interest. In the case of Zambia, ten years have passed

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Lesson 2: Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method – Learner’s Notes

Poverty and Vulnerability Assessment-CONT

updating since the previous baseline was completed.

Example Here is an extract from the executive summary of the Zambian 2005 PVA.
of “…The report documents poverty along a number of dimensions, including material
baseline deprivation, human deprivation, vulnerability, destitution and social stigmatization.
product There must be progress across all dimensions if Zambia is to meet the ambitious
development goals reflected in the MDGs and being discussed in the work-up to the
Fifth National Development Plan”…
“…The Zambian population suffers from a high burden of disease due in large part to
high rates of HIV/AIDS, but also to malaria and other infectious diseases. In 2001,
HIV/AIDS prevalence was estimated at 18%for women and 13% for men, and
Zambia was entering its third decade of double-digit HIV/AIDS prevalence. Children
are particularly at risk: they are malnourished - 47% of children are chronically
malnourished, rising from 40 percent in the early 1990s – and less shielded against
disease. Three out of ten youngsters are still not fully immunized, and under-five
mortality is very high at 176 per 1000 live births. Infant mortality is particularly high
in households from high level of income poverty”...

The Zambian PVA was a main input in the preparation of the Fifth National
Development Plan.
How PVAs For example, it provided a rationale for strengthening and scaling up food and
are used nutrition interventions through the restructuring of the National Food and Nutrition
Commission in order to make it more effective to meet the new challenges and
demands of nutrition issues.

Learner Notes 5
 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 2: Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method – Learner’s Notes

2. Livelihoods Assessments (e.g. CARE, OXFAM)

Livelihoods baseline assessments are centered on people and individuals.
Their main objective is to understand the nature of livelihoods strategies and livelihoods outcomes
of the different categories of households and the principle constraints and opportunities that
could be addressed through policies and programmes.
A wide range of issues that can influence food security and welfare are screened during the
assessment process in order to understand how population groups make a living on a daily basis
and what the underlying causes of poverty and food insecurity are.
Several institutions rely upon livelihoods baseline assessments for specific purposes, including
CARE (US) and OXFAM (UK)1.
Here are some of their features:
Livelihoods Assessments

Secondary data are used in order to get a holistic picture of the area and population
under study and to clarify the context of primary data research by identifying
information gaps.
Survey Primary data are extensively collected through focus groups, and key informant and
method household semi-structured interviews.
The data collection process can also be dynamic and interactive and includes both
quantitative and qualitative information.
As they have to deal with various and complex issues, livelihoods baseline
assessments usually require quite a substantial amount of time and skills.
Time required to complete assessments ranges between 3 and 18 months, depending
Skills and on the size of the country and resources available.
time Various categories of skills are required at the conceptual, design, data analysis and
required interpretation levels as well as at the data collection field level. At the conceptual and
analysis levels, various skills are required in different fields including agronomy,

1
CARE (US) Households Livelihoods Security:
CARE Households Livelihoods Security helps to understand chronic food insecurity and poverty alleviation at the community level.
It is an in-depth analysis of communities and uses a participatory approach that allows beneficiaries to be fully involved in the process of
searching for long-term sustainable alternatives.
OXFAM’s (UK) baseline assessments:
OXFAM’s baseline assessments are used as a context in emergency and disaster situations in order to save lives and livelihoods, while
looking at long-term food security needs of affected populations.
One of the main purposes of livelihoods baseline assessments is to draw specific policy recommendations that can lead to programme
and project design.

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Lesson 2: Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method – Learner’s Notes

Livelihoods Assessments-CONT

economy, health and nutrition, sociology, anthropology and gender. In the case of
CARE International, field workers who are also researchers are preferred to
enumerators, as most of the field work is conducted through a participatory process.
Hence, the same skills are often required and used for field work and for data
analysis and interpretation.
Surveys are conducted either through rapid rural appraisals, which require a small
amount of time and resources; or through participatory surveys, which take much
longer as they are interactive and designed to empower communities.

Frequency of updating is variable and depends on the needs and available resources.
Frequency A major change in the environment will trigger an update of the livelihoods baseline
of assessment.
updating Otherwise, livelihoods baseline assessments are usually updated every 5 years.

Extracts of livelihood outcomes from a livelihoods baseline conducted by CARE

Example International for the Kanai Nagar Community in the Mongla region in Bangladesh in
of 2002 follows (CARE, July 2002):
baseline “The poor eat “dal” 3-4 times per week, and they consume vegetables 6 days per
product week. The poor may eat egg 1 time per week. They eat fish 3-4 times per week
when fish are available and they eat meat very rarely. For the poor, they have food
shortages from June to March (10 months). During the rainy season, food shortages
are particularly high. Sometimes the middle class farmers experience food shortages
for 7 months, but for poor households, shortages are more severe. The middle poor
experience acute food shortages in the rainy season, and these households may
experience food shortages periodically throughout the year. During the rainy season,
the poorer households reduce consumption to one meal a day. Middle poor will take a
loan from relatives to cope with the food shortage. In times of food crisis, women
suffer the most. After the children and husband eat, there is little for the women to
eat.”

How they Livelihoods baseline assessments are usually used for programme and project design
are used and monitoring (CARE) or as a context in emergency assessments (OXFAM).

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Lesson 2: Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method – Learner’s Notes

3. The Household Economy Approach

(E.G. Save The Children UK, FEWS-NET, Food Economy Group).
The Household Economy Approach (HEA) baseline is a type of livelihoods-based analysis
centred on the different ways a given population obtains food and non food income in order to
make a living. An HEA baseline assessment is used as a reference to identify the impact of a shock
on household access to food and non-food income in order to calculate a food gap.
The HEA baseline assessment has been mostly used to model the effects of shocks on households’
access to food and income sources, deriving a calculation of food gaps.
From this information, scenarios are built around the different ways of filling the gap, including food
aid and other non-food-related interventions.
This approach follows several steps:
 characterization of a food economy zone,
 analysis of the problem and its impact on households,
 assessment of the outcome of households strategies.

Some of the features of the Household Economy Approach:

Household Economy Approach

Secondary sources of information are used to create the context for the household
economies, including official studies and NGO and academic reports.
Survey However, collection of primary data is critical to this method and is conducted
method through rapid rural appraisal techniques and mainly through semi-structured
interviews with focus groups and households.
The data collected are mainly quantitative and are used to construct the household
economies and identify food gaps.
Skills required for an HEA analysis are quite demanding. While conducting HEA
baseline assessments, an international consultant is usually called upon and works
with lead national consultants from NGOs and international institutions available in
Skills and the country in association with national and local government officials. Intensive
time training and ongoing support are usually required.
required An HEA baseline assessment conducted in 2002 in Wolayita zone (Ethiopia) took
seven weeks to be completed. This report was conducted by the Food Economy
Group on behalf of two NGOs working in the region: Christian Aid and Action for
Development.

Frequency of updating is again a question of the interest of the main stakeholders,

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Lesson 2: Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method – Learner’s Notes

Household Economy Approach-CONT

Frequency and is usually related to an ongoing programme or project.

of Every 4-5 years is the average, unless a dramatic change has occurred in the
updating meantime.

The Wolayita (Ethiopia) baseline assessment was conducted in 2003 in order to help
measure the impact of the project as well as provide recommendations on
programme priorities. Extracts from the Wolayita zone baseline are provided below
and refer to main findings:
“In an area which is considered to be primarily agricultural, an estimated 30 percent
Example of the population are not farmers at all but are farm labourers, or disabled/sick. An
of additional 50 percent have such a precarious “foot” in farming that they must
baseline purchase, or earn 60 percent ( or more) or their annual food needs. The very poor
product spend almost all their income on food. Neither the poor nor the middle poor generate
savings … and often they run a debt. For the middle poor group, the combined effect
of sweet potato losses and wage and price changes in 2000 opened up food deficits
of an estimated 40 percent (pre-relief). What is also clear is that by 2000… enset
played a very small role in helping the poor cope with sweet potato losses. By
contrast, for better-off farmers, enset harvests, combined with cash crop or livestock
sales, were a central strategy which effectively filled their food gaps.”
Note: Enset is an root crop, a traditional staple crop in parts of Ethiopia.

How they Although in this case study HEA is used for project impact assessment, one of the
are used most frequent uses of HEA baseline assessments has been to identify the food gap to
be filled by food aid or by other means in times of crises.
International agencies dealing with emergency situations and providing food aid have
been using this methodology extensively.

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Lesson 2: Selecting a Baseline Assessment Method – Learner’s Notes

4. Comprehensive Vulnerability Food Security Assessments

(World Food Programme - WFP).
WFP’s Comprehensive Vulnerability Food Security Assessments (CVFSAs) are designed to provide
an understanding of chronic food insecurity and vulnerability conditions and how food aid
can be used as an appropriate response.
The dynamics of chronic food insecurity and vulnerability then serve as a basis for other
assessments aimed at characterizing and targeting vulnerable groups in a country and within
specific locations.
The categorization of the populations into different vulnerable groups allows the development of
programming responses that are more suited to areas and villages with the greatest prevalence
of food-insecure households. The CVFSA can also provide essential information on risks and their
potential impacts on different population groups for disaster mitigation and contingency planning
efforts.
The first step in the CVFSA intends to identify the vulnerable and where they are located. Then
primary data collection helps understand why, when and how many people are chronically food-
insecure and to what degree, and how to address their food insecurity and vulnerability.

Some of the features of the Comprehensive Vulnerability Food Security Assessments:

CVFSA

CVFSA baselines include both secondary data analysis and primary data collection.
Secondary data analysis helps to verify and refine WFP's understanding of the food
Survey security problems identified.
method It uses a variety of available data and indicators - including population and household
censuses, poverty and nutrition surveys and spatial data sets - to map the spatial
patterns of food insecurity and identify its underlying causes.
In terms of primary information, two sets of data are collected: at community level
through focus group discussions and at household level through formal surveys. Both
quantitative and qualitative information are collected.

Skills and CVFSA baselines are usually conducted by international experts in collaboration with
time local NGO partners who contribute to data collection and field work activities.
required Time required to complete an assessment is around 18 months.

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CVFSA-CONT

Frequency Frequency of updating is about 4-5 years, or less if a dramatic change has occurred
of in the meantime.
updating

WFP conducted a CVFSA in Niger in 2005 at the time of the humanitarian crisis in
order to better understand the profiles of food-insecure households and prioritize
areas where a high level of food insecurity prevailed.
Example Some concluding elements of the report are presented in the following paragraph:
of “Households with severe or moderate levels of food insecurity are mostly located in
baseline two areas: in the devastated savannah zone and in the dry savannah zone. In these
product two areas, food-insecure households represent 47 to 39% of total households. In
agropastoral and humid savannah zones, an intermediate situation prevails with 37 to
30% food-insecure households. In the desert zone, a small percentage of households
are food-insecure (6%), but a substantial percentage of households are potentially
vulnerable (53%).”

How they The CVFSA in Niger has been used by WFP for better targeting and contingency
are used planning.

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5.Programme- And Project-Specific Baseline Assessments

(e.g. C-SAFE Southern Africa).
Baselines can be constructed around a specific programme or project.
They are needed in such circumstances in order to understand the context in which the programme
or project is taking place and to identify benchmarks against which expected achievements can be
compared and impact assessed.
The following case study illustrates the use of baseline assessments applied to specific
programmes:
Example

Example: Consortium for Southern-Africa Food Emergency (C-SAFE)

In Southern Africa, C-SAFE (including World Vision, Catholic Relief Services and CARE) baseline
surveys were implemented in three countries (Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) from 2002 to 2005.
One of the objectives of the baseline was to establish a monitoring, targeting and evaluation
system that could be used to understand the food security status of rural households and facilitate
objective evaluation of various project activities implemented in those countries by the three
partner NGOs. C-SAFE baselines are also livelihoods-based frameworks that look not only at short-
term food aid needs, but also at risk and long-term vulnerability effects.
Livelihoods assessments help analyse the underlying causes and patterns of households’
vulnerability and risk management for complex slow-onset issues such as HIV/AIDS and/or chronic
illness, and the coping strategies that these households put in place to face risks.
This is possible through a systematic desegregation of data at different levels -
socioeconomic/wealth group, household and intra-household levels, gender and age group - in
order to fully capture the impact of risk and vulnerability on population groups, households and
individuals within households.

Here are the common characteristics of the methods illustrated by the C-SAFE case studies:

C-SAFE has adopted an approach based on a formal sample survey in order to ensure
that indicators to be obtained would be representative of the study areas. Another
Survey reason was to allow valid comparisons across regions and countries, as the project
method was conducted simultaneously in three countries. Primary data were collected through
the survey, and combined with secondary data analysis.

Skills C-SAFE and WFP Iraq baseline surveys have both been using international consultants
and in order to design and supervise the baseline assessments. In-country training of

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time trainers for monitoring and evaluation officers and a training of trainers of survey
required supervisors were conducted before starting the assessments. In both cases,
approximately 6 months were necessary for data collection to be completed.

The following extract from C-SAFE Zimbabwe refers to gender and household
Example disaggregated data:
of “Male-headed households spend slightly more on food than female-headed
product households, but less on non-staple foods. They spend slightly more on agricultural
(1) inputs and less on household goods. Households with chronically ill members spend
significantly more on health care than the general population, but spend slightly less
on education, household goods and agricultural inputs. Households hosting orphans
spend significantly more on education and less on staple foods and household goods.”

An extract of the WFP Iraq food security baseline is included:

…“The [Public Distribution System] PDS continues to represent by far the single most
Example important source of food in Iraq. Widespread problems in food availability and food
of access have successfully been avoided in the past and the PDS has played a major
product role in this regard. Yet despite the PDS, many Iraqis continue to struggle under
(2) conditions of extreme poverty, which leads to food insecurity. Poor households barely
manage to meet their food requirements and without the PDS ration many would face
a high probability of becoming food-insecure”...
… “This study was undertaken in anticipation of a possible PDS policy shift from
universal coverage towards a targeted approach. Yet, regardless of new policies and
safety net reform, the evidence from the findings is clear: a significant segment of the
population faces real difficulties in accessing adequate food and many others are
vulnerable because of their high PDS dependency. Without the food ration, many
lower income households would not be able to meet their food requirements. Given
these conditions and the uncertainties and risks that future reform initiatives would
imply, there is a clear need for national institutions to have a strong food security
analysis and monitoring capacity. Food security conditions would need to be closely
monitored at national, regional and community levels. Such a capacity should be well
established prior to implementing broad reaching reforms or entitlement reductions.”

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Strengths and weaknesses of each method

We will now compare purpose, strengths and limitations of each method.

1. Poverty and Vulnerability Baseline Assessments (World Bank)

Context/ Planning long-term responses to reduce vulnerability and poverty.

Purpose

• Examines effects of macro-level policies and governance on welfare.

Strengths • Strong analysis of risk and vulnerability.
• Large and representative sample data which other analyses can utilize.

Limitations • Emphasis on national-level conclusions and lacks disaggregated analysis.

• Complex and expensive, requiring international expertise.

2. Livelihoods Assessments (CARE, OXFAM)

Context/ Organizing and empowering communities for providing responses to poverty and
Purpose chronic food insecurity. Providing a context for emergency assessments.

• Comprehensive livelihoods analysis including ethnicity, customs, religions,

Strengths gender, institutions.
• Empowers local populations for long-term development goals.

• Detailed local analysis cannot be easily scaled up to the national level.

• Difficult to standardize within and across countries and regions for
comparison purposes.
Limitations • Use of high-level experts in the field, which is costly, time-consuming and
difficult to replicate.

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3. Household Economy Approach (SC UK, FEWS-NET, Food Economy Group)

Context/ Mainly providing a context for emergency assessment of food needs.

Purpose

• Transparent method for analysing food access and developing quantitative

Strengths estimates of food gaps.
• Analysis disaggregated by livelihood zones and wealth groups.

• Inadequate framework for linking community-level and macro-level analysis.

• Does not analyse intra-household dynamics, e.g. how gender affects
Limitations access.
• Lack of correspondence between administrative units (used by response
agencies) and food economy zones (used as the basis for
recommendations).

4. Comprehensive Vulnerability Food Security Assessments (WFP)

Context/ • Examines causes of chronic vulnerability and food insecurity.

Purpose • Provides a basis for targeting and contingency planning.

Strengths • Provides a rationale for internal policies and programmes of the

implementing agency.

• Weak ownership of results by the wider humanitarian community.

Limitations • Requires substantial financial resources for survey implementation and high
technical skills for data analysis.

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5. Programme- and Project-specific baseline assessments (C-SAFE South Africa)

Context/ Assesses impact and allows fine tuning for implementation of project and
Purpose programme.

• Geared to the needs of decision makers in a specific project or programme

Strengths context.
• Integrated with arrangements for regular monitoring.

Limitations • Limited relevance to the broader food security and development community.

Blending Methods

In practical terms, the baseline approaches often combine or blend similar analytical methods
and information sources.
Most of the approaches to conducting a baseline utilize an appropriate combination of secondary
and primary data sources.
Large national surveys like the World Bank surveys, Living Conditions and Monitoring Surveys,
Population Census, and Demographic and Health Surveys among others could be the main sources
of secondary information.
This information would be complemented and triangulated with information collected either through
formal surveys or through semi-structured interviews at focus group, key informant and household
levels. This mix of information sources is implemented by several national and international
institutions.
Quantitative and qualitative data can also be blended to better complement each other.
Quantitative data allow for systematically measuring the food security situation and provide a
representative snapshot.

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Qualitative data, on the other hand, allow for capturing the processes and interactions between
social, political, institutional and economic factors which determine vulnerability to food insecurity
over time.
This allows for an understanding of the underlying causes of food insecurity and vulnerability.
In the following example, primary and secondary sources of information are used, and qualitative
and quantitative data combined, to obtain a global picture of the situation.
Example

Example: combining different kinds of information

An agroforestry project is to be started in the southern region of a Sahelian country.
A baseline assessment was conducted in order to provide a context for project monitoring and
evaluation. Several data sources were used, including data from a recent Agricultural and Livestock
Census, a Population Census; formal surveys and focus group discussions were also conducted.
Areas planted and livestock figures were provided as well as information on agricultural practices
and the quality of existing financial and industrial infrastructure.

A second idea could be to identify within the different approaches those which have the most
appropriate strengths and could be incorporated into your specific baseline assessment
methodology according to your circumstances.
For example, If HIV/AIDS and socio-cultural constraints are critical issues in your particular
environment, the strengths of the C-SAFE methodology could be combined with those of CARE HLS
in order to come up with an adequate baseline assessment method.
Another example: where baseline assessments are conducted to start a new programme or design
new policies, enough time is available to conduct an in-depth analysis using a livelihoods-based
baseline or project-specific baseline. Time and resources available might also be the criteria that
will guide the choice among methods.

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Defining an appropriate method

The objectives of the assessment will influence the choice among the options available.
Moreover, the choice may be based on the following criteria:
• the information gap (what exists and what is missing), which should be analysed to
identify which methodology will best help to provide the data necessary to fill the gap;
• the institutional capacity to implement and sustain the selected method (including staff
skills and logistical and financial resources);
• the existing food security information system on which the methodology should rely;
• constraints in accessing local populations (for example, due to security reasons).

Different institutional settings and objectives lead to adopting different options. Two of them are
presented below: FEWS NET baselines and RVAC-Southern Africa.
Examples

Example 1: FEWS NET baselines

FEWS-NET has made the choice of implementing its baseline assessments. Some countries have
not gone beyond the agro-ecological zoning (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania); some have
established the livelihood profiles (Niger, Chad, Malawi); only a few (including Somalia and
Southern Sudan) have developed a full version of the Food Economy Approach. The varying degree
of adoption is related to the information needs of the different stakeholders and to the level of
motivation and interest of partner institutions and networking FEWS-NET was able to develop in
each country.
Example 2: RVAC-Southern Africa
At the national level, not all Vulnerability Assessment Committees (NVACs) have fully adopted the
methodology; partly because of the multiplicity of institutions involved in the process, each with its
own interests and characteristics. Examples include:
• short-term food aid needs vs. long-term development perspective looking at underlying
causes of the food crisis;
• using survey questionnaires instead of interviews for livelihoods assessment;
• overstretching the food security-centered approach into a more human security-based
approach; and
• the lack of local capacity to implement and sustain the approach.
Therefore, it is important to clearly identify the purpose of the assessment while at the same time
considering the resources and capacity that are available to implement the methodological
adaptations.

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Finally, some important issues to keep in mind to ensure an appropriate methodology is selected
include:
• Buy-in of main institutions
Leadership and legitimacy of a lead institution and buy-in from main partners are key factors.
Establish mechanisms to adopt an appropriate methodology with all concerned stakeholders as a
way of building coordination, consensus and partnership among regional and national institutions.

• Maintain a balance between compromise and dogma

Compromise may be necessary but it does not mean that all stakeholders need to be
accommodated. The core characteristics of the chosen methodology have to be protected and it
should not be “over-diluted” or “over-stretched”. Therefore a balance has to be found between
compromise and dogma, and strong leadership is needed for this to happen.

• Building local capacity for sustainability and ownership

Again, existing local capacity and potential for increasing it can be a criterion for choosing among
options. Furthermore, capacity building ensures ownership and sustainability.

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Summary
Baseline assessment methods differ in scope and purpose but they all provide a means to establish
a benchmark from which to analyse similar issues under various food security contexts.
Five main examples of food security baseline approaches have been identified:
• Poverty and Vulnerability Baseline Assessments (World Bank)
• Livelihoods Assessments (e.g. DFID, CARE, OXFAM)
• Household Economy Approach (e.g. Save the Children UK, FEWS-NET, Food Economy
Group)
• Comprehensive Vulnerability Food Security Assessments (WFP)
• Programme- and project-specific baseline assessments (e.g. C-SAFE, CARE, WFP)
In practical terms, baselines often use a combination or blend of methods. One way to blend
methods is to use an appropriate combination of secondary and primary data sources. Quantitative
and qualitative data can also be blended to complement each other. A second way may be to
identify within the different methods those which have the most appropriate strengths and could be
incorporated into your specific baseline assessment methodology according to your circumstances.

If you want to know more…

1. Online resources
• The Food Economy Approach: A Framework for Understanding Rural Livelihoods. Boudreau
www.odihpn.org/pdfbin/networkpapers026.pdf.
• WFP Iraq food security baseline
www.womenwarpeace.org/webfm_send/508
• Young H., S. Jaspars, R. Brown, J. Frize, H. Khogali, Food security assessments in
emergency: a livelihoods approach. Humanitarian Network Paper 36, ODI, June 2001.
http://www.odihpn.org/documents/networkpaper036.pdf
2. Additional readings
• Shoham J., Food Security Information Systems supported by Save the Children U.K., a
review. 2005. London.

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 Food Security Information for Action

Baseline Food Security Assessments

Monitoring changes in Food Security

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and implemented

by the Food and Agriculture Organization.

© FAO, 2008
 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 3: Monitoring changes in Food Security– Learner’s Notes

Table of contents
Learning objectives ................................................................................................2

Introduction ...........................................................................................................2

Tracking changes in Food Security ..........................................................................2

Early Warning Systems ...........................................................................................5

Trend Monitoring ................................................................................................. 11

Summary ............................................................................................................. 12

If you want to know more….................................................................................. 13

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Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• understand the purpose of food security monitoring activities;
• understand the role of early warning systems;
• appreciate how this differs from monitoring longer-term food security trends; and
• recognize how regular food security monitoring is related to baseline assessments.

Introduction

This lesson will examine the purpose and means to assess and monitor changes in food
security over time. Baseline food security and vulnerability assessments assist in the design and
implementation of food security interventions. However, the food security status of households can
change rapidly from the baseline analysis. It is important for decision-makers to keep abreast of
these changes and adjust their response activities and interventions accordingly.
This lesson will look at two types of regular food security assessments: early warning and
monitoring food security trends.

Tracking changes in Food Security

A detailed food security assessment (such as a baseline) represents a ‘snap-shot’ of the food
security situation at a specific point in time, but it should also incorporate historical trends in
food insecurity as much as possible in order to design strategies and programmes to combat food
insecurity.

Baselines may also identify:

• what hazards or shocks threaten their future food security;
• what is the level of capacity to cope with these hazards; and
• who is vulnerable to becoming food insecure in the future.

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Food insecurity can be highly dynamic. Households may rapidly lose their food security and become
unable to meet their basic food requirements for a number of reasons, or, in other situations,
household food security may improve rapidly.
It is crucial for decision-makers to monitor changes in household food security status in order to
respond appropriately and make the best use of the finite resources available to them.
Therefore, information is needed to make decisions on:
• initiating new interventions to protect or improve food security; or;
• modifying, or exiting from, on-going interventions that need to be scaled up, scaled down,
are no longer needed or have been ineffective.

It is helpful to distinguish two main types of changes that may alter levels of household food
security:
1. Shocks.
There may be a very rapid deterioration in food security as the result of a shock (also called
hazard or stress).
Shocks are unpredictable and may affect individuals, households or communities. Their effects on
food security may be transient or longer lasting. Many shocks are related to climatic causes.
A typical example of a shock to food security is a drought that causes crop failure. However, shocks
can originate from a wide variety of causes, that may be either natural or man made.

2. Trends.
There are changes to food security that occur more gradually over time.
These may be defined as trends. They can have either a positive or a negative effect on
livelihoods. Like shocks, trends have both natural and man made causes. They can be classified as
natural, economic, political, health and technological trends.
We would hope to see a longer-term trend of improving food insecurity as a direct result of the
various development interventions.

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Let’s consider the following example:

Example: The 2001-03 food crisis in southern Africa

The 2001-03 food crisis in southern Africa was initially interpreted as a ‘traditional’ food crisis,
caused by the shock of a series of droughts leading to poor harvests.
However, the crop deficit alone could not explain the severity of the crisis, especially when
compared to the lesser humanitarian impact of a larger crop loss after the 1991/92 drought.
From this emerged a widespread appreciation of longer term food security trends and the
complexity of the crisis. Further analysis revealed several underlying factors that contributed to the
crisis. Formal employment in mining, manufacturing industry and the public sector has been
contracting, resulting in lower household incomes. In some cases agricultural growth had
stagnated, partly due to declining state support and unsustainable land use practices. At the
household level this led to reduced assets, constrained coping strategies and rising levels of
vulnerability.
Overlaid on this has been the HIV/AIDS epidemic that intensified the vulnerability and food
insecurity of the many households affected by the disease. This reduced farm production and
incomes as labour and capital were lost to disease and death. It also undercut the ability of
households to cope with shocks as assets were liquidated to pay for the costs of care.
This realization has helped to broaden the response interventions from the initial emphasis on
short-term measures to cope with the effects of harvest loss (principally food aid), to a wider set
of policy and programme responses to address poverty, HIV-AIDS and improved governance.

The example illustrates how shocks and trends must be distinguished since they have different
effects. Knowing these effects is important for decision-makers in order to design appropriate
responses.
 Effects of Shocks:
The rapid changes to food security that result from shocks may require an emergency
food security intervention to protect lives and livelihoods. This is especially important
where a large part of the population is simultaneously affected and local coping capacities
overwhelmed.
 Effects of Trends:
Understanding trends can inform decisions on adapting, modifying or exiting from on-going
food security interventions.

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It can help shape judgements on the impact and sufficiency of on-going efforts to improve
structural food security and be used to design longer-term strategies and programmes
to address food insecurity.

Early Warning Systems

Different kinds of systems are designed to monitor changes in food security:

1. Early warning systems are specifically designed to inform decision-makers of the
imminent threat of large scale and severe food insecurity.
2. Trend monitoring systems are designed to assess changes in food security over
time.
Let’s now focus on early warning systems.
Following the African famines of the mid 1980s considerable attention has been given to how better
prediction can improve the capacity for an early response.
This has resulted in the establishment of numerous early warning systems.
The ultimate objective of these systems is to prevent mass starvation, by regularly monitoring
the food security situation in order to give ample notice when external shocks or other
factors put people at risk in order to respond effectively.
Effective early warning systems share a number of characteristics:
 The coverage is typically broad. Early warning systems may operate at national or even
larger regional or global scales. However, priority may be given for more detailed coverage
of areas that are highly vulnerable to food insecurity.
 An early warning system needs to adopt a ‘light’ methodology to produce timely
reports with a broad coverage. A limited number of indicators are needed that are easy to
collect and analyse. Remote sensing technologies are particularly relevant. Keeping the
costs of operation low is imperative to ensuring sustainability.
 The monitoring and reporting must be regular and frequent to provide timely
warning of the incidence of any hazards or shocks. The frequency depends on the type of
shock. Quick onset crises (such as earthquakes or tsunamis) may justify real time
information, whereas for slow onset shocks (such as drought) periodic reports – for example
monthly – may be adequate.
Early warning systems are most interested in the leading indicators (that predict a crisis) rather
than trailing indicators (such as malnutrition) when a response is already late.

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The initial focus of many early warning systems has been on monitoring the incidence of the
shocks or hazards themselves.
Hazards include: drought; floods; storms; disease and pest outbreaks (e.g. locusts); volcanoes;
earthquakes; tsunamis; landslides.
On the basis of the severity of a shock the early warning systems can predict the probable food
security consequences. This information can be used to trigger appropriate mitigation and
response plans.
A primary decision needs to be taken on which of these hazards and shocks to monitor in
each area, given limited resources. Baseline and vulnerability assessments can provide a good
indication of the anticipated risks from the most significant local shocks and hazards.
A simple tool to prioritize the use of resources for hazard early warning systems is to list the various
hazards and then rate:
• the frequency of the hazards occurring,
• how many people are affected and
• the severity of the impacts.
This information might come from historical records of previous food security emergencies.

Hazard Frequency Number affected Severity Score Final rank

(1= rare, 3= frequent) (1=few, 3= majority) (1= mild, 3= severe)
Flood 2 1 1 2 3rd
Drought 2 3 2 12 1st
Earthquake 1 2 3 6 2nd
Fires 3 1 2 6 2nd

Let’s look in more detail at some examples of hazard based early warning systems:

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Example: Tsunami warning system

While earthquakes can be detected almost at once, tsunamis travel much more slowly in water.
Seismic alerts are used to send out the watches and warnings and observed sea level height are
used to verify the existence of a tsunami.
Tsunami warning systems feature multiple lines of communications (such as e-mail, fax, radio
and telex) enabling emergency messages to be sent to the emergency services and armed forces,
as well to population alerting systems (e.g. sirens).
Such systems can be effective. For example if there was a large earthquake off the west coast of
the United States, people in Japan would have more than 12 hours before any tsunami arrived,
giving them some time to evacuate areas likely to be affected.
Unfortunately no system can protect against a very sudden tsunami. A devastating tsunami
occurred in Japan in July 1993 that killed several hundred people. This tsunami struck just three to
five minutes after the quake, and most victims were caught while fleeing for higher ground after
surviving the earthquake.

Example: Early warning of extreme weather events

A cyclone warning system has been developed in Mozambique to forewarn the public of an
impending storm. The cyclone warning system was set up by the government and National
Meteorology Institute in response to the devastating floods of 2000 and 2001, and uses a three
coloured system to identify the proximity of the cyclone. The purpose of the system is to alert the
local community so that they can take necessary precautions.
Radios play a critical part of the warning system, disseminating the warning to local communities.
Local Red Cross branches help alert people, through megaphones and visits to schools.
In the event of an impending crisis communities are encouraged to use traditional escape routes in
times of flood. Simultaneously emergency response capacities are mobilized to provide health,
water, relief, logistics and telecommunication support in the wake of the cyclone.

A key concern for food security is early warning of variations in crop production as this is a key
determinant of food security in rural areas.
Various early warning systems have been developed in the past decades, at the global, regional
and national levels to monitor this.

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These may utilize remotely sensed climate information, information on the availability of inputs
(such as seeds, fertilizer and credit) and field reports on crop development and yields.1

Crop monitoring systems have been developed at international, regional and national level:
1. International level.
At the international level, FAO has developed the Global Information and Early Warning System
(GIEWS). Its purpose is to keep the world food supply under continuous review, issue reports on
the world food situation and provide early warning of impending food crisis in individual countries.
2. Regional level.
At the regional level, early warning systems to forecast crop production have been set up by
member states of regional community organizations like the Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC), or the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control (CILSS) in the
Sahel.
3. National level.
At the national level, most Governments have institutionalized national crop monitoring systems.

Experience has taught us that interpreting the food security consequences of a harvest failure is
not straightforward. To plan emergency interventions decision-makers also need to understand
how the hazard may affect people’s future food insecurity.
Even a severe drought, and subsequent crop failure, will not necessarily leave the affected
population food insecure.

The outcome will be influenced by two main factors:

1. The degree of exposure to a shock
Not everyone is equally exposed to a shock. Not all livelihoods are equally affected by a drought.
For example, while the chance of meteorological drought in Djibouti is very high the food security
consequences may be low. Over 90% of food is imported from the international market and the
majority of the population depend on formal employment.
A very small proportion of the population depend on agriculture directly. Therefore the vulnerability
to drought is relatively low.

1
Climate early warning is a science that is improving rapidly. For example there is now a well understood relationship between sea
surface temperatures (including El Nino and La Nina events) and subsequent seasonal rainfall patterns in many parts of the world.
Using advanced computer models it is possible to statistically forecast the probability that rainfall will be above or below average. This
information can help to predict the probability of below (or above) average crop or livestock production.

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Even in predominantly agricultural economies the degree of exposure may vary significantly
between households. For example the poorest people in a rural society are often landless. For
these people the demand for labour may be more important in determining their food security than
the crop yield.

2. The capacity to cope

Variability in rainfall is a natural phenomenon. Communities and households often have well
established mechanisms to cope with this variability.
Decision-makers need to appreciate whether households can cope with a shock by employing
mechanisms that do not damage their long term assets.
For example Zimbabwe has large numbers of citizens living and working overseas, many in skilled
professions. Therefore remittances from family members living overseas can meet a large part of
households needs when they suffer a crop failure or unemployment.

Food security baseline assessments can provide an essential complement to early warning
information to help draw useful and accurate conclusions. The baseline provides a picture of
typical livelihoods – a picture of their assets and how they use them to generate income and meet
their basic needs. This provides the context for estimating the likely effect of ‘shocks’ on
household food consumption. Where the baseline has analysed vulnerability and resilience, this will
indicate what coping strategies are available.
Taken in conjunction with the severity of the shock, this can help to identify who is most at risk
of being unable to cope with the shock. For example, knowing what proportion of household
income normally comes from staple crop production can set a crop failure in perspective.2

Over time there has been a growing realization that rural people in poor countries do not depend
solely on their own production for survival, but employ a range of strategies to get the food and
cash they need. Therefore food security depends on far more than how well the crop performs.
There have been attempts to reflect this understanding in the design of ‘second generation’ early
warning systems. These utilize a multi-indicator approach that monitors trends in a wider range

2
Combining baseline with early warning: HFEA
A food security baseline may provide a qualitative, general context to help interpret the importance of an early warning signal.
However, if the baseline has been explicitly designed for the purpose of interpreting early warning then it may be possible to generate
quantitative conclusions.
The Household Food Economy Analysis (HFEA) is a well refined technique that combines a baseline with early warning to generate
specific estimates of need.

Learner Notes 9
 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 3: Monitoring changes in Food Security– Learner’s Notes

of production and income sources. Depending on the local situation this may include indicators of
cash crop production, livestock production, employment, availability of wild foods, gifts and
remittances from extended family members.
The purpose of an early warning system is to monitor trends and identify if a problem is
developing. In this case the system can help to assess how quickly it is developing and define the
geographical area affected.
The value of an early warning system lies in its ability to trigger an appropriate response. An
early warning alert can prompt a range of possible responses.
This may include direct community mobilization (as with the example of the cyclone and tsunami
warning systems), activating pre-existing contingency plans or prompting agencies to initiate a
localized response.
However, in many cases the early warning alert does not provide sufficiently detailed information to
design and initiate an emergency response. It is usually necessary to gather more detailed
information prior to a large scale response, through a ‘once-off’ needs assessment3.

3
A needs assessment will provide more detailed information on:
• The nature of food insecurity (Who is food insecure? Where are they? What is the depth of their food insecurity? How long
are they likely to be food insecure for?)
• What are the causes of the food insecurity?
• What response is recommended? (Are local coping capacities overwhelmed? What is the best response? What and how much
is needed? Who can provide it?)

Learner Notes 10
 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 3: Monitoring changes in Food Security– Learner’s Notes

Trend Monitoring

Early warning systems are not generally designed to monitor the more subtle and longer term food
security trends. A separate trend monitoring system is needed to assess changes in food
security over time. The main purpose of this monitoring system is to tell decision-makers
what the actual levels of food security are, not to predict the future.
Therefore, trend monitoring directly assesses food security outcomes.
A range of possible indicators can be used to monitor food security outcomes. This includes
measures of food consumption, coping strategies or nutritional surveillance. This data is usually
only available at the household level, so it is relatively expensive to collect.
However, as trends change relatively slowly, the data collection can be done much less frequently.
Similarly the frequency of reporting is related to decision-makers needs. Programmatic changes
tend to happen only periodically. Annually or bi-annually is usually sufficient.
Trend monitoring has traditionally received less attention so there are fewer operational examples.
However, there is a growing interest in monitoring given the specific requirement to report progress
against the Millennium Development Goals.
Let’s look at an example of a trend monitoring system.

Example: The Community and Household Surveillance System (CHS)

The Consortium for Southern Africa Food Security Emergency (C-SAFE) and the World Food
Programme have jointly implemented a food and livelihood security monitoring system (the CHS) in
six countries in the Southern Africa region since 2002. Two rounds of surveys covering more than
12,000 households have been completed each year in areas where the two agencies operate.
In this case, the specific purpose of the CHS is to determine the impact of food aid distributions.
The survey uses two main indicators of food security; the coping strategy index (CSI) and the food
consumption score (FCS). The Coping Strategies Index is a relatively simple and efficient indicator
of household food security that corresponds well with other more complex measures of food
insecurity. The FCS represents a proxy for the diversity of the household diet and is calculated
based on the household’s reported diet over the three days prior to the survey.
As there was no baseline measure of the CSI and FCS for the programme areas the information on
trends has been derived by comparing changes between different survey rounds. There have now
been 10 survey rounds and a more detailed analysis of trends is possible.
The CHS results have been of direct relevance to the programme managers. The data has helped
to adjust the program activities; deciding when and where to increase, reduce or halt food aid. The

Learner Notes 11
 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 3: Monitoring changes in Food Security– Learner’s Notes

CHS has also helped managers to improve targeting, for example, by showing that the socio-
economic characteristics normally used to select beneficiaries are in fact poorly related to food
insecurity.

Summary

Let’s end by summarizing the differences between early warning and trend monitoring.

Early Warning Trend Monitoring

Coverage Operates at global, regional, national Depends on purpose. May take
and local levels. place at national level or focus on a
May have an intensive focus on food specific programmatic level.
insecure and hazard prone areas
Methodology Traditional EWS monitor hazards or Measures food security outcomes.
shocks, such as crop failure.
Newer EWS monitor a range of
environmental, economic and welfare
indicators related to local livelihoods.
Link to baseline Baseline provides context to assess the If designed in conjunction with
impact of the shock on food security. baseline assessment, then baseline
Baseline understanding of livelihoods figures can be used to assess
may be used to select EW indicators. changes in food security.
Otherwise trend analysis based on
multiple monitoring survey rounds.
Reporting Frequent. Varies between seasonal and Periodic. Varies between seasonal to
real time. inter-annual.
Links to decision Triggers detailed needs assessment, Modifies or terminates existing food
making activates contingency plans, mobilizes security programmes.
community and public awareness. Initiates new long-term programmes
or strategies.

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 Course: Baseline Food Security Assessments
Lesson 3: Monitoring changes in Food Security– Learner’s Notes

If you want to know more…

Online resources
 Darcy, J. and Charles-Antoine Hofmann (2003) Humanitarian Needs Assessment and
Decision-Making, HPG Briefing 13, September 2003.
http://www.odi.org.uk/HPG/papers/hpgbrief13.pdf
 Maunder, N and Wiggins, S. (2007) Food security in Southern Africa:
 Changing the trend? Review of lessons learnt on recent responses to chronic and transitory
hunger and vulnerability. Natural Resource Perspectives 106, June 2007 Overseas
Development Institute, London. http://www.odi.org.uk/nrp/nrp105.pdf
 FAO GIEWS website http://www.fao.org/giews/english/index.htm
 FEWS NET http://www.fews.net/
 WFP SENAC
http://www.wfp.org/operations/Emergency_needs/index.asp?section=5&sub_section=6#se
nac
Additional reading
 Devereux, S. And Maxwell, S. (2001) Food security in sub-Saharan Africa ITDG
 FAO (2006) Planning for the future: an assessment of food security early warning systems
in Sub-Saharan Africa. Synthesis report. Rome.
 Save the Children Fund (2007) HEA Practitioner Guide. SCF-UK.

Learner Notes 13
Food Security Information for Action

Availability Assessment and Analysis

Lesson 1

Assessing Availability

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and developed

by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

© FAO, 2008
 Availability Assessments
Lesson 1 – Assessing Availability– Learner’s Notes

Summary
Learning Objectives .........................................................................................1

Introduction....................................................................................................1

Food Balance Sheet .........................................................................................1

How the Food Balance Sheet is used.................................................................7

Crop production estimation procedures .............................................................9

Household stocks estimation .......................................................................... 13

Availability and markets ................................................................................. 15

Key aspects in planning and availability assessment ......................................... 16

Summary...................................................................................................... 19

Online Resources .......................................................................................... 20

Annexes ....................................................................................................... 24

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Lesson 1 – Assessing Availability– Learner’s Notes

Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• understand standard calculations of national availability;

• be aware of existing methods for estimating crop production;
• identify methods for calculating household level food stocks; and
• be aware of key aspects to consider in planning availability assessments.

Introduction
Food availability is the amount of food that is physically present in a country or area through all
forms of domestic production, stocks, commercial imports and food aid.

A range of methods and tools have been developed to assess food availability at regional,
national and local levels.

This lesson will introduce the most commonly used methods and tools.

Food Balance Sheet

A key tool used to look at food availability at a national level is a Food Balance Sheet.

A Food Balance Sheet describes all the factors which constitute the total availability of food in a
specific country over a selected twelve month period.

Both farmers and traders may have stocks of food, and the government may maintain a food
reserve that it makes available when there are shortages.

There is the food produced in a country and harvested during the year. Food can also be
imported by the country.

All of these sources are combined to get total availability.

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AREA COVERED BY A FOOD BALANCE SHEET

Most Food Balance Sheets are based on a whole country, but they can be created for sub-
national regions in a country to get a more accurate picture of differences between regions.

Mozambique is a case where in a “normal” production year, regional estimates would show
strong surpluses in one region (north and centre of the country) and serious deficits in another
(the south), while the national average might show no major surplus or deficit.

However, usually data are lacking to complete the Food Balance Sheet at a regional level.

Not all the available food in a country is available for human consumption.
Some part of supplies will be used as animal feed or seed for the next season; other parts will
be used for industrial purposes, or may be lost in storage due to pests and other problems.

The Food Balance Sheet incorporates estimates of these “losses” into the supply estimate to get
availability of food for human consumption.

The “balance” part comes in when the food available for human consumption is compared to
the food needed for that consumption (consumption requirements) over the selected period.

The Food Gap is the difference between the estimated food available for human consumption
and the consumption requirements. If there is a Food Gap (otherwise called a deficit), food
supplies will need to come from additional imports (whether commercial or through food aid or
other public sector imports) for the year under consideration.

It is very important to remember that this estimate of a gap is an average across the
population, and does not reflect availability at a household level or the distribution of supplies
and deficits over time, space or population groups.

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Table I: Different approaches to estimate the consumption requirements

Approach based on Description

Previous years As in Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions (CFSAM), the
estimates estimates of previous years are used to determine the “apparent
consumption” and, then, the year’s consumption needs are increased
based on population growth.

Population numbers In this approach, to calculate an annual total needed to supply the
and estimated daily population with its needs, minimum calories needed per adult are
requirements multiplied by the total population, and then conversion factors are
used to determine the grain equivalent, to get a total quantity of grain
needed, for example.

Most Food Balance Sheets are estimated for a twelve month period corresponding to a crop or
marketing year, rather than a calendar year. For example, most of the southern African
countries use April to March as the main harvest begins in April.

The Food Balance Sheet is a snapshot taken at one time, usually looking into the future and can
be updated as further information is available.

Table II: Food Balance Sheet sections

Section Description
SUPPLY Includes the food produced and net changes in private
• Production stocks and government reserves. Net changes refer to the
• Changes in stocks level at the beginning of the year minus the level at the end
of the year.

USES The food available for human consumption is the total

• Human consumption needs availability minus losses and food assigned to other uses.
• Losses and seeds
• Animal feeds and processing

EXPECTED IMPORTS This section identifies food expected from external trade
• Expected commercial and food aid.
• Food aid received/pledged

UNCOVERED FOOD GAP

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See Annex 1: Annual cereal Balance Sheet for Somalia 2006/2007

Very few places have the all data needed to estimate a comprehensive Food Balance Sheet
including all food commodities, so you may need to focus on just the key staple foods in the
country.
In a specific country, it will be important to assess the main items used to meet basic
consumption needs and create the Food Balance Sheet based on them.

Example
Example: Southern Africa
In much of Southern Africa, maize is the key staple, complemented by sorghum, rice, millet.
In that case, a Cereal Balance Sheet may be used.

On the other hand, accounting for as many staples as possible is important because a shortfall
in the production of a commodity might be covered by a surplus in the production of another
commodity, as consumers switch between commodities. Thus, just looking at one commodity
alone will give a false view of food gaps.

Example
Example: Zambia
In Zambia, they recently developed a revised Food Balance Sheet that starts with the cereal’s
balance, but then adds in the roots and tubers to create a Staple Foods Balance Sheet.
Cassava is a key consumption alternative and so just looking at maize and other cereals was
leaving out a main component of the diet, especially for meeting energy needs.
In Zambia, cassava surplus will help meet food staple demand in the face of a maize shortfall.

A country may produce all of a given commodity that it needs; in that case, it is said to be “self-
reliant”. However, with external trade as a possibility, there are many other sources of supply.
Total supply may be much greater than what is produced and stored.

Furthermore, a deficit in production does not necessarily mean that there is a food security
problem. It does mean that trade is important to meet needs.

A policy of self-reliance can be costly for a country if it means producing at any cost to meet
the needs.

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TRADE AND FOOD BALANCE SHEET

International Trade
On the Food Balance Sheet, net imports (which are imports minus exports) are clearly indicated
as potential sources of food supplies to help meet local needs.
Domestic traders may move supplies around, but it is imports which add to availability on a
national level, so international trade is the aspect highlighted.
International trade is very important but is one of the most difficult aspects to estimate in a
Food Balance Sheet.

Key aspects in calculating international trade

In calculating international trade two key aspects are important:

1. trade is often under-reported or not recorded at all; and

2. unlike production, trade changes quickly as prices and policies change.

Let’s consider these two aspects in detail.

1
Customs officials record imports and exports, but there are common gaps in the data.
At border posts, basic food staples may not be recorded if they are not taxed, since officials
have no incentive to collect and maintain data for commodities when they get no revenue
from them.
Even when they are taxed and the records of imports and exports are kept, the quantities
in the official registries may be very low compared to reality, as people try to avoid paying
the full taxes.
Even more important, in many places, traders avoid border officials and border points
completely, and such unregistered informal trade may provide the bulk of supplies,
contributing to food security (or food insecurity, in the case of exports).

Example
Example: Southern Africa
In Southern Africa, FEWS NET, WFP, and partners are conducting cross-border studies
on informal trade and have found that significant quantities of goods are traded
informally and can be very important in food security.
As a result of the new monitoring system, the Malawian Food Balance Sheet calculations

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now include such trade. For example, the April 2005 FBS for Malawi showed an
estimated 100,000 MT of informal maize imports, with an estimated gap of 482,000 MT
of cereal equivalent (Malawi VAC, April 2005 draft).
Without the estimate of informal trade, the food gap would have been 20% higher
(WFP/FEWS NET 2006).

2
Trade depends on what is happening in regional markets and in the world markets. For
example, if a drought affects several countries in a region that usually trade, overall
availability in the region may decline. This will reduce the possibility of using imports from
the region to meet needs.
The Southern African Development Community has begun to produce regional Food
Balance Sheet, showing each country and then the aggregate to understand what is
happening in southern Africa.
Another challenge in estimating private sector is understanding traders’ behaviour.
For example, if prices are kept low in their own country through food aid supplies, it may
not make sense for them to bring in imported quantities, so the private sector imports may
be lower than predicted.
Even just the risk that there might be low prices may curtail imports. If the government
says that it will subsidize imports, traders will wait to see what is going to happen, holding
back on their imports. On the other side, if the government reduces import tariffs, they
may quickly respond with new imports.

Example
Example: Somalia
In the Annual Cereal Balance Sheet for Somalia (June 2006 to May 2007), due to the
uncertainty of trade, they calculated the surplus (or deficit if it is negative) using two
different estimates of international commercial trade in order to see what the impact
would be.

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How the Food Balance Sheet is used

A Food Balance Sheet (FBS) can be very useful, but it also has some limitations:

WHEN FBS CAN HELP WHEN FBS CANNOT HELP

A FBS helps governments in understanding A FBS is based on current knowledge, current
the food situation and the possible need prices, and the most recent information on
for assistance or other action. consumption. If prices change, the FBS cannot
incorporate:
Looking at the Food Balance Sheet over • all the actions that consumers take.
time can help answer the following type
of questions: If, for example, the price of maize goes up in
• How important are particular Zambia, consumers may shift to eating more
crops and shortfalls in their cassava or rice, if those foods are cheaper.
production to overall food This is particularly true of the poor, who spend
production and consumption? a lot of their income on food and who are very
• How important are imports to sensitive to food price changes.
food supplies in the country? Without cassava in the Food Balance Sheet for
• How important is food aid Zambia, when there are problems in maize
compared to local production and supply, it would appear that Zambia is in crisis,
commercial imports? when at least some consumers shift to eat
• Will closing the border to exports cassava, lessening the demand for maize from
of a commodity significantly normal levels.
change the domestic supplies?
• Is this a good year to rebuild • the changes in import/export.
government food reserve stocks
or will release of supplies from When prices change, it may become profitable
food reserve stocks be needed to for the traders to import more of a specific
dampen price increases due to commodity to sell in the market. Thus the
scarcity? Food Balance Sheet may show a gap when
traders are already filling the gap.
Governments may use the FBS results to On the other side, the Food Balance Sheet may
help set international trade policies. For indicate that supplies are good, assuming the
example, to increase imports by the same amount of trade as a previous year. But if
private sector or to eliminate export bans there are problems of a pest attacking supplies
on food commodities to allow export in a neighbouring country that usually exports
excess supply. to your country, then there may be lower
imports than usual, and there is a wider gap
A FBS can help food aid agencies in than predicted in the Food Balance Sheet.
assessing the feasibility of local purchases The same would happen if traders felt that the
of supplies for distribution within the government in your country was going to bring
country or elsewhere in the region. in lots of food aid and the prices would go
down; that is a risky trade situation and they
A FBS facilitates the interpretation of may not import.
overall price movements, since the
pressure on limited supplies may drive up Since a FBS is usually based on a 12-month period
prices, and vice-versa. for an entire nation, it can’t take account of:

1. seasonality, and
2. local differences. (See below.)

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1. Seasonality
If there are strong differences and changes between seasons, the usual Food Balance Sheet
(FBS) will not be able to assess that.
Thus, if your country has a rainy season and a hungry season, the FBS is not the way to
determine seasonal needs of more supply in hungry season. The information needed for a FBS
is usually not available on monthly or seasonal basis and so other tools must be used to look at
seasonal availability issues.
If there is more than one production season, the Food Balance Sheet will need to incorporate
production from both seasons.
Example
Example: Multiple Seasons
In Rwanda there are three seasons, two of which are really major production seasons,
and have very different characteristics.
If you looked at Season A, you would find high production of beans, maize, and other
crops that require more rainfall.
In Season B, you find the production of sorghum is higher.
In Season C, irrigated production of vegetables is higher.
Thus, the FBS for Rwanda needs to span the seasons over a 12 month period.

2. Local differences
A Food Balance Sheet gives a national average availability of selected foods for the population.
However, it does not show how the supplies are distributed and whether there are parts of the
country that do not have adequate supplies available.
For example, in Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake, the total national food supply was
adequate, yet in the earthquake-affected regions, availability was very low and there was high
food insecurity.
A Food Balance Sheet would not capture this regional vulnerability, unless different regions are
assessed separately (WFP 2005). That is one of the reasons why a national Food Balance Sheet
has limited value in estimating “food aid needs”.
Availability nationally does not always translate into availability in all regions. This leads us also
into the issue of access.

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Crop production estimation procedures

Estimating crop and livestock production may contribute to understanding food availability. The
following relationship can be used to estimate the production of a given crop:

TOTAL PRODUCTION = AVERAGE YIELD * TOTAL PLANTED AREA

Yield is the total amount produced divided by the land area, a measure of land productivity.
Many factors may affect the yield (e.g. pests, rainfall, etc.), as well as other factors may
prevent a planted area to be completely harvested.

There is a range of possible information which might be used to develop a forecast of crop
production, which is based on:
• meteorological data
• agronomic and crop stage data
• vegetation index from satellite photos
• farm inputs
• reference data
• current agricultural data

For your country, the first step is to evaluate what information is already collected, either locally
or regionally, and how that might be used to determine production.

The table below shows the different methods to estimate yields.

Table III: Methods to estimate yields

Method Description
Extension Agents Many government officials have relied on extension agents’ knowledge
and skills to estimate yields of different crops for the regions in which
they work.
Since extension agents are placed throughout the production regions,
they may indicate regional differences in yields, reflecting weather and
other changes. In some places, each extension office is supposed to

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send in an annual report on yields and production.

Sometimes it is a fairly simple way to get information, but there are no
assurances of accuracy or systematic measurements.

Crop Cutting Another way to get yields is to arrange for scientific sampling of fields
and taking cuts at harvest time of a small area in each selected field,
called “crop cutting”.
This method works with crops that have a single harvest period such
as sorghum or maize, but it doesn’t work well with crops that are
harvested repeatedly over a season, such as beans.
Yields of crops like cassava which have a variable harvest period are
difficult to estimate but crop cutting (in this case, digging up and
weighing the roots of selected plants) can be combined with
knowledge of the age of plants and the crop cycle of the cassava
varieties to give a good idea of the potential annual production.

Regression Analysis Another common method is crop modeling using regression analysis.
This analysis combines information on various factors to estimate
yields. The information may include the amount of inputs, particularly
fertilizers and improved seeds, but also can be combined with weather
data (rainfall, temperature) into very sophisticated models. Water
balance models are commonly used, for example.
Since rainfall is so important in determining production in rainfed
agriculture, as in most of southern Africa, GIEWS, and also national
meteorological divisions, provide maps that indicate rainfall and
analyse rainfall patterns.
GIEWS, FEWS NET and others use the maps and analysis to then look
at production and food security.

In recent years, mapping with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing with
satellite imagery from METEOSTAT and other satellites has been developed to help understand
climate and plant growth to help forecast production and warn of potential production
problems.

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) in the United States and FAO/GIEWS are among the agencies
focused on these technological advances.

Since these methods are quite costly, they can also be used in combination with other cheaper
methods.

Combing different methods

In countries where there is more than one production season, the Food Balance Sheet may
need to combine observations from the field for crops about to be harvested with models or
estimations of future production to get the estimate for a full year.
For example, you may estimate the production of the most recent season based on methods
such as crop cuts or remote sensing, and then would need to use climate projections and
previous harvests to forecast production from the second season for that year.
In addition, you may use estimates from one method to compare to estimates from another
method, to validate or calibrate the earlier estimates.

The FAO and its collaborators often conduct Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions
(CFSAM). The guidelines developed for these missions address many of the issues on crop
production estimates and related aspects of the Food Balance Sheet. One of the main
responsibilities of a CFSAM is to derive estimates of production for use in the Food Balance
Sheet.

The following are the steps of carrying out a CFSAM:

1. Their first step is to identify information and methods already available in the country.
2. Then, rather than mounting a large national survey, they generally determine the key
agricultural zones within the country, based on characteristics of production (typical
yields, crops grown, production technology) and the agro-ecology.
3. Teams then assess production in each zone, using a range of techniques.

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Choosing a method for crop forecasting

In each country, to choose a method for crop forecasting, you will need to evaluate human
resources, transport and other additional resources, availability of information from other
sources such as satellite photographs or regional organizations.
Where local information is weak, a first cut will be to look at historical trends in yield and area
and base the current yield on the trend, with possible modifications based on rainfall and input
use.
New guidelines are being developed for the FAO Crop Forecast and Supply Assessment Missions
that will help identify measurement options and their strengths and weaknesses.

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Household stocks estimation

Availability can also be assessed at household level.

This kind of assessment can provide useful information, especially for agricultural households.
It consists in estimating what each household has in stock of the main foods. That includes
what they may have in a storage hut, bin or shed, but also what they may maintain in the
ground as stocks (as with cassava).

The assessment can be done at sub-country level.

Since seasonal shifts can be very important, baseline information of a “normal year” is
necessary for interpreting current levels of stocks.

Please note that household stocks are estimated for inclusion in the FBS, but they are also
important indicators of a potential problem if you compare a current year’s stocks to what
they have in a “normal” year. Lack of production and stocks is not necessarily a problem
in itself, but that brings us into the discussion of access.

Let’s look at the methods for assessing household stocks:

1) Household surveys

With household production and consumption surveys, production minus estimated consumption
can be used to estimate projected stocks.
Household surveys are costly and take time and skilled human resources, as well as substantial
financial resources.

Household surveys are a very broad brush approach. Estimating production with large surveys
is often a challenge since farmers generally do not measure production in standard quantities
nor do they record what they have harvested.
Also, household stocks fluctuate, there are losses to rats and other pests, and there may be
sales from stocks. The goal is not to estimate what the household will eat, but the potential
from their own production and storage, comparing it to a “normal” year.

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The survey must be done with representative sampling to avoid giving a biased answer. If
surveys are only conducted in at-risk regions, they give only an assessment valid for similar
regions.
Another difficulty with the surveys is the length of time that it can take to collect, clean, and
analyse data, undermining the timeliness of the information.

2) Rapid appraisals

With rapid appraisals of household and community stocks, teams are sent out to talk with
community leaders, groups of farmers and local experts.
Rapid appraisals may suffer from bias, in which the appraisers find just what they thought they
would find, so a good rapid appraisal also requires skilled human resources.

This method may not get you a statistically reliable evaluation of stocks, but it can assess how
the stocks compare to previous years and estimates can then be derived.
Rapid appraisals are particularly good when timeliness is critical and may be good for specific
regions of deficit, but it is difficult to get accurate assessment on a national basis using this.
In addition, it may give results that politicians or village leaders want to get rather than a
picture of reality.

The combination of periodic large household surveys with rapid appraisals may provide the
best information.

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Availability and markets

Estimating the availability in a country and at a household level is merely a first step, for the
existence of food does not imply a good distribution of food through space and time.

A household may have stocks for two months but if the harvest comes in four months, supplies
for the extra two months must be obtained from somewhere.

That somewhere is most often through the market, either at local shops, the marketplace, or
through relatives who buy supplies elsewhere.

Availability in the markets is a much more difficult assessment to make. Traders bring supplies
to a market when people have resources to buy the goods, so “availability” in a market is both
a function of having supplies available somewhere and having demand for the goods. Since
market availability is strongly related to demand, it is more an access-related issue.
Aggregate availability helps to measure whether traders will be able to access supplies
somewhere in the country; traders help provide the distribution channels through which
supplies in one location become available in other locations.

Overall, average household production and national supply availability may look good but:

• Seasonal changes: for the household, sales of own production in harvest season to meet
food needs; later need to have supplies available from another source to meet food needs.
• Spatial dimensions: in urban areas, supplies in markets may fluctuate throughout year
resulting in price variability, but in rural areas, there may be periods of actual scarcity of
basic commodities.
• Equity issues: Certain populations may face greater problems with availability.

For all of these dimensions, the markets may provide part of the puzzle on availability, for
traders tend to move food from place to place, as well as maintain stocks to then sell during
different time periods. If people have sufficient income, they can afford to buy food through
the markets. However, people will face food insecurity when the prices rise with increasing
scarcity and they do not have the resources to buy food. Access becomes the real problem, not
availability, in this case.

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Key aspects in planning and availability assessment

In planning an availability assessment there are some considerations that you may find useful
These considerations relate to:
1. Time.
2. Accuracy.
3. Skills needed.
4. Resources available.

Let’s explore each of these aspects in more detail.

1) Time

Time is often one of the most important considerations.

If there has been some kind of emergency, such as an earthquake or a hurricane, people may
be in need of food as soon as possible.

Undertaking a lengthy survey will mean many hungry people will have to wait before the
decision is made to send in food aid. Using previous estimates and information will assist you in
narrowing down the considerations in an assessment.

If you already have information on a region, it is easier to detect changes from that base, and
then know what might be happening. In developing an information system, though, a longer
term perspective may be critical to your ability to respond quickly.

2) Accuracy

An important question is how accurate you need to be and how accurate is the information that
is currently available.

Determining the level of precision is a balancing act. A key feature is honesty in reporting,
acknowledging the level of accuracy and possible problems with the estimates. A first step is
thoroughly documenting your assumptions and the basis for your estimates.

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Often analysts use previous estimates as a basis for projecting values for the coming year. This
is a practical approach, but periodically needs to be evaluated based on large sample surveys or
other more precise methods. Why? Because if you are off one year, you will be using the
wrong numbers for every year into the future.

3) Skills needed

Selecting appropriate methods also includes assessing the skills of your statistical unit or
agency.

Crop sampling methods, household surveys, and other methods using data collection and
estimations require many skills.

Skills
Crop sampling methods, household surveys, and other methods using data collection and
estimations require many skills:

• Sample design: what is representative?

• Questionnaire design: what is the key information? Who do you ask and how do you ask it?

• Database management: how do you know that the data were entered correctly in the
computer? Are the data structured to do the type of analysis that is needed?

• Analysis: Who can analyse the data and evaluate the accuracy of the estimates that are
done? Do they know what to analyse and how to communicate results so that you can use
them? Do they know probable scenarios so that they can show what would happen if the
estimate was too low or too high?

The Food Balance Sheet is a key tool in availability assessments. Technical abilities and field
knowledge make the difference between an estimated Food Gap that reflects reality and one
that overestimates or underestimates supplies.

Usually the government has a unit who is responsible for constructing these, and the staff can
receive the kind of training and experience to ensure an accurate estimate.
You need people who can get the information and interpret what they obtain.

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Staff needed for developing Food Balance Sheets

You need people who can get the information and interpret what they obtain. That might
include the following staff:
• production specialist, most likely an agronomist who knows the relationship between
pests, climatic conditions, storage conditions, and crop production;
• markets and trade specialist, an economist who can interpret supply and demand using
prices and quantities;
• consumption specialist, nutritionist or consumption economist, someone who can estimate
the consumption needs across commodities and understand nutritional needs related to
supplies; and
• database management specialist.

Ideally, you will have analysts that can give you an assessment of reliability and possible things
to watch with the FBS that might indicate a change.

4) Resources available

It is important to assess your resources, such as: time, transport for the staff to get to the field,
financial resources to pay travel and other cash expenses, computers and staff to conduct
analysis, computer software for the analysis.

Identify regional resources that may be available and can complement local resources. In many
regions of the world, regional organizations or agencies may have developed tools to assess
availability of food. Using the Web, much more information is available than ever before.

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Summary
Food availability is the amount of food that is physically present in a country or area through all
forms of domestic production, stocks, commercial imports and food aid.

The Food Balance Sheet describes all the factors which constitute the total availability of food in
a country and allows us to difference between the estimated and the available food (Food Gap).

Estimating crop and livestock production may contribute to understanding food availability. This
usually implies calculating average yields.

There are different methods to estimate yields: through extension agents, crop cutting and
regression analysis. Mapping with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing
with satellite imagery help forecast production and warn of potential production problems.

Household level availability is important especially for agricultural and can be assessed through
periodic large household surveys and rapid appraisals.

In planning an availability assessment, you should consider some key aspects related to time,
level of accuracy, skills needed and resources available.

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Resources

Online Resources:

FAO (2002). Food Balance Sheets: History, sources, concepts, and definitions. Paper #5 for the
Project on Intensified Monitoring of Food Security in CIS Low Income Food-Deficit Countries.
Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization.
(http://www.foodsec.org/DL/course/shortcourseFA/en/pdf/5_FBS_concepts.pdf)

FAO (2002). Food Balance Sheets and Food Consumption Surveys: A Comparison of
Methodologies and Results. Paper #7 for the Project on Intensified Monitoring of Food Security
in CIS Low Income Food-Deficit Countries. Rome: FAO Agricultural and Development Economics
Division (ESA).
(http://www.foodsec.org/DL/course/shortcourseFA/en/pdf/7_FBS_FCS.pdf)

FAO (2002). Food Balance Sheets: Applications and Uses. Paper #6 for the Project on
Intensified Monitoring of Food Security in CIS Low Income Food-Deficit Countries. Rome: FAO
Agricultural and Development Economics Division (ESA).
(http://www.foodsec.org/DL/course/shortcourseFA/en/pdf/6_FBS_uses.pdf)

Gross, R., H. Schoeneberger, H. Pfeifer, H-J. A. Preuss (2000). The Four Dimensions of Food
and Nutrition Security: Definitions and Concepts. Project on Intensified Monitoring of Food
Security in CIS Low Income Food-Deficit Countries. Rome: FAO Agricultural and Development
Economics Division (ESA).
(http://www.foodsec.org/DL/course/shortcourseFA/en/pdf/P-01_RG_Concept.pdf)

Aube, Thierry (2005). Improving the Methodology for Joint FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply
Assessment Missions: Estimating Commercial Imports. Rome, Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), GIEWS.
(http://www.fao.org/giews/english/tools/EstimatingCommercialImports.pdf)

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 IMARK – Usability and Accessibility Learner’s Handout

Donovan, Cynthia, Megan McGlinchy, John Staatz and David Tschirley (2005). Emergency
Needs Assessments and the Impact of Food Aid on Local Markets. Desk Review prepared for
WFP/SENAC. Rome, World Food Programme, Emergency Needs Assessment Branch (ODAN).
(http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/ena/wfp086537.pdf)

FAO Statistics Division. Website on Supply Utilization Accounts and Food Balance Sheets in the
Context of a National Statistical System. (http://www.fao.org/es/ess/suafbs.asp)

FAO (2000). Handbook for defining and setting up of a food security information and famine
early warning system (FSIEWS). (ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/003/X8622e/X8622e00.pdf)

Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) (1996).
Guidelines for Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions. Rome: Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), GIEWS. (http://www.fao.org/giews/english/tools/CFSAME1996.pdf)

Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) (2006). Crop
Prospects and Food Situation in Southern Africa, April 2006. Rome: Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), GIEWS.
(http://www.fao.org/Giews/english/shortnews/SouthernAfrica24April06.pdf)

Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) (2004).
Overview of Methodology on CFSAMs (PowerPoint presentation). Rome: Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), GIEWS (http://www.fao.org/giews/english/tools.htm)

WFP. 2005. Market Assessment: Pakistan Earthquake Affected Areas. December. Rome: World
Food Programme.
(http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/ena/wfp084203.pdf)

WFP. 2005. Guatemala: Market Profile for Emergency Food Security Needs Assessments. Rome:
WFP, ODAN Emergency Needs Assessments Branch.
(http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/ena/wfp086536.pdf)

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Fewsnet

FEWSNET, MACO, and ZNFU (2004). Review of the Zambia National Food Balance Sheet.
Lusaka, FEWSNET, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MACO), Zambian National Farmers
Union (ZNFU), Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
(http://www.fews.net/resources/gcontent/pdf/1000429.pdf)

FEWSNET, et al. 2005-2006. Cross Border Study Reports for Southern Africa and for Zambia.
(http://www.fews.net)

FEWSNET. 2005. Informal Cross Border Food Trade in Southern Africa. Issue 1.
(http://www.fews.net/resources/gcontent/pdf/1000532.pdf)

Terpend, Noëlle (2006). An Assessment of Knowledge about Trade and Markets Related to Food
Security in West Africa. Joint FEWS NET and WFP study. Rome: World Food Programme
(WFP), Emergency Needs Assessment Branch (ODAN).
(http://www.fews.net/resources/gcontent/pdf/1001068.pdf)

Other

Jacobs, Krista, and Daniel A. Sumner. (2002) The Food Balance Sheets of the Food and
Agriculture Organization: A Review of Potential Ways to Broaden the Appropriate Uses of the
Data. A Review Sponsored by FAO. Davis, California: University of California, Davis.
(http://www.agecon.ucdavis.edu/uploads/grad_papers/fbs_review.pdf)

SADC Food Security Early Warning System (2006). SADC Food Security Update – No. 3.06
(May). Gaborone: SADC Released: Gaborone, Food Security Early Warning System.
(http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/2006/sadc-southernafrica-15jun.pdf)

Tschirley, David (2006), Local and Regional Food Aid Procurement: An Assessment of
Experience in Africa and Elements of Good Donor Practice. by David Tschirley. 2007. MSU IDPW
91, East Lansing, Michigan. (http://aec.msu.edu/fs2/papers/idwp91.pdf)

Vulnerability Assessment Committee. 2005/6. Vulnerability Assessment Committee Reports

from Southern Africa. (http://www.sahims.net)

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Additional Reading:

WFP and FEWS NET. 2006. Evaluation of the WFP/FEWS NET Informal Cross-Border Trade
Monitoring System. Draft Final Report. June. Report for WFP through Acacia Consulting.
Lusaka, Zambia: World Food Programme (WFP) and Famine Early Warning System Network
(FEWS NET).

Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (2005). Provisional Results of the Harvest

Outcome Analysis. Lilongwe, Malawi: Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (VAC), in
collaboration with FEWS NET, Save the Children, SADC FANR Vulnerability Assessment
Committee and the World Food Programme.

Maxwell, D and Watkins, B. (2003), Humanitarian information systems and emergencies in the
Greater Horn of Africa: logical components and logical linkages. Disasters March 2003,
27(1):72-90.

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Annexes

Annex 1: Annual cereal Balance Sheet for Somalia 2006/2007

Annual Cereal Balance Sheet CURRENT ESTIMATED

Estimates
for Somalia
100% Net 75% Net
Commercial Commercial
(June 2006 to May 2007)
Imports Imports
DOMESTIC AVAILABILITY 298 298

Opening Stocks 60 60
Domestic Cereal Supply 2006-’07 238 238
Gu 2006 South Somalia 113 113
Gu-Karan 2006 Northwest 20 20
Off-season Gu 2006 3 3

DOMESTIC UTILIZATION
Cereal Utilization Requirements 643 643
IMPORT REQUIREMENTS
Anticipated Commercial Imports 390 295
ESTIMATED SURPLUS/DEFICIT – CEREAL 45 -50
Food Aid Transit or Pipeline (up to Dec ’06) 70 70
TOTAL ESTIMATED SURPLUS/DEFICIT – 115 20

Source: Food Security Analysis Unit, Somalia. 2006. Post Gu ‘06 Assessment and Analysis.
Presentation for the SACB FSRD Meeting, held August 9, 2006. Available at
http://www.fsausomali.org/uploads/Other/794.zip

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Food Security Information for Action

Availability Assessment and Analysis

Lesson 2

Availability Indicators

Learners‟ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and developed

by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

© FAO, 2008
 Availability Assessments
Lesson 2 – Availability Indicators – Learner‟s Notes

Summary
Learning Objectives .......................................................................................... 1

Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1

Information to understand availability ................................................................ 1

Potential availability indicators ........................................................................... 5

Selecting availability indicators ........................................................................ 13

Summary ....................................................................................................... 15

Online Resources............................................................................................ 16

Annexes......................................................................................................... 18

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 Availability Assessments
Lesson 2 – Availability Indicators – Learner‟s Notes

Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• identify the most used availability indicators, at both national and household level; and
• identify the criteria for selecting the appropriate availability indicators.

Introduction
What are the key aspects to consider in order to understand availability of food?

What kind of information should be collected and interpreted to describe these aspects?

In this lesson you will find some indications on what aspects to analyse when you assess food
availability in a country, and some examples of indicators that you could use to do the analysis.

Information to understand availability

The following are key aspects for understanding availability:

• The availability of basic foods, such as cereals, roots, tubers, etc, and their nutritional
components.
• The location of households, their livelihood and agro-ecological zones
• Seasonality in supplies and consumption, as well as the key factors affecting local production
of food (weather, pests, inputs, etc.).
• Factors affecting other sources of supply, including food stocks and reserves, food aid,
international trade and local markets.

Let‟s look at these aspects more in detail...

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1) Key commodities for consumption

Which foods are really important to basic consumption?

Making a list of the key staples is the first place to start, and that may vary by region within a
country.

Example
Examples of key commodities
In Bangladesh, clearly rice is the most important staple. In Zambia, maize is very important, but
in some areas cassava is what households eat every day as a basic staple. Pastoralists in
Sahelian zones depend heavily on purchases of millet and harvest of wild seeds (fonio) as well
as consuming animal products.

Another key thing to understand is “substitution.”

When the price for one commodity is very high, some people will shift to a cheaper commodity,
or a lower quality of the same commodity. This means that you usually need to look at
availability across basic foods and not just look at one food.

In addition, people may consume more of one commodity during a given season,
complementing it with other foods as availability and prices shift. This translates into seasonal
shifts in consumption that can be included in your estimates of requirements.

2) Nutritional components of basic staples

To help link food staples availability to utilization in human consumption within food security, it
is valuable to look at the nutritional content of the food staples.

A common estimate is availability of kilocalories, based on the staple foods available.

There are other macro and micro nutrients that might be evaluated, including fats (lipids) and
proteins, but kilocalories are the most common nutrient evaluated for availability.

Since diets may change during the year, kilocalorie availability may change as well.

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For example, shifting from maize to cassava will have nutritional consequences and the
availability of different nutrients will change.

With emergencies, food staples may not be available, so the availability of kilocalories and some
nutrients will be reduced.

3) Seasonality in supplies and consumption

What and how much people eat will vary, based on price changes, season and geographic area.

Farmers may eat more meals at harvest time when they have more food available from their
production.

There typically is a “hungry season” or “lean season” between harvests, when household stocks
have been eaten or sold, and the new crop isn‟t yet ready.

Creating a cropping calendar is useful to see these periods.

At harvest, availability may be from own production and so you need to measure this. Later in
the season, household stocks are important, as well as market stocks and movements.

4) Vulnerability of households

Another aspect to consider is the vulnerability to a specific supply or availability problem.

If households depend on a single source of supply and that source is no longer available, they
may be vulnerable, and you need to highlight that key availability problem.

Farmers who produce much of what they eat will be vulnerable if there is a drought or a major
pest.

If a family buys much of what they eat, then they will be vulnerable if their incomes go down,
but this would not due to availability of food, it would be an access problem.

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5) Factors affecting local supply

What affects supply in the country?

Immediately you may think of what is produced and the things that might negatively affect
production, such as pests, diseases, and lack of rainfall.

Positive factors could be farmer access to improved inputs, increasing local supply availability,
or farmers deciding to cultivate more land for food crops.

In addition to local production in the current year, government reserves may be used at any
given point in time and must be considered as part of availability.

Example
Example: Zambia
In Zambia, the Food Reserve Agency bought maize grain from farmers in 2006 and is storing
the maize grain to meet future needs.
As the maize gets older, it may be less appropriate for human consumption and used for other
purposes, so you will need to assess whether the full amount in storage is really food available.

6) Factors affecting other sources of supply

Trade and food aid are other components of availability.

The trade and policy aspects don‟t always come to mind when you think of food availability.
However, availability may be quickly reduced if your government closes the border to imports.
If a neighbour changes import and export requirements, it may also mean less trade and
lowered availability. It is hard to find an indicator for the policy side, but it should not be left
out of the picture on food availability.

Locally, problems with availability occur when the roads become impassable with rain, and no
food stocks can arrive, so more local and sub-regional analysis is needed to add to the national
and household availability analysis.

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Potential availability indicators

Let‟s now have a look at some potential indicators which might be used to collect information
on the key aspects of food availability.

A) National availability indicators.

B) Availability indicators for domestic production.
C) Market availability indicators.
D) Potential household level availability indicators.

A) National availability indicators

For national availability estimates, the Food Balance Sheet presents the overall picture. The
preciseness and overall quality will vary with the human and other resources available.

The Food Balance Sheet can indicate if the amount of food available from national production is
less than a normal year and the relative importance of imports.

If you develop a Food Balance Sheet, you will have the following national availability indicators:

• Total production of food staples (in metric tonnes or in kilocalories);

• Total Gap - difference between total production and total consumption needs, which is the
estimated amount needed from imports (commercial or food aid);

• Estimated imports through usual commercial channels and announced imports through
public channels (food aid commitments); and

• Uncovered Gap - amount that remains unmet given using information on imports during a
typical year or the previous year.

See Annex 1: Annual cereal Balance Sheet for Somalia 2006/2007 (page 18)

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The following are some strengths and weaknesses of the national availability indicators used in
a Food Balance Sheet.

Strengths Weaknesses
National availability indicators used in a The estimated food gap can give a false
Food Balance Sheet are useful at picture of high imports needed if supply
national level for overall planning and estimated from production or from trade are
relatively easy to get estimates inaccurate: analysts must have a good
understanding of the markets to use these
indicators in the correct way.
The Food Balance Sheet is not useful for
understanding who is food insecure.

B) Availability indicators for domestic production

You may not have the information to complete a Food Balance Sheet, so you may need to
estimate supply that will be available from domestic production.

As countries have clear local differences, it is valuable to keep the estimates at a sub-country
level and then bring them together to get the national level.
This enables analysis of surplus and deficit areas within the country.

To predict production, you can use a combination of indicators:

• Yield estimates; and

• Total area planted.

You need to combine yield estimates with area planted, comparing the current year to past
years (and to the 5 year average) to see how total production may be affected by changes in
area, as well as yield.

Graphing yields and area planted over time are often valuable to put the current season in
context.

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Current season’s rainfall pattern compared to 5 year average

Rainfall may be a good predictor of yield in agricultural production where crops rely on rain
rather than irrigation. Simple total annual rainfall is not a very reliable indicator.
Plants really need water at particular times, so distribution of the rainfall is also important.
Rainfall in the key crop growth months is reasonable to use for forecasts.
There are experts who look at rainfall distribution and plant growth for early warning, such as
FEWSNET and GIEWS. Be sure to look for their work, since it requires special skills and access
to advanced (and often expensive!) technology.

Use of improved inputs

Yield may also be influenced by the use of agricultural inputs, so comparing that to the trend
use over the previous years can help indicate whether a shift in yields is expected.

Damage caused by pests and diseases

Pests and diseases may have a strong impact on yield in specific regions or overall.
Talk to your agricultural research staff and extension staff to get an estimate of damage.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

OF THE INDICATORS FOR AREA PLANTED AND POTENTIAL YIELD

Yield estimates and total area planted

Land area estimates can be based on:
• Percentage change from previous years. This is relatively inexpensive, based on local
knowledge, but can be prone to manipulation for political and other purposes. If
purchased seed is used by farmers, its availability is important information. Expert
knowledge of extension agents and others needed.
• Satellite imagery for planted or cultivated areas. As yet, this is costly and needs advanced
technology, but over time may become more accessible as we increase the computer
capability to analyse images automatically.
Land areas planted into different crops may not change dramatically from one year to the next,
so estimating planted area as a percentage of the previous year‟s estimated land area is
reasonable. If drought, flooding, etc. cause great harm, then the planted land area will need to
be adjusted downward to the harvested area. Since policy, conflict, and other aspects may
influence the area in crops in unexpected ways, it is important to use additional information,
such as an agricultural census, to evaluate land area and adjust it over time. If shifts are not

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identified, the estimates each year will gradually get further and further from the real areas
over time.
The production estimates using land area and yield can be completed for the sub-regions of
your country. These regional production numbers should be reported, and then aggregated to
the national level.

Current season’s rainfall pattern compared to 5 year average

Aggregating the data to cover a broad range is not appropriate if you do not have data at a
local level in all production areas. Also, timing of weather is very important, so large rainfalls at
the wrong time can do more harm than good. Satellite imagery may indicate the ground cover
percentage, which may help to indicate the progression of the cropping season and potential
damage to crops, particularly for areas with low rainfall. Systems to use remote sensing and
mapping of meteorological data may require skilled human resources and financial resources.

Estimates of yields including use of inputs and impact of pests and diseases
The percentage increase or decrease in previous year‟s yields is a relatively inexpensive
indicator, based on local knowledge, but can be prone to manipulation for political and other
purposes.
Another indicator is the geographic distribution of performance – areas with poor or good
performance in a given year (floods destroying fields, versus excellent well distributed rains
supporting bumper harvests).
While these estimates may not be accurate down to the last kilogram for yield, you can use
them to get a sense of the range of yields. If many more farmers use fertilizers and improved
seeds in one year compared to others, you will see higher yields. If locusts attack, field staff
can estimate the potential losses in their region.

C) Market availability indicators

Markets may provide part of the puzzle on availability.

The following are some indicators for availability in the markets:

a) Prices and price shifts for main staples;

b) Road and transport access, road closures, security problems limiting transport;
c) Percentage of all weather roads; and
d) Stocks held by private and public sector.

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a) Prices and price shifts for main staples

Prices are sometimes used to indicate scarcity in supply, especially when prices are very high
compared to the average prices for a given time of year. However, high price may be an
indicator of high transport costs, security problems, or other problems which limit availability or
limit competition among traders in a given location.

Prices may have serious consequences for food access. For purposes of diagnosing availability
problems, you should graph the monthly average prices in key markets for the past year and
then an average for the previous five years in those same markets.

b) Road and transport access, road closures, security problems limiting transport
and (c) Percentage of all weather roads
Thinking about factors that shift availability, when did you last get stuck somewhere due to
heavy rains and roads and bridges that were impassable?

Were you ever stopped from entering an area due to security problems?

Traders face the same problems moving food, and that will result in lowered availability of food
in affected areas. Having a map to indicate market access problems is useful. Regional
knowledge within the country on the percentage of all weather roads can be useful.

d) Stocks held by private and public sector

Traders, national governments, and local groups may stock food staples in order to release
them when those supplies are needed. It is a normal function of traders to do this and it is
useful for smoothing out prices.

When prices go very high, food may be sold into the market, by either public or private sector,
so these stocks should be considered in assessing availability.

In your price graphs, if you see prices going down in the usual “hungry” or “lean” season, it
may be indicating release of government stocks or food aid, increasing market availability.
Those are called “counter-cyclical” price shifts, because they go against the usual trends of
continually higher prices until the next harvest.

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The following are some strengths and weaknesses of market availability indicators.

Strengths Weaknesses
Prices as indicators may be regularly Prices as indicators must be systematically
collected and easily available, at collected at identified market levels (wholesale,
least for the main markets. retail). They are very rough, as they combine
Data on stock being held by the both supply and demand. Prices need to be
government should be available to carefully interpreted. For example, a rapid
you without a high cost. increase in price may mean reduced supplies
coming into the market, but also may stem from
people suddenly having more income and
demanding more of the good.
Data on price of stocks being held by the private
sector may be more difficult to access, as
business people tend to guard information.

D) Household level availability indicators

Many households produce much of what they eat, relying on their own fields for food.
When this is the case, determining household availability is usually based on total production of
food crops (or projected production if the harvest is pending) plus any food stocks that the
household may have.

For a given season, household availability may be based strictly on current stocks of food.
The food included in availability usually contains just the grain crops or the set of main staples,
adding up own production from current season plus stocks.

You can use the following indicators to understand household level availability:

a) Months, Annual and Seasonal of food availability from own production and stocks of
food staples; and
b) Total kilocalories produced of basic staples compared to total kilocalorie needs of
household over the year.

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 IMARK – Usability and Accessibility Learner‟s Handout

a) Months of food availability from own production and stocks of food staples
Months of food availability from own production and stocks of food staples
One key availability indicator is the number of months that current production and stocks will
last in the household, if consumed by the members.
Questionnaires ask the household head or other members directly about this.
Due to seasonality, you need to know what to expect at that time of year. In hungry season,
you do not expect that households will have stocks for 3 months, yet at harvest in a normal
year, you might expect to see this.
One key availability indicator is the number of months that current production and stocks will
last in the household, if consumed by the members.
Questionnaires ask the household head or other members directly about this.
Due to seasonality, you need to know what to expect at that time of year. In hungry season,
you do not expect that households will have stocks for 3 months, yet at harvest in a normal
year, you might expect to see this.

b) Total kilocalories produced compared to total kilocalorie needs

You can also estimate the total kilocalorie availability per year and compare that to the total
kilocalorie needs for the year, given the composition of the household. FAO gives information
on kilocalorie needs for adults and children by age groups and gender.
If you have been doing this over the years, you will have the data to compare a given year or
season to an average over five years/seasons or at least compared to the previous years. That
is the easiest way to understand if the current situation is different, somehow not normal.

The following are some strengths and weaknesses of household level availability indicators.

Strengths Weaknesses
They are critical to: They may require survey research, not quick to
• understand availability collect and requiring resources, but you can look
within different regions of at this with rapid assessments in key areas of
your country, and vulnerability.
• identify households with They must be put into a context over time to see
severe threats to food changes.
security. They must be combined with access indicators to
understand food insecurity at the household
level.

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 IMARK – Usability and Accessibility Learner‟s Handout

To understand household availability, it is critical to have a sense of what is “normal” for the
households.
Pastoralists rarely keep food staple supplies and their own production is not the critical factor in
their food security. Meanwhile for grain farmers, such stocks may be extremely important.

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 IMARK – Usability and Accessibility Learner‟s Handout

Selecting availability indicators

How to select the best mix of indicators to understand a specific situation?
Let‟s have a look at the critical qualities that availability indicators should have.
A good availability indicator should have the following characteristics...

Table I: Characteristics of a good availability indicator

Characteristic Description
Be relevant for A good indicator is relevant to the decisions to be made.
decision-making For instance, should government food reserves be released? Should
import taxes be reduced for staples?
Knowing total local production in the year will help answer that question.
Use your skills in assessing the needs of your stakeholders to determine
what will help in decision-making.

Reflect the reality For example, to reflect market reality, import data that only include
formal sector imports will not reflect reality in the markets if informal
imports are an important source of food commodities.

Use resources This quality is related to the trade-off between accuracy and cost of
efficiently collection of information.
While it would be more accurate to know every tonne of maize in
household stocks, interviewing every household and then analysing the
information would take months and be very expensive. That is why we
use well-designed sample surveys to get estimates that we can project
out to a whole region or population. Even those surveys may take too
long given the information needs, such as after an emergency, so
indicators based on previous work and rapid assessments with expert
judgments may be the best way to go.
The new Joint WFP-FAO CFSAM guidelines help to identify criteria and
systems for doing this (FAO-WFP, 2007).

Reflect seasonal Fast, low cost indicators that can be collected repeatedly over time and
and geographic space contribute greatly to identifying changing conditions.
differences In Ethiopia, estimates are completed for the two main seasons
separately (FAO-WFP, 2007).

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 IMARK – Usability and Accessibility Learner‟s Handout

In countries with clear geographical differences, such as Mozambique

with main production zones in the north and centre and main
consumption zones in the south, creating a partial Food Balance Sheet
for each region in the country is valuable. It looks at basic production
estimates within the region and then estimated consumption needs. By
comparing to earlier years, you can see where changes have occurred
and where availability concerns are highest.

There are two other qualities of indicators that are not as critical but which are valuable:

1. By estimating indicators that are used by other countries, you can better understand
your own situation and how availability over a set of countries may be affected in a
crisis. That is one reason why the Food Balance Sheets were developed, and why FAO
and others provide guidelines and advice on standardized indicators. By using such
standard measures over time, you will be able to measure progress or decline
systematically.

2. Another valuable quality for indicators is to be useful for other purposes.

If multiple stakeholders use an indicator, it is more likely to have the resources available
to obtain it. For example, the Food Balance Sheet is often a multi-agency effort, with
Ministries, agencies and donors working together. The information on predicted
production and imports can be used for a variety of purposes, including overall food
security, national income estimates and determination of research investments in
agriculture.

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 IMARK – Usability and Accessibility Learner‟s Handout

Summary
The national indicators are good for understanding the overall situation and possibility for large-
scale disruptions due to a production shortfall. They also highlight the importance of imports in
ensuring availability.

If you can complete the basic supply and demand part of a Food Balance Sheet on a sub-
national level and seasonal basis, you have greater detail in the picture of availability and what
might affect it.

Production estimates may be simple trend predictions with modifications for shifts in yield and
area. More elaborate models may be used to forecast production, but that will require more
advanced skills and resources.

At the market level, most of the work will be in the access side of things, but simple price
graphing over time can help to identify availability constraints.

At the household level, knowing how long stocks will last and when the next harvest will come
can be critical indicators of possible food insecurity. If many of your farmers rely heavily on
their own production, you will find production shortfalls good predictors of stress. Reporting on
levels of household stocks and their differences with a typical year will give policy makers a
measure of the availability from own production.

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 IMARK – Usability and Accessibility Learner‟s Handout

Resources

FAO (2002). Food Balance Sheets and Food Consumption Surveys: A Comparison of
Methodologies and Results. Paper #7 for the Project on Intensified Monitoring of Food Security
in CIS Low Income Food-Deficit Countries Rome: FAO Agricultural and Development
Economics Division (ESA). (in PDF)
(http://www.foodsec.org/DL/course/shortcourseFA/en/pdf/7_FBS_FCS.pdf)

FAO (2002). Training in Crop Monitoring and Forecasting. Paper #1 for the Project on
Intensified Monitoring of Food Security in CIS Low Income Food-Deficit Countries, Rome: FAO
Agricultural and Development Economics Division (ESA). (in PDF)
(http://www.foodsec.org/DL/course/shortcourseFA/en/pdf/1_crop.pdf)

Aube, Thierry (2005). Improving the Methodology for Joint FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply
Assessment Missions: Estimating Commercial Imports. Rome, Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), GIEWS. Available at (http://www.fao.org/giews/english/tools.htm)

FAO (undated). Nutritive Factors, Rome: FAO Agricultural and Development Economics Division
(ESA). Accessed March 8, 2007. (http://www.fao.org/es/ess/xxx.asp)

FAO (2006). Cassava Assessing Handbook for Improved Integration of Cassava in the
FAO/WFP Joint Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission (CFSAM). Rome: Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO).
(http://www.fao.org/giews/english/tools/Cassava_Guidelines.pdf)

FAO (2006). FAOSTAT website on Supply Utilization Accounts (SUA) and Food Balance Sheets
(FBS). Accessed August 3, 2006. (http://faostat.fao.org/site/354/default.aspx)

FAO Statistics Division. Website on Supply Utilization Accounts and Food Balance Sheets in the
Context of a National Statistical System. (http://www.fao.org/es/ess/suafbs.asp)

Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) (2006). Crop
Prospects and Food Situation. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), GIEWS.
(http://www.fao.org/giews/english/cpfs/index.htm)

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 IMARK – Usability and Accessibility Learner‟s Handout

FAO. 2007. Crop Prospects and Food Situation, Vol. 1 (February): 2007.
(http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/j9247e/j9247e06.htm#21)

GIEWS Crop Prospects and Food Situation - No. 1 February 2007

(http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/j9247e/j9247e00.htm)

Food Security Analysis Unit – Somalia. 2007. Special Brief: Post-Deyr 06/07 Analysis. Nairobi,
Kenya: Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) – Somalia.
(http://www.fews.net/docs/Publications/Somalia_200709en.pdf)

Maxwell, S., and T. Frankenberger (1992). Household Food Security Indicators: Concepts,
Indicators, Measurements: A Technical Review. New York and Rome: United Nations Children‟s
Fund (UNICEF) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
(http://www.ifad.org/hfs/tools/hfs/hfspub/index.htm)

Riely F, Mock N, Cogill B, Bailey L, Kenefick E. (1999). Food security indicators and framework
for use in the monitoring and evaluation of food aid programs. Washington, D.C.: Food and
Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA). (http://www.fantaproject.org/publications/fsind.shtml)

FEWSNET. 2007. Mozambique Food Security Update, January 2007. Washington, DC:
FEWSNET. Available at (http://www.fews.net/centers/files/Mozambique_200612en.pdf)

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 IMARK – Usability and Accessibility Learner‟s Handout

Annexes

Annex 1: Annual cereal Balance Sheet for Somalia 2006/2007

Annual Cereal Balance Sheet CURRENT ESTIMATED

Estimates
for Somalia
100% Net 75% Net
Commercial Commercial
(June 2006 to May 2007)
Imports Imports
DOMESTIC AVAILABILITY (‘000
298MT) (‘000
298MT)

Opening Stocks 60 60
Domestic Cereal Supply 2006-’07 238 238
Gu 2006 South Somalia 113 113
Gu-Karan 2006 Northwest 20 20
Off-season Gu 2006 3 3
Deyr ’06-’07 (Estimated as Deyr PWA 102 102
DOMESTIC UTILIZATION
1995-’05)
Cereal Utilization Requirements 643 643
IMPORT REQUIREMENTS
Anticipated Commercial Imports 390 295
ESTIMATED SURPLUS/DEFICIT – CEREAL 45 -50
Food Aid Transit or Pipeline (up to Dec ’06) 70 70
TOTAL ESTIMATED SURPLUS/DEFICIT – 115 20
CEREAL

Source: Food Security Analysis Unit, Somalia. 2006. Post Gu „06 Assessment and Analysis.
Presentation for the SACB FSRD Meeting, held August 9, 2006. Available at
http://www.fsausomali.org/uploads/Other/794.zip

18
Food Security Information for Action

Food Security Policies

Formulation and Implementation

Lesson 1

Establishment of a
Food Security Policy Framework

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and

implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations

© FAO, 2009
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 - Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

Table of Contents

Learning objectives .....................................................................................................2

Introduction..................................................................................................................3
Conceptual framework for food security policies .........................................................4
Subjects of food security policies ................................................................................5
Policies with multiple effects on food security..............................................................9
Linkages to other policies, strategies & programmes ................................................10
Summary ...................................................................................................................11
If you want to know more... .......................................................................................12

Learners’ Notes 1
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 – Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• explain the need for policies aimed at improving food security;

• describe the main features of food security policies; and
• acknowledge food security as a policy issue cutting across different sectors.

Learners’ Notes 2
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 – Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

Introduction

Combating the problem of hunger and malnutrition requires specific policy actions.

Governments of many countries have defined food security objectives to be pursued in the
framework of national development policies.

Policies aimed at improving the food situation of a country and its people are directed to
contribute to the achievement of the first Millennium Development Goal (Eradicated
poverty and hunger) and the realization of the basic human Right to Food.

Example: Preamble to the Food Security Policy document of Timor-Leste

The preamble to the Food Security Policy document of Timor-Leste states:
“Food insecurity in Timor–Leste has been one of the main concerns of the first government
after gaining independence because a high share of the population suffers from the lack of
food, in quantitative and qualitative terms. Many people do not reach the minimum
standard of a balanced diet that guarantees them a healthy living and a productive and
long life.
The Food Security Policy will be a complementary instrument, not only for achieving the
Millennium Development Goals, but also for materializing the Government’s policy to
eradicate hunger in all its forms, thus contributing to poverty reduction in 2020, as stated in
the National Development Plan (NDP).”

There are two typical approaches to designing food security policies:

• Integration of food security policy issues into overall and sectoral national development
policies and strategies of a country, e.g. Poverty Reduction Strategy and agricultural
and social sector policies and strategies.

• Preparing a specific “Food Security Policy” document, incorporating all aspects which
are relevant for improving food security and taking into account the linkages which exist
to overall and sectoral development policies and strategies of the country.

This lesson provides guidance for the preparation of food security policies, be it in the form
of preparing a special Food Security Policy document or in the form of an incorporation of
food security policy issues into other national development policies and strategies.

Learners’ Notes 3
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 – Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

Conceptual framework for food security policies

A state of food security requires that:

• sufficient food is available;

• all people have economic and physical access to the food they need;
• access and availability are ensured over time (stability), and
• the food is effectively utilized.

Definition of food security

We refer to the definition of the World Food Summit 1996:

“ Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to
sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for
an active and healthy life.”

This definition of food security includes the following four aspects or conditions of food
security:
- Physical AVAILABILITY of food
- Economic and physical ACCESS to food
- Food UTILIZATION
- STABILITY of the other three dimensions over time.

Food insecurity exists if even one of these conditions is not met.

The actual food situation in many developing countries is characterized by deficiencies
with regard to several of these aspects.

Example: Food security situation in Ethiopia

The food security situation in Ethiopia can be outlined as follows:
In years of average and good harvests, Ethiopia produces largely enough food to feed its
population and only a small amount of food has to be imported.
However, there are many poor households, particularly in rural areas, neither producing
enough food on their own nor having the means to buy the food they need. Even in years
of good harvests they suffer from hunger.
The country is prone to recurrent droughts and other natural disasters. The shortfalls in
production which occur in the wake of natural disasters affect both food availability and
access, severely aggravating the food situation of the poorest population groups.
Due to lack of knowledge about hygiene and nutrition, unsafe drinking water, diseases and
other factors, the food prepared and consumed is often not fully utilized.

Learners’ Notes 4
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 – Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

Subjects of food security policies

Food security (FS) policies have to address those conditions for food security that are not
(yet) fulfilled.
Depending on prevailing food security problems in a country, appropriate policy measures
to remedy the problems should be defined.

Table 1: Policy measures to remedy problems

If the problem is: FS policies have to aim at:
Insufficient Supplies Increasing food supplies,
i.e. if the food available in a country is e.g. by promoting domestic food production
not sufficient to adequately feed its and/or facilitating food imports.
population
Insufficient Access Improving access,
i.e. if there are people and households by enabling food insecure people and
who cannot obtain the food they need households to obtain the food they need.
Improving utilization,
Ineffective Utilization
e.g. by enabling people to prepare the food in
i.e. if the food is prepared and consumed
a way which is safe, maintains its nutritious
in a way that it cannot be properly
quality and that the nutrients are fully
utilized by the body
absorbed by the body.
Instability of Food Supplies Stabilizing food supplies,
i.e. if there are seasonal food shortages e.g. by making timely provisions so that
or deficits in the wake of harvest failures sufficient food is available throughout the
or disasters year and if a disaster strikes.

Interactions between the different dimensions of food security need to be considered when
food security policies are designed.

Example: Interaction between different food security dimensions

For example, low levels of agricultural production not only limit food supplies but also
agricultural income, thus constraining access of farm households to sufficient food and
making them vulnerable to temporary food shortages.
On the other hand, policies to promote agricultural production have positive effects not
only on food production and supplies but also on access and stability.

Next we will have a look at what types of food security policies can be designed to improve
each one of the four dimensions of food security.
We will consider:

A) Policies to increase food supplies (availability)

B) Policies to improve access to food – poverty alleviation
C) Policies to improve utilization
D) Policies to ensure stability of food supplies

Learners’ Notes 5
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 – Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

A) Policies to increase food supplies (availability)

Food availability refers to the supply side of the food economy.
Sources of food supplies are:
• domestic food production (subsistence plus marketed production); and
• food imports.

Food availability can be increased:

− Increasing domestic food production; and
− Facilitating food imports.

Table 2: Increasing Food Availability

In general, domestic food production is the main source of food supplies.
Therefore, in situations with insufficient food supplies, food security policies
Increasing
have to focus on increasing domestic food production, including all policy
domestic
measures which typically form part of agricultural development strategies,
food
such as: agricultural research, extension, improved technologies, input
production
supply and subsidies, land tenure reform, natural resource conservation,
rural infrastructure and food marketing.
If food supplies from domestic production (and available food stocks) are
insufficient to cover the needs, the balance has to be covered by food
imports. Food security policies must facilitate food imports, e.g. by granting
import licenses, removing tariff and non-tariff restrictions on food imports,
overall trade liberalization, promoting market data exchange and
information.
Facilitating
If a country depending on food imports lacks, due to foreign exchange
food
constraints, the means to finance commercial food imports according to the
imports
needs, food insecurity in terms of supply deficits (expressed e.g. in price
hikes) occur. In order to avoid such deficits, external assistance is required.
The government may seek external assistance in the form of foreign
exchange support, to increase the food import capacity of the country, or
directly in the form food aid (food imports on a grant basis or at
concessional terms).

B) Policies to improve access to food – poverty alleviation

Insufficient access to food is the core problem of food insecurity.

It is closely related to poverty, affecting all households who are living below the poverty
line, i.e. who don’t have sufficient assets and means to cater for their needs.

Access refers to capacity of households and individuals to obtain the food they need,
either by producing it on their own, by buying it on the market, or obtaining it through
transfers.

Since insufficient access to food is the result of poverty, policy measures to improve
access to food essentially are poverty alleviation policies.

Learners’ Notes 6
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 – Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

Depending on the situation, environment, livelihood, resources and capacities of poor and
food insecure population groups, food security and poverty alleviation policies will have to
focus on measures for agricultural development, on income and employment generation in
rural and urban environments, and/or on public transfer systems.

Income
Income means purchasing power. It is, in general, the most decisive factor in access to
food.

Table 3: Improving Access to Food

In an agriculture based economy and society, a major source of
Agricultural
subsistence and income is agriculture.
development
Therefore, food security and poverty alleviation policies need to focus
focusing on
on measures of agricultural and rural development targeting specifically
poor farmers
small farmers and poor rural households.
Policy measures in the field of agricultural sector development have to
be accompanied by employment and income generation policies in rural
and urban, agricultural and non-agricultural as well as public and
Employment
private sectors.
and income
Focus has to be put on the promotion and development of value chains.
generation
Productive and private sector employment may have to be
complemented by public employment schemes, in order to ensure that
the poor rural and urban population obtain the means to gain adequate
access to food.
Until poverty alleviation is achieved and poverty is eliminated on a
sustainable basis, special targeted approaches are needed to ensure
that the poor, vulnerable and food insecure population groups obtain
Public the food they need and are able to cover their minimum requirements.
transfers / Typical targeted approaches are social safety net programmes and
social safety public transfer systems, including feeding programmes (e.g. institutional
nets / therapeutic / supplementary / school feeding), food assistance, cash
transfers, targeted subsidies, cash- and food-for-work programmes.
The transfer systems must be designed in a way that they do not
jeopardize sustainable development in the productive sectors.

C) Policies to improve utilization

Effective utilization refers to the ability to utilize the food in a manner that the nutritive
quality of the food is maintained when the food is prepared and available to the person
consuming the food. Effective utilization can be inhibited by:

• lack of knowledge about proper food preparation, to ensure food safety and preserve
the nutritional quality of food;
• lack of knowledge about nutritional requirements and nutrient contents of food
(including macro- and micro-nutrients);

Learners’ Notes 7
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 – Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

• diseases and poor health; if people suffer from diseases, they have special nutritional
requirements and, moreover, the nutrients consumed cannot be fully absorbed by the
body;
• lack of hygiene, sanitation, safe drinking water.

Improved food utilization calls for policy measures in the following fields:
• improving food preservation and preparation technologies;
• establishment of proper food standards;
• improving public health;
• provision of safe drinking water;
• improved sanitation; and
• hygiene and nutrition education.

D) Policies to ensure stability of food supplies

Instabilities in access and availability bring about transitory food insecurity.

Such instabilities can result from:
• seasonal variations of food supplies, with food shortages during the “hungry season”
i.e. the period when the stocks from the last harvest are depleted and market prices of
food tend to rise substantially;
• annual variations of food supplies, with food shortages after a poor harvest;
• acute shortages as a result of natural or man-made disasters (drought, flood,
earthquake, war, refugees).

Food security policies have to cater for such events when and where they occur or are
likely to occur, such as in areas prone to droughts, floods or earthquakes, or in countries
or regions with latent or ongoing political conflicts.

Relevant policy measures for preventing temporary supply shortfalls are related to
establishing a system of disaster preparedness and response, including an Early Warning
System (EWS) and a set of measures to ensure food stability.

Ensuring food stability

The following are some ways to ensure food stability:
• stocking policies (promotion of household and community food stocks, stocks for
market stabilization and strategic food reserves, establishment of monetary reserves to
speed up food purchases/imports in the case of need);
• development of rural infrastructure and improvements of the food marketing system, to
facilitate the exchange between food surplus and deficit areas;
• promotion of food processing and conservation technologies and facilities; and
• promotion of measures to stabilize production (e.g. irrigation, soil- and water
conservation).

Policy measures to address instabilities in access are seasonal or temporary employment

schemes (food-for-work, cash-for-work) or food assistance programmes.

Learners’ Notes 8
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 – Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

Policies with multiple effects on food security

Most of the policy measures aimed at improving the food security situation have effects on
more than one aspect of food security. In designing food security policies, such multiple
effects are to be considered and deliberately made use of.

Policy measures serving more than one food security objective are called “twin-track-“ or
“multiple-track-approaches”.

Examples of “twin-track-“ or “multiple-track-approaches“

• Agricultural development policies enhancing the productivity of small and poor farmers,
leading to:
- increased food production and supplies, and simultaneously
- contributing to increased incomes and improved access to food of poor and
vulnerable population groups; furthermore, such measures may also bring about
improved stability of production and access;
• Irrigation policies directly affect production/supplies, income/access and stability;
• Agricultural marketing policies will have effects on food production and supplies, on
access via producer and consumer prices and incomes, as well as on stability of
access and supplies;
• Policy measures to improve rural infrastructure, with positive impacts and access,
supply, stability as well as utilization.

The following graph shows a wide spectrum of multiple effects of policy measures in
different policy spheres which typically form part of food security policies:

affecting
FOOD
POLICIES affecting
AVAILABILITY
regarding … ACCESS

Agricultural
Employment
development
• Formal
Rural finance • Informal
Land tenure • Urban
Irrigation
• Rural
Resource conservation Public employment
Rural infrastructure schemes
Food imports Food marketing Safety nets
Food aid deliveries Food stocks Relief food assistance

Food processing Feeding

& preservation, programmes
Food safety

…affecting
STABILITY Education affecting
Health & nutrition UTILIZATION
Water and sanitation & NUTRITION

Learners’ Notes 9
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 – Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

Linkages to other policies, strategies & programmes

Since food security is a cross-cutting issue, food security policies encompass a whole
range of policy measures pertaining to different sectors and policy spheres.

In designing food security policies, it is necessary to review other existing policies that are
relevant for food security, in order to:

• know to what extent food security concerns are already (adequately) addressed in
relevant macro and sector policies and strategies; and
• identify policy gaps still to be filled, either by incorporating food security concerns in
existing macro- and sector policies or by preparing a special food security policy.

Reviewing other existing policies is like putting a “food security lens” on the existing policy
framework, as shown in the following graph (taken from the example of the Food Security
Policy Lesotho):

Poverty
Millennium NEPAD
Reduction
Development Policies &
Strategy
Goals Programmes
(PRSP)

Social Sector Emergency

Policies preparedness
(e.g. HIV/AIDS, & response
Health, Nutrition (Disaster
M t

Agricultural
Policies Regional
SADC (e.g. Agric. Sector Donor
Strategy, Irrigation,
Policies Seed & Subsidy Programmes &
Policy) Policies

Learners’ Notes 10
0
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 – Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

Summary

There are two typical approaches to designing food security policies:

• preparing a special Food Security Policy document; or
• incorporating food security policy issues into other national development policies and
strategies.

Food security policies have to address those conditions for food security that are not (yet)
fulfilled. They can be designed to:
• increase food supplies (availability);
• improve access to food – poverty alleviation;
• improve utilization; or
• ensure stability of food supplies.

Policy measures serving more than one food security objective are called “twin-track-“ or
“multiple-track-approaches”.

In designing food security policies, it is necessary to review other existing policies that are
relevant for food security, in order to identify policy gaps still to be filled.

Learners’ Notes 11
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 1 – Establishment of a Food Security Policy Framework

If you want to know more...

Online resources

Diskin, Patrick, UNDERSTANDING LINKAGES AMONG FOOD AVAILABILITY, ACCESS,

CONSUMPTION, AND NUTRITION IN AFRICA: EMPIRICAL FINDINGS AND ISSUES
FROM THE LITERATURE, MSU International Development Working Paper No. 46,
Michigan, July 1994, web: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABS732.pdf

FAO, Policy Briefs, FOOD SECURITY, Issue 2, June 2006;

ftp://ftp.fao.org/es/ESA/policybriefs/pb_02.pdf

Klennert, Klaus (ed.), ACHIEVING FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY, Actions to Meet
the Global Challenge, A Training Course Reader, InWent, Feldafing, 2005;
http://www.inwent.org/imperia/md/content/unternehmenskommunikation-
intranet/internet/publikationen/food_reader_engl.pdf

Maxwell, Simon and Rachel Slater, FOOD POLICY OLD AND NEW, in: ODI, Development
Policy Review, Vol. 21, No. 5-6, Sep./Nov. 2003;
http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/dpr/Maxwell_Slater.pdf

Rena, Ravinder, AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT AND FOOD SECURITY POLICY IN

ERITREA - AN ANALYSIS, Ajfand online, Vol. 7, No. 5, 2007
http://www.ajfand.net/Issue16/PDFs/Rena_2335.pdf

Additional reading

De Klerk, Mike et al., FOOD SECURITY IN SOUTH AFRICA: KEY POLICY ISSUES FOR
THE MEDIUM TERM, Human Sciences Research Council, Integrated Rural and Regional
Development, Position Paper, January 2004

Makhura M.T., The development of food security policy for South Africa (SAFSP): a
consultative process, Food Policy, Volume 23, Number 6, December 1998 , pp. 571-
585(15)

Leblanc, Michel, CONCEPT OF A FOOD SECURITY POLICY, Réseau Européen de

Sécurité Alimentaire, European Food Security Network, Commission européenne, DG VIII
/ A, April 1999

Learners’ Notes 12
Food Security Information for Action

Food Security Policies

Formulation and Implementation

Lesson 2

Institutional Framework
for Food Security Policy

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and

implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations.

© FAO, 2009
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

Table of contents

Learning objectives .....................................................................................................2

Introduction..................................................................................................................3
Role and functions of Government Institutions ............................................................4
Role and functions of Non- Governmental Stakeholders.............................................7
Institutional set-up and coordination mechanism.........................................................9
Who should lead the FSP process ............................................................................11
Summary ...................................................................................................................13
If you want to know more... .......................................................................................14
Annex 1: Example - Institutional Set-Up for Coordinating FSP in Lesotho ................15

Learners’ Notes 1
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• understand identify the institutions which have a stake in the process of food
security policy formulation and implementation;
• define the role and functions of the relevant stakeholders in food security policy
formulation and implementation; and
• indicate possible arrangements for a functional institutional set-up to ensure
effective coordination of food security information and actions.

Learners’ Notes 2
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

Introduction

Food security is an overarching and cross-cutting issue, involving aspects of food

production and supply, access to food, food supply stability, food utilization and nutrition.

Therefore, the formulation and implementation of food security policies depend on an

active involvement of various government institutions as well as other stakeholders who
are concerned with these different issues.

This lesson presents the typical role and functions of relevant ministries and governmental
institutions as well as of other relevant stakeholders, such as local and international
NGOs, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as well as UN organizations and bilateral
donors.

Learners’ Notes 3
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

Role and functions of Government Institutions

Next we will indicate the roles and functions of the different government institutions
involved in Food Security Policy (FSP) formulation and implementation.
We will consider the following institutions:

• Ministry of Planning/ National Planning Commission;

• Ministry of Agriculture;
• Other Ministries; and
• Local Government Institutions.

Ministry of Planning/ National Planning Commission

FSP forms integral part of a National Policy & Planning Framework (NPPF).
There are two principal ways to achieve such integration:

1. Integration of food security policy issues into overall and sectoral national
development policies and strategies of a country, e.g. Poverty Reduction Strategy
and agricultural and social sector policies and strategies.

2. Preparing a specific “Food Security Policy” document, incorporating all aspects

which are relevant for improving food security and taking into account the linkages
which exist to overall and sectoral development policies and strategies of the
country.

Typically, the Ministry of Planning or a National Planning Commission is mandated to

establish a NPPF. They have to be actively involved in the process of policy formulation, in
order to ensure that the food security policies are well integrated into a consistent NPPF.

Ministry of Agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture has a key role to play in the process of formulation and
implementation of FSPs.

It is directly concerned with various core aspects of food security:

• Contributing to sufficient and stable food supplies by promoting agriculture and

food production through application of all relevant instruments, such as research,
extension, training, technology development, input supply, natural resources
conservation, irrigation, etc.
• Improving access to food for the poor rural population who often constitute the
poorest sections of the population and largely depend on agriculture as their major
source of subsistence. Focusing on the small and poor farmers, the instruments of
promoting agricultural development are to be designed in a way that they are
adapted to the conditions of the poor farmers and can be successfully applied by
them.

In many countries, the Ministry of Agriculture is, apart from dealing with agricultural sector
issues, also mandated to coordinate and promote food security in general.
Learners’ Notes 4
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

SEE ANNEX 1: EXAMPLE - INSTITUTIONAL SET-UP FOR COORDINATING FOOD SECURITY

POLICIES IN LESOTHO

Pros and cons of entrusting the Ministry of Agriculture with overall coordination of
FPS
There are pros and cons to the approach of entrusting the Ministry of Agriculture with
overall coordination of food security policies.
Notwithstanding its genuine mandate to deal with some core subjects of food security
which are particularly relevant in an agriculture-based economy and society, food security
policies also address a variety of issues which fall under the mandate of other ministries.
Therefore, the question arises whether the Ministry of Agriculture, as a line ministry, has
the authority and power to actively involve and effectively coordinate other ministries in the
process of food security policy formulation and implementation.

Other Ministries
Taking into account the overarching and cross-sectoral nature of food security policies, a
number of further ministries and government institutions are involved in the process of
policy formulation and implementation.

The actual name and the specific functions to be fulfilled by a specific ministry, and the
distribution of functions/mandates between different ministries, may vary from country to
country.

The table below lists ministries and typical functions related to Food Security Policy issues.

Table 1: Ministries and Typical Functions Related to Food Security Policy Issues

Ministry Responsible for food security policy issues

Ministry of Economic
Poverty alleviation
Development
School feeding; school gardens; inclusion of food security
Ministry of Education aspects (nutrition, home gardening etc.) in school and adult
education curricula
Natural resource conservation and rehabilitation for promoting
Ministry of Environment
sustainable development and long-term food security.
Ministry of Foreign Negotiations and agreements with developments partners
Affairs / International (UN organizations, donors, NGOs) on support to food security
Cooperation policies and programmes.
Budget allocations and approval for food security policy
Ministry of Finance
interventions.
Nutrition /child nutrition, e.g. Mother and Child Health Care
Ministry of Health and Nutrition; (supplementary) child feeding programmes;
also: nutrition education, sanitation
Ministry of Labour / Employment generation- / public works- / cash-for-work, food-
Works for-work-programmes

Learners’ Notes 5
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

Food price and marketing regulations; food export / import

Ministry of Marketing &
regulations; marketing organisations and infrastructure;
Trade
cooperatives; subsidies.
Social safety nets; social protection of vulnerable groups;
Ministry of Social Affairs
special programmes for (particular groups of) women and
/ Women / Youth
youth with relevance for food security.

Disaster preparedness and management is another important field of food security

policies.

Often a special agency or authority under the auspices of a ministry or the Primary
Minister’s office is mandated with this function.

In countries under humanitarian emergencies and with weak government structures, UN

structures (e.g. Task Force, Sector groups) may assume government role also with
respect to food security policies.

Local Government Institutions

Provincial, district and community administrations play an important role in FSP
formulation and implementation, by:

• generating data and information on the food security situation in their

administrative areas;
• being able to identify and articulate acute food security problems at local level;
and
• often being responsible for and directly involved in the implementation of food
security policy measures in the field.

As at the central level, coordination structures and mechanisms among all relevant
stakeholders (government and non-governmental bodies) to coordinate the
implementation of FSP measures will have to be established also at local levels.

Learners’ Notes 6
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

Role and functions of Non- Governmental Stakeholders

The formulation of realistic food security policies and their effective implementation
depends, to a large extent, on the active involvement of non-governmental actors in the
policy formulation and implementation process.

On the next screens we will indicate the roles and functions of the following non-
governmental stakeholders:

• Local and International NGOs;

• Civil society Organizations (CSOs); and
• UN and donor agencies.

Local and International NGOs

Local and international NGOs usually operate a wide spectrum of food security related
programmes and projects in a country.

Food security related programmes and projects

Some examples of food security related programmes and projects are:
• mother and child health care and nutrition programmes;
• agricultural and rural development programmes and projects;
initiatives to support specific vulnerable groups, etc.

They make substantial contributions towards the achievement of national food security
objectives particularly in the following fields:

• advocacy and awareness creation of food security issues on the international and
national scene;
• mobilization and provision of material resources;
• technical assistance;
• training and capacity building; International NGOs often provide capacity building
for local NGOs in project planning, management, monitoring and in technical fields;
• community mobilization.

NGOs are particularly strong in applying grass-root and community based approaches and
in their ability to explore and pilot innovative approaches.

Civil society Organizations (CSOs)

CSOs are organization such as:
• Associations of Farmers, Fishermen, Traders, Workers, Transporters.
• Cooperatives.
• Women’s and Youth organizations.
• Religious organizations.

CSOs are important stakeholders who need to be actively involved in the process of FSP
formulation and implementation, particularly with regard to the following issues:

Learners’ Notes 7
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

• Advocacy, articulating the interests and needs of their members and setting policy
priorities.
• Providing expertise in their specific and relevant field of activity and competence.
• Sensitization of their members and launching public awareness campaigns on
relevant food security issues (e.g. child nutrition; consumption habits; crop
diversification; hygiene; home gardening; food marketing; food processing, etc.).
• Making proposals for projects and programmes to address the needs and interests
of their members.
• Mobilizing and organizing their members for action.
• Monitoring the implementation and impacts of food security interventions.

UN and donor agencies

The implementation of Food Security Policies usually relies heavily on contributions by UN
organizations and bilateral donors, particularly with regard to:

• Policy analysis and advice, drawing from experience in other countries.

• Provision of financial and material resources (e.g. food aid) for food security related
programmes and projects.
• Technical assistance.

In order to ensure a consistent policy framework and effective policy implementation, the
UN Organizations and donors shall be involved through policy dialogue and play an active
part in the process of policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Learners’ Notes 8
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

Institutional set-up and coordination mechanism

The involvement of a wide range of state and non-state actors in the implementation of
food security policies requires a functional institutional set-up.

The establishment of this institutional set-up for the implementation of FSPs should be
guided by the principles indicated in the following table:

Table 2: Principles to be followed for the establishment of this institutional set-up

Principle Description
Effective coordination and cooperation among all relevant
Effective coordination stakeholders, including different government departments and
and cooperation non-governmental actors, at all and between all levels (national,
provincial, district, local).
Efficient flow and Efficient flow and exchange of food security information among
exchange of FS the stakeholders at the different levels, and communication of
information pertinent food security information to high level policy makers.
Responsiveness, i.e. clear mandates and responsibilities for
decisions and actions to be taken (e.g. declaration of state of
Responsiveness food emergency; food aid and food import operations; building
up / release of stocks of food security reserves; launch and
locations of feeding programmes, public works schemes; etc.).

Next we will have a look at some institutional arrangements that can help to put the
principles for the establishment of an institutional set-up into practice.

These institutional arrangements are:

• Establishment of FS Focal Points at all relevant institutions

• Formation of FS Committees at central and decentralized levels

Food Security Focal Points (FSFP)

Governmental and non-governmental institutions and organizations concerned with food
security related actions, appoint a senior staff member as Food Security Focal Point.

The FSFP serves as internal and external link for coordination and communication in
matters of food security and will represent the institution in Food Security Committees.

Food Security Committees (FSC)

The establishment of FSCs is a common and suitable approach to ensure coordination,
information exchange and effective policy implementation.

The table below shows the three types of committees that can be distinguished.

Learners’ Notes 9
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

Table 3: Principles to be followed for the establishment of FSCs

Committee Description
A high level policy Steering Committee, composed of high ranking officials
(ministers, PSs) of relevant ministries and government institutions,
mandated to:
• facilitate and coordinate policy implementation at national level,
also with regard to other relevant and related policies (e.g. poverty
alleviation, sector policies, global and regional policies, etc.);
Steering • set policy priorities;
Committee • provide guidance and support in mobilising and allocating
resources;
• evaluate policy implementation and performance;
• initiate policy adjustments as necessary.
Representatives of non-governmental organizations which have a strong
stand in food security policy matters may be opted to become members of
the Steering Committee.
A Food Security Technical Committee at national level, composed of
representatives of relevant government institutions and other stakeholders
(NGOs, CSOs, UN and donor agencies), to coordinate, facilitate and
monitor policy implementation. Typical tasks of such a Technical
Committee are, for example:
• Inter-agency coordination, to promote synergy effects and avoid
duplication;
• Clarification of technical and organizational issues in policy
implementation;
Technical
• Compiling and analysing food security data and information,
Committee
periodic reviews of the food security situation;
• Monitoring of the food security related programmes and
interventions of the different agencies;
• Initiation of studies to be undertaken and assessment of the results
of such studies;
• Establishment of special task forces or working groups on issues of
particular importance;
• Making recommendations for improving policy and programme
design and implementation.
For food security coordination at decentralized levels food security
committees at the following levels may be established :
• provincial;
Committees • district; and
at • community.
decentralised
levels These committees should comprise representatives of government
departments, NGOs, CSOs, community and field organizations concerned
with food security issues, projects or programmes in the particular
administrative area.

One problem with FSCs is that they are often poorly resourced since they are rarely
included in national budgets that tend to allocate resources to sectoral ministries rather
than to cross-sectors structures/and initiatives.

Learners’ Notes 10
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

Who should lead the FSP process

The cross-sectoral nature of food security calls for a super-ministerial institutional body
which has the authority to coordinate all relevant government and other institutions that
have a stake in food security, and to commit them to make their contributions to the
formulation of a consistent and comprehensive food security policy and to their effective
implementation.

A high level Steering Committee, possibly chaired by the Prime Minister’s Office, would
fulfill such role.

Often, however, it is the Ministry of Agriculture which has initiated the process of
formulating and implementing food security policies.

Ministry of Agriculture initiating the FSP process

Often the Ministry of Agriculture initiates the process of formulating and implementing food
security policies.
Experience shows that, in this case:
• aspects of food security which fall under the conventional mandate of the Ministry of
Agriculture (food production, agriculture and livestock) are well catered for; while
• other aspects (marketing, processing, social protection) may remain
underrepresented and neglected.

Learners’ Notes 11
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

The following graph presents a functional institutional framework with the main links of
coordination for the implementation of Food Security Policies.

Functional Institutional Framework for the Implementation of Food Security Policies

Chair
Office of the
Representatives of other
PRIME MINISTER organizations relevant for
Food Security
food security policies
Policy Steering (NGOs, CSOs, UN & donor
Committee agencies)

High ranking officials

MINISTRY OF
AGRICULTURE &
other MINISTRIES Other organizations
concerned with
Food Security Focal Food Security Technical food security issues
Points Committee at national level
(NGOs, CSOs, UN &
donor agencies)

Decentralized
departments
& Food Security Other organizations
Local Government Committees at concerned with food
Institutions decentralised levels security issues
at local levels

Learners’ Notes 12
2
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

Summary

The institutions that have a stake in the process of food security policy formulation and
implementation are:

• Ministry of Planning/National Planning Commission;

• Ministry of Agriculture;
• Other ministries and government institutions (different from country to country); and
• Local Government Institutions.

The Non-Governmental stakeholders that should be involved in the FSP process are:

• Local and International NGOs;

• Civil society Organizations (CSOs); and
• UN and donor agencies.

The involvement of a wide range of state and non-state actors in the implementation of
FSPs requires a functional institutional set-up with well functioning coordination structures,
ensuring an efficient flow and exchange of food security information and coordinated
effective actions.

Learners’ Notes 13
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

If you want to know more...

FAO, Policy Briefs, FOOD SECURITY, Issue 2, June 2006;

ftp://ftp.fao.org/es/ESA/policybriefs/pb_02.pdf

Klennert, Klaus (ed.), ACHIEVING FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY, Actions to Meet
the Global Challenge, A Training Course Reader, InWent, Feldafing, 2005;
http://www.inwent.org/imperia/md/content/unternehmenskommunikation-
intranet/internet/publikationen/food_reader_engl.pdf

Metz, Manfred, FOOD SECURITY POLICY ADVICE, Summary of a Lessons Learned

Study on three German TC Policy Advisory Projects in Cambodia, Ethiopia and
Mozambique, GTZ Eschborn, August 2006; http://www2.gtz.de/dokumente/gut/13365.pdf

Additional Reading:

Leblanc, Michel, CONCEPT OF A FOOD SECURITY POLICY, Réseau Européen de

Sécurité Alimentaire, European Food Security Network, Commission européenne, DG VIII
/ A, April 1999

Learners’ Notes 14
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 2 – Institutional Framework for Food Security Policy

Annex 1: Example - Institutional Set-Up for Coordinating FSP in Lesotho

According to its food security mandate, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
(MAFS) assumes an overall coordinating role in food security matters. Furthermore, within
its conventional mandate, MAFS is responsible for all fields of agricultural development
contributing to access, availability and stability.

Mandates for Food Security Policy Areas

Coordination
MAFS
MoW, MTICM FMU, MTICM _____________ MHSW, DMA FNCO, MHSW
Agricultural FNCO, NAC
Employment Commercial development for Transfers, Food Utilization
SMME, Imports, Food Access, Social
Marketing, Aid Imports, Availability, Protection,
Processing, Food Stocks Stability of food. Emergency
Trade Response
Promotion

NOTE: The diagram shows the main Ministries/Departments only (MAFS: Ministry of
Agriculture and Food Security, MoW: Ministry of Works, MTICM: Ministry of Tourism,
Industry, Commerce and Marketing, FMU: Food Management Unit, MHSW: Ministry of
Health and Social Welfare, DMA: Disaster Management Authority, FNCO: Food and
Nutrition Coordination Office, NAC: National Aids Commission.

In order to comply with its mandate for food security, MAFS will establish a Food Security
Policy Unit (FSPU). The FSPU will coordinate all food security related activities of the
various departments of the Ministry as well as of other institutions, donors and NGOs.

The terms of reference of the FSPU include:

• Advice in food security policy issues,

• Coordination with stakeholders,
• Preparing project proposals,
• Receiving and reviewing monitoring reports of food security programmes and
projects,
• Creating and managing a data bank on food security interventions,
• Preparing sensitization material for the stakeholders at district and community level,
• Preparing quarterly reports on the implementation and progress of the food security
policy.

The FSPU will also act as secretariat for the Steering Committee for Food Security.

(Extract form the Lesotho Food Security Policy document, Maseru 2005)

Learners’ Notes 15
5
 Food Security Information for Action

Food Security Policy

Formulation and Implementation

Lesson 3

Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and

implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations.

© FAO, 2009
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 - Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Table of Contents

Learning objectives .....................................................................................................2

Introduction..................................................................................................................3
M & E in the cycle of policy formulation and implementation.......................................4
Purpose of FSP Monitoring and Evaluation.................................................................5
Monitoring and Evaluation concepts............................................................................6
Approaches and Methods............................................................................................7
Evaluation criteria......................................................................................................12
Setting up an FSP Monitoring and Evaluation system...............................................13
Linking M & E and FS Information to other Policy Spheres .......................................15
Summary ...................................................................................................................16
If you want to know more ..........................................................................................17
Annex 1: Case study - M & E concepts applied to a food security policy and related
projects and programmes..........................................................................................18
Annex 2: Example of a basic LogFrame Matrix for a Food Security Policy ...............20
Annex 3: Common Food Security Indicators and possible Data Sources .................22
Annex 4: Options and criteria for setting up a monitoring and evaluation unit at
central policy level .....................................................................................................23

Learners’ Notes 1
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• define the purpose of a monitoring and evaluation system for Food Security
Policies; and
• identify the approaches and methods to be applied in monitoring and evaluating the
implementation and impacts of Food Security Policies.

Learners’ Notes 2
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Introduction

Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) is an essential element of a policy cycle, i.e. of the
process of policy formulation and implementation.

M & E helps to ensure that a policy is effective in achieving its objectives, by reviewing
policy implementation and finding out whether and to what extent a policy is implemented
as planned and working towards its planned objectives to improve the food security
situation.

This lesson presents the concepts and approaches applied in establishing and operating
an M & E system for Food Security Policies (FSP).

The food security situation is not only influenced by the implementation of specific food
security policies but also by:

• other policies (e.g. macro-economic and sector policies); and

• changing macro-economic,political and social conditions (e.g. currency exchange
rates, world market prices of export and food commodities,civil unrest, war).

Therefore, those factors with implications for food security need to be taken into account in
policy M & E.

The M & E results are communicated to the policy makers and other stakeholders, so as to
trigger, if required, necessary adjustments in policy design or implementation.

Difference between monitoring and evaluation

• Monitoring refers to a continuous observation of the process of policy

implementation and of the progress achieved.
• Evaluation is a specific and in-depth review done after certain time intervals, when
substantive steps of policy implementation have already been made and tangible
changes and policy impacts are expected to have materialized and can be
assessed.

Learners’ Notes 3
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

M & E in the cycle of policy formulation and implementation

The following graph presents an overview of the role of Monitoring and Evaluation in the
cycle of policy formulation and implementation:

Food Security Policy

Other policy
FORMULATION realms
Adjustments in policy
design
Feedback
Feedback

MONITORING & EVALUATON

of policy implementation,
Feedback results & impacts on food security

Adjustments in policy
implementation Other policies,
relevant external
Food Security Policy factors / changed
conditions
IMPLEMENTATION

Learners’ Notes 4
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Purpose of FSP Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and Evaluation of food security policies serves to inform government and other
stakeholders of the state of implementation of the policies and the progress towards
achieving the intended food security objectives.

M & E provides answers to the following questions:

• Are the policy measures implemented as planned?
• Is the implementation of the policies bringing about the desired changes and
working towards attaining the planned food security objectives/results?
• If there are delays in implementation and/or divergence between the planned policy
objectives and the actual results achieved, what are the reasons for that
divergence? Possible reasons to be considered: Flaws in policy design or
implementation, impacts of other policies on the food security situation or changing
external conditions which affect policy implementation or results.
• What needs to be done to remedy the deficiencies (adjustments in policy design
and/or implementation, integration of food security considerations into other policies
and programmes)?

Learners’ Notes 5
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and Evaluation concepts

A comprehensive system for monitoring and evaluating food security policies incorporates
elements of different monitoring and evaluation concepts, as described below.

Table 1: Different Monitoring and Evaluation Concepts

Policies are set at aggregate levels (macro, national, sectoral) and aim
at wide-spread impacts (country-wide).
The subjects of policy M & E are the policy objectives, strategies for
M & E of policies
and means of implementation and the policy impacts.
A policy M & E system is organized at central level, compiling and
complementing the results of programme and project M & E.
Programmes and projects are set at lower aggregate levels and are
more narrowly defined in terms of objectives set, issues and/or target
M & E of
groups addressed and/or geographic areas covered.
programmes &
Monitoring at P & P level is organised by the P & P management.
projects
Ideally, P & Ps form part of a strategy for policy implementation, and
the results of P & P M & E feed into the policy M & E system.
Monitoring of implementation of policies / programmes / projects
covers:
Monitoring of the
• financial and other inputs used (accounting / input monitoring);
implementation
• activities performed (activity monitoring);
process
• outputs achieved (output monitoring);
It compares actual accomplishment with plan.
It traces and assesses the results of policy / programme / project
M & E of results and interventions in comparison with the ex ante situation before the
impacts intervention (baseline) and in view of the overall objectives set and
possible unforeseen side effects.
It is a continuous exercise, internally organized by the organization in
charge of policy / programme / project management, to generate real-
time data and information on policy / programme / project performance
Monitoring
regarding implementation and results as basis for management control,
for being able to trace possible diversions between reality and plan in
time and to make necessary adjustments as early as possible.
Specific reviews of policies, programmes, or projects.
A singular or sequential exercise, often externally initiated and
organised by high level decision makers, supervising bodies and
financing agencies, in order to provide evidence on the overall
Evaluation performance of projects / programmes / policies in terms of relevance,
efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability.
Evaluations typically serve as basis for decisions on extension,
expansion, modification and/or replication of projects and programmes
respectively necessary adjustments of policies.

See Annex 1: Case study - M & E concepts applied to a food security policy and
related projects and programmes

Learners’ Notes 6
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Approaches and Methods

Next we will describe different approaches and methods which can be applied in
monitoring the implementation and impacts of Food Security Policies. They refer to:

• Logical Framework analysis;

• Food Security Indicators; and
• Data and data sources.

Logical Framework analysis

Logical Framework (Logframe) analysis is widely applied in project and programme
planning, management, monitoring and evaluation.

It is also a suitable method for policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation because it helps
to:

• set out clearly defined objectives for the different levels of policy implementation
(project / programme and policy level) against which progress in implementation
and actual achievements can be monitored and evaluated;
• select relevant indicators for measuring progress and achievements;
• reveal the sources of data to be used for measuring the indicators; and
• identify conditions which are important for the achievement of the policy objectives.
Though these conditions cannot be influenced by the policy, they need to be
monitored and responded to, if they change (e.g. world market prices).

Ideally, a Logframe analysis is done at the early planning stage of a policy, programme or
project, in order to ensure that implementation is guided by a clear and consistent
framework of objectives, and to allow for the establishment of a baseline situation against
which the changes induced can be monitored and evaluated.

A Logframe analysis culminates in the establishment of a Logframe matrix.

Levels of Indicators Data sources Conditions

objectives

Overall Policy
Objective

Specific
Objectives

Results

Policy
Measures

Learners’ Notes 7
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

The Logframe matrix provides a clear and comprehensive framework of the hierarchy of:
• interlinked and consistent objectives (1st column);
• related indicators for measuring objective achievements (2nd column);
• data sources of the indicators (3rd column); and
• important assumptions and conditions (4th column).

See Annex 2: Example of a basic LogFrame Matrix for a Food Security Policy

Food Security Indicators

Indicators are measurements of change which serve as sign posts, milestones and
benchmarks to measure progress in policy implementation and of the results achieved so
far.

Through the use of suitable indicators it is possible to find out:

• whether policy implementation is progressing as planned (process monitoring);

• which changes policy implementation has brought about already (actual
esults/outcomes achieved compared with baseline); and
• whether it is on track towards reaching the planned objectives (actual
results/outcomes achieved compared with objectives).

Process monitoring indicators

Typical indicators for process monitoring are:
• the number and type of food security initiatives launched;
• funds and other resources mobilized for food security interventions;
• food security expenditures;
• geographic areas covered (geographic targeting);
• vulnerable population groups and number of people reached (social targeting);
• food security concerns considered in other programmes and policies.

See Annex 3: Common Food Security Indicators and possible Data Sources

For the sake of clarity of M & E results, and for reasons of cost- and time-efficiency in
collecting the necessary data and analysing them, the selection of indicators should be
confined to one or a few indicators that are most suitable for tracking the changes of the
phenomena to be observed.

Good and suitable indicators are Sensitive, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound
and trackable, summarized as “SMART”, as described in the table below.
Let’s read the table considering, as an example, that the policy objective is to increase
food supplies by increased domestic food production. Indicators will be: Food production
and Import figures:

Learners’ Notes 8
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Table 2: “SMART” Quality Criteria for Indicators

Criteria Meaning Example
Specific to the issue that is intended Both indicators measure the two factors
to be changed, and sensitive to the which contribute to food supplies and are
Sensitive changes induced. sensitive to changes induced by the policy
(food production and supplies expected to
increase, imports to stagnate or go down).
Measurable, objective and Indicators are easily measurable, derived
Measurable unambiguous, not easily from agricultural production and trade
manipulated. statistics.
Attainable by the policy measures Increase of food supplies is attainable by
and applicable to measure progress increased production brought about by
Attainable
towards achieving objectives. policy measures to promote domestic food
production.
Measuring factors which are The indicators are relevant, because food
Relevant relevant, i.e. directly related to the production is - apart from food imports - the
policy objectives to be achieved. major source of food supplies
Varying over time, reflecting at what Indicators vary over time and can be easily
Time-bound
point in time changes can be tracked, since the required data are already
and
expected to happen; trackable on and frequently available from agricultural
trackable
the basis of available data. and trade statistics.

The application of the “SMART” criteria gives preference to quantitative indicators that are
measurable and, therefore, objectively verifiable.

However, sometimes it is necessary to also consider qualitative indicators, if, for example,
meaningful quantitative data are not (yet) available, when participatory approaches to
monitoring and evaluation (key stakeholder and target group participation) are applied, or
for cross-checking (triangulation) of the results of a quantitative analysis.

Examples of quantitative and qualitative indicators

• Quantitative indicators: income, growth rates, production figures, land use data,
food consumption and expenditure data, prices, marketing volume, imports, food
stocks, nutrition status based on anthropometric measurements, etc.
• Qualitative indicators: perception of households of their economic status or food
situation (better/ worse/same as before); observations, experience and/or
expectations of stakeholders and target group regarding changes induced by a
policy, programme or project, etc.

In choosing the most suitable indicators, the following words of Albert Einstein should be
kept in mind: "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be
counted counts."

Data and data sources

The selection of indicators and their use in monitoring and evaluation is closely linked to
the issues of data availability and quality.

Only indicators for which valid data are readily available or that can be generated on time
and in a cost-efficient way should be selected.

Learners’ Notes 9
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

The data quality largely determines the validity of the monitoring and evaluation findings.
Criteria for data quality are Accuracy, Preciseness and Timeliness (“APT”), as presented
below.

Table 3: “APT” Quality Criteria for Data

Criteria Meaning Examples
Accurate Data matching, as much as Food production figures, prevailing market
possible, the actual values or prices, number of malnourished children,
properties of the phenomena number of people below the poverty line.
being studied.
Precise Data reflecting the exact (and Exact (instead of approximate) production
not just approximate, broad, costs, exact market prices (instead of wide
vague) values or properties price ranges), specific income groups
of the phenomena being (instead of households with wide income
studied. ranges considered in one group)
Timely Data on current situation are Data for relevant reference periods
available on time. (baseline, certain periods, most current) are
available on time.

Data collection can be a laborious, cost-intensive and time-consuming exercise.

Reasons of cost- and time-efficiency call for a maximum use of data that are available
through statistics and/or are the results of relevant studies and surveys done by different
organizations (e.g. research institutions, ministries and government departments,
development organizations, NGOs).

Once the indicators are defined and clarification is achieved on the data required, the
existing information and data sources should be reviewed, so as to see which meaningful
data are available and routinely collected.

If the required data are not available, or cannot be obtained in appropriate quality and
time, the following options for data generation are to be considered:

Learners’ Notes 10
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Table 4: Options for data generation

Options Description Example
Existing statistical services and data Data on household food
collecting systems may not generate expenditures are routinely
exactly the type of data required but collected through economic
PIGGYBACKING similar kind of data. By household surveys, but not
ON / UPGRADING complementing or upgrading differentiated by different income
OF EXISTING ongoing data collection exercises, groups. If a differentiation of food
DATA the type and quality of data expenditures by income group is
COLLECTION generated can possibly be adapted introduced in the survey, this will
SYSTEMS to the monitoring and evaluation provide evidence on the effect of
requirements. food security policies on food
consumption of low income
households.
If the data required on particularly An assessment of impacts of
Conduct own important food security issues policies on different vulnerable
cannot be obtained from existing population groups (e.g. rural poor,
particular surveys
data sources, there might be the urban poor, jobless, small farmers,
for data collection need to conduct own specific HIV/AIDS affected households)
. surveys may require special surveys to be
conducted.
If there is a lack of suitable and A direct indicator to measure the
current data on the subject to be impact of policies on food security
studied, and if a special survey to would be a sustainable
collect such data is not feasible, improvement of nutritional status
alternative indirect or proxy of a population. If respective data
Selection of indicators may have to be used on are not available, proxy indicators
which data are available or can can be used, such as the
alternative / proxy
easily be generated. Although not nutritional status of children under
indicators directly an expression of the five in selected sample areas;
phenomena to be observed, proxy prevalence of nutrition related
indicators are related to such diseases; the frequency of appeals
phenomena and change in the for food assistance; the
same direction, thus allowing phenomenon of 'hunger migration';
conclusions on the main subject of the number of meals consumed
concern. per day, etc.

Learners’ Notes 11
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Evaluation criteria

To assess the overall performance of development interventions, a set of evaluation

criteria has been developed1 which is widely applied in project and programme
evaluations, and can analogously be applied to evaluate the overall performance of
policies.

The evaluation criteria are the following:

Table 5: Evaluation criteria

Relevance The extent to which the objectives of a development intervention are
consistent with beneficiaries’ requirements, country needs, global priorities
and partners’ and donors’ policies.
Effectiveness The extent to which the policy intervention’s objectives were achieved, or
are expected to be achieved, taking into account their relative importance.
Efficiency A measure of how economically resources/inputs (funds, expertise, time,
etc.) are converted to results.
Impact Positive and negative, primary and secondary long-term effects produced
by a policy intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended.
Sustainability The probability of continued long-term benefits of an intervention, even
after the intervention as such is being phased out.

1
A set of evaluation criteria has been developed by the by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of
the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The document is available at
http://www.oecd.org/document/22/0,2340,en_2649_201185_2086550_1_1_1_1,00.html]

Learners’ Notes 12
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Setting up an FSP Monitoring and Evaluation system

Institutional set-up
In order to ensure accountability and transparency, it is essential to ensure the
participation of key stakeholders in setting-up and operating an M & E system for food
security policies, for example, in:
• indicator selection;
• definition of related benchmarks; and
• monitoring formats to be applied.

Monitoring should be performed at all levels of policy implementation (project, programme

and policy).

While the implementing organizations are responsible for monitoring at the project and
programme level, the monitoring and evaluation results of all food security-related
interventions should be compiled and analysed by a central M & E unit attached to the
institution in charge of overall coordination of food security policies.

There are different options for establishing a policy monitoring unit:

• at supra-ministerial government level;
• as a special unit in a line ministry (e.g. Ministry of Agriculture);
• as a separate project-type unit;
• outsourcing to an external institution (e.g. research institute, NGO, consulting firm).

See Annex 4: Options and criteria for setting up a monitoring and evaluation unit at
central policy level

Example: central monitoring unit for food security – Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, the Right to Food Secretariat has been established within the Office of the
Vice-President.
The objective of the Secretariat is to facilitate joint planning, and coordinate, monitor and
evaluate efforts among all line ministries and stakeholders in Sierra Leone with the aim of
achieving food security for all Sierra Leoneans.
The tasks of the Right to Food Secretariat comprise:
• monitor and evaluate progress towards the realization of food security in Sierra
Leone for the attention of the Committee;
• ensure that information about all food security programmes is centrally stored and
regularly updated;
• ensure that progress towards the realization of food security is properly monitored;
• ensure that progress reports are regularly prepared for the attention of the
President and Parliament through the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food
Security; and
• ensure that reports on progress towards the realization of food security are regularly
published for the information of the public.

In order to facilitate the compilation and analysis of the M & E results, the activities of the
different organizations and at the different levels will have to be harmonized with regard to

Learners’ Notes 13
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

indicators used, M & E approaches applied and reporting formats. Such harmonization will
also allow the M & E results to be fed into a Food Security Information System (FSIS).

Learners’ Notes 14
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Linking M & E and FS Information to other Policy Spheres

Food security information is needed at various stages of food security policy and
programme cycles to:
• identify problems that need to be addressed;
• prompt timely and suitable actions;
• guide the design of policies and intervention strategies;
• monitor and evaluate the effects of the interventions; and
• trigger necessary adjustments in policy design and implementation.

In general, a multitude of information systems and data banks are operated by different
organizations.

Though related to different policy spheres (e.g. poverty alleviation, rural and agricultural
development, trade, social and health policies), such policies have implications for FS and
the related data banks, and information systems frequently contain relevant food security
information.

However, such information systems are often – if at all – poorly linked, with duplication of
efforts and inconsistencies in data generation, data analysis and conclusions on actions to
be taken.

In order to rationalize the process of policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and

evaluation, and to track the impacts of different policies on FS, it is imperative to
harmonize and link the various data banks and information systems.

Such linkage helps to:

• put policy decisions on a sound information basis;
• facilitate information and data sharing among the different organizations concerned
with FS interventions;
• provide relevant data for M & E of the implementation and results of FSPs and
related interventions; and
• track the impacts of different policies on food security.
Thus, this linkage contributes to overall increased efficiency in policy implementation and
effectiveness in reaching the planned FS objectives.

Since poverty and food security issues are closely linked and partly overlap, an integration
of the M & E system for both poverty alleviation and FSPs is also a valid option to be
considered.

Learners’ Notes 15
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Summary

M & E of food security policies serves to inform government and other stakeholders of the
state of implementation of the policies and the progress towards achieving the intended
food security objectives.

Different approaches and methods can be applied in monitoring the implementation and
impact of FSP:
• Logical Framework (Logframe) analysis;
• Food Security Indicators; and
• Data and data sources.

The policy implementing organizations are responsible for monitoring at the project and
programme level. The M & E results of all FS-related interventions should be compiled and
analysed by a central unit attached to the institution in charge of overall coordination of
FSP.

In order to rationalize the process of policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and

evaluation, and to track the impacts of different policies on FS, it is imperative to
harmonize and link the various data banks and information systems.

Learners’ Notes 16
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

If you want to know more

Online resources
Metz, Manfred, Monitoring Policy Impacts (MPI) – The Eight Methodo-“logical” Steps for
MPI, FAO, EASYPOL Module 57, November 2005
http://www.fao.org/docs/up/easypol/383/8-methlgcl-stps_057EN.pdf

Metz, Manfred, Monitoring Policy Impacts (MPI) – The Application of the Logframe
Method, FAO, EASYPOL Module 58, November 2005
http://www.fao.org/docs/up/easypol/384/logframe_058EN.pdf

Metz, Manfred, Monitoring Policy Impacts (MPI) – Setting-up and Organising MPI, FAO,
EASYPOL Module 59, November 2005
http://www.fao.org/docs/up/easypol/385/set_up_orgnzng_MPI_059EN.pdf

USAID Center for Development Information and Evaluation, 2000, Performance Monitoring
and Evaluation, Measuring Institutional Capacity, TIPS, No. 15
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACG612.pdf

Additional reading
World Bank, Operations Evaluation Department, 2000, Designing Project Monitoring and
Evaluation, Lessons and Practices, Number 9, Washington D.C.

World Food Programme, Office of Evaluation (OEDE), Monitoring and Evaluation

Guidelines, draft, Rome, October 2001

Learners’ Notes 17
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Annex 1: Case study - M & E concepts applied to a food

security policy and related projects and programmes

In pursuance of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the government of country X

has designed a food security policy with the objective of eradicating hunger and
malnutrition of its population.

Based on an analysis of the present state of food insecurity, its causes and effects, it was
found that the food security policy needs to address the issues of insufficient access to
food for poor and vulnerable population groups, of insufficient food supplies, and that
provisions have to be made to cope with food emergencies in the case of natural
disasters.

Accordingly, the following policy interventions have been defined under the FSP:
• A programme to promote agricultural and food production, composed of
several sub-programmes (e.g. research and extension, input supply, marketing); the
programme aims at the dual objectives of increasing domestic food supplies and
increasing the income of poor smallholder farmers.
• A national safety net programme for specific vulnerable groups.
• A project to set up a food security reserve for market stabilization and
emergency response.

Specific objectives and targets have been defined for each programme, sub-programme
and project, and different governmental and non-governmental organizations have been
entrusted with their implementation.

Each of these organizations establishes a monitoring system to record the inputs

(financial, material, manpower) used, the activities performed and the outputs achieved.

In the case of the safety net programme, the system of

implementation monitoring covers, for example, the following issues:

• Input monitoring - staffing, office and office equipment, cars, financial inputs, etc.
• Activity monitoring - staff recruitment and training, organizational set up and
management, identification of vulnerable groups, screening and registration of
beneficiaries, management of resources, distribution of assistance (e.g. food aid or
cash assistance), etc.
• Output monitoring - number of (different groups of) beneficiaries actually reached,
contribution of assistance to household food supplies and the state of household
food security, etc.

A monitoring system for the food security policy, to be established at the national
aggregate level, will have to take account of the progress and results achieved in the
implementation of all programmes and projects implemented under the policy. Apart from
reviewing the progress of policy implementation, it will be particularly important to assess
whether and to what extent the bundle of all policy interventions is working towards
achieving the overall policy objectives and brings about a significant improvement in the
food security situation.

Learners’ Notes 18
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Complementary to the continuous monitoring exercises, the individual projects,

programmes and the policy as a whole may become subject to in-depth evaluations after
a certain period of implementation. The focus of a policy evaluation is the overall
performance of the policy in attaining the planned food security objectives.

Learners’ Notes 19
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Annex 2: Example of a basic LogFrame Matrix for a Food

Security Policy

The table below presents an example of a basic Logframe matrix for a Food Security
Policy, implemented through the following three food security interventions
(programmes/projects):

1) Promotion of agricultural and food production with a special focus on small

farmers.
2) A national safety net programme for specific vulnerable groups.
3) A project to set up an emergency food security reserve.

Consider that in a real Logframe matrix, benchmarks/targets should be set, i.e. indicators
are to be valued and timeframes for the planned achievement of the benchmarks/targets
are to be defined.

Learners’ Notes 20
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Objectives Indicators Data sources Conditions

Overall Policy Objective: • Nutritional status of • National • Good
children. and governance.
Food security improved • No. and share of internationa • Conducive
undernourished l statistics. macro- economic
population. • Nutrition environment and
• No. and share of and decent economic
households below (food) household growth.
poverty line. surveys. • Peaceful
development.
Specific Objectives of As to 1) e.g.:
Food Security • Income of smallholder • National • Donor support
Programmes: farmers. statistics. for food security
• Overall and household • Food programmes.
1) Increased income and food supplies. security • No major natural
household food supplies data bank. disaster
As to 2) e.g.:
through increased • Special (drought, flood,
production by • Economic and nutritional
surveys. earthquake).
smallholder farmers. status of vulnerable
groups.
2) Prevention of food • Household food supplies
shortages of vulnerable of vulnerable groups in
groups. comparison with needs.
3) Stabilization of food As to 3) e.g.:
supplies in the case of • Variation of market prices
disasters and production of food.
shortfalls. • Food supplies in the case
of production shortfalls.
Planned Results of food • Data on agriculture and • Project and To be defined in
security policy measures, food production of programme project and
e.g.: smallholder farmers in records and programme
1) Increased agricultural programme area. M&E planning.
and food production by • Income generated results.
smallholder farmers. through public • Special
2) Food deficits of employment schemes. surveys.
vulnerable groups • Contribution of incomes
covered by public generated and transfers
employment and to household food
income generation and supplies of target groups.
transfers. • Volume of food stocks.
3) Food stocks established • Releases of food stocks
to cover temporary in the case of supply
production and supply shortages.
shortages.
Policy Measures:
1) Promotion of All types of activities Programme To be defined in
smallholder agriculture (projects/programmes) and project project and
and food production. performed and amounts of accounting programme
2) Establishment of a manpower, material and and records. planning.
national safety net financial resources allocated
programme for social and used for implementing
protection. the policy measures.
3) Establishment of a
national food security
reserve stock.

Learners’ Notes 21
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Annex 3: Common Food Security Indicators and possible Data

Sources

Common Food Security Indicators Data sources Baseline M & E update

Period Data Period Data
For measuring ACCESS TO FOOD
GNP per capita (US $ / annual growth rate) Statistics
GDP per capita in PPP (purchasing power parity) US $ Statistics
Population below national poverty line (%) Stat./ surveys
Population below poverty line of US$ 1 PPP/day (%) Stat./ surveys
Poverty gap at US$ 1 PPP/day (%) Stat./ surveys
Income distribution (Gini coefficient) Statistics
Food expenditures by different income groups Surveys
Share of household income spent on food (av. %) Surveys
Share of own production in household food supplies Surveys
HFIAS (Household Food Insecurity Access Scale) Surveys
HDDS (Household Dietary Diversity Score) Surveys
No. of people in need OF transfers/food assistance Surveys
For measuring FOOD AVAILABILITY
Food production index (1989-91=100) Agric. stat.
Agricultural production growth per annum/capita Agric. stat.
Average yield food grain production (kg/ha) Agric. stat.
Share of food imports in food grain supplies Trade stat.
Share of food aid in annual food grain supplies (%) Trade / food
aid statistics
Daily per capita supply of calories (kcal) Food balance
Food calorie availability as percentage of requirements Food balance
Daily per capita supply of protein (g) Food balance
Daily per capita supply of fat (g) Food balance
For measuring STABILITY OF FOOD SUPPLIES
Annual variation food grain production (metric tons, %) Agric. stat.
Variation of grain yields (metric tons, %) Agric. stat.
Annual variation of food imports / exports (m. tons, %) Trade stat.
Annual variation of food supplies (metric tons, %) Ag. & Trade
stat.
Seasonal variation of food supplies (metric tons, %) Surveys
Volume / variation of (public, commercial, HH) food Surveys
stocks
Variation in food aid deliveries Records
For measuring FOOD UTILIZATION
Population (no. %) without access to - safe water Statistics.
- health services /surveys
- sanitation
Prevalence of water borne diseases Medical. stat.
For measuring MALNUTRITION
Undernourished population (number, %) Stat./surveys
Underweight children under five (number, %) Nutrition surv.
Stunted children under five (number, %) Nutrition surv.
Wasted children under five (number, %) Nutrition surv.
Low birth weight (< 2,500g) (number, %) Medical surv.
Pregnant women with anaemia (%) Medical surv.
Prevalence of diseases related to malnutrition Nut./med.
surv.

Learners’ Notes 22
 Course – Food Security Policies – Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 3 – Policy Monitoring and Evaluation

Annex 4: Options and criteria for setting up a monitoring and

evaluation unit at central policy level

The table presents the options and the criteria for selecting the appropriate organizational
set-up for Monitoring and Evaluation at policy level, and the pros and cons of the different
options.

Options Criteria Advantages Disadvantages

M & E unit at • Monitoring of broad • Close lines of • Long communication
supra- economic reforms. communication to channels to technical
ministerial • Monitoring cross-cutting policy decision staff, project and
level policies. makers. programmes in the field.
• Links to policy reforms • Trust and reputation. • Thin line between
in different sectors (e.g. • Easier access to independence and
PRSP). official data. political interference.
Line • Ongoing (long term) • Access to own • MPI might be seen as a
ministry monitoring of sector technical expertise. “side activity”.
policies. • Acquaintance with • Sometimes no clear
• Monitoring of policy subject matter. division of labour and
impacts on a specific • Close link between responsibilities.
sector. decision-makers,
actors and monitors.
Project-type• Timely limited • Predetermined • No capturing of long-
monitoring monitoring planned budget, often term implications of
unit • Pilot phase for with foreign policy changes.
institutionalized unit. assistance. • Less commitment for
• Policy monitoring as • Can be tailored to the time-bound activity.
condition for external very specific M & E • Possible dependence on
funding requirements. external funding.
Outsourcing • Option, if monitoring • Best and special • Financial dependence
to external and analytical capaci- expertise can be can cause twisted
institution ties are weak in go- chosen. results.
vernment institutions. • Labour division • Difficult access to official
• Very specific expertise according to needs data and information.
required. and expertise. • Less support due to
• Scaleable from partial • Greater independence distance between
involvement to from political monitors and decision
complete outsourcing . interference. makers.

Learners’ Notes 23
 Food Security Information for Action

Food Security Policy

Formulation and Implementation

Lesson 4

Policy Formulation and Implementation

Learners’ Notes

This course is funded by the European Union and

implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations

© FAO, 2009
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Table of Contents

Learning objectives .....................................................................................................2

Introduction..................................................................................................................3

Relevant stakeholders.................................................................................................4

The cycle of Policy Formulation and Implementation ..................................................5

Initiation of the process of preparing FSPs..................................................................7

Policy Formulation.......................................................................................................9

Policy Formulation sub-phases .................................................................................11

Policy Implementation ...............................................................................................13

Monitoring and Evaluation .........................................................................................15

Summary ...................................................................................................................16

If you want to know more... .......................................................................................17

Annex 1: Outline and Contents of a Food Security Policy Document........................18

Learners’ Notes 1
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• relate Food Security Policies (FSPs) to a framework for action to combat hunger
and alleviate food insecurity in a country;
• explain FSPs as link between food security information and actions aimed at
improving the food security situation; and
• describe the sequence of steps to be performed in the process of FSP formulation
and implementation.

Learners’ Notes 2
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Introduction

Policies are pursued in order to induce changes in a country, society and economy
towards achieving desired objectives.

FSPs are triggered by the fact that the food security situation in a country, manifested e.g.
by widespread hunger, malnutrition and/or temporary food shortages in the wake of natural
disasters, is considered as unsatisfactory, calling for a change.

Food security objectives are formulated and measures to address the problems of food
insecurity (e.g. insufficient access and/or availability, instability and/or ineffective
utilisation) are introduced, aimed at bringing about improvements of the food security
situation.

This lesson describes the subsequent steps of the policy formulation and implementation
process, identifies the major stakeholders involved and defines the activities to be
performed in the various steps.

Learners’ Notes 3
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Relevant stakeholders

The cross-sectoral nature of food security and food security policies poses particular
challenges for policy formulation and implementation, with regard to the high number of
stakeholders affected by and involved in the process as well as the conceptual and
institutional complexity.

Relevant stakeholders are different government departments and organizations, NGOs,

experts, media, civil societies and groups that are concerned with or affected by a policy or
that play a role during policy formulation, implementation or monitoring.

Learners’ Notes 4
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

The cycle of Policy Formulation and Implementation

The process of introducing and implementing FSPs, like any other policies, can be
understood as a cycle comprising various typical and interlinked stages, as illustrated in
the following graph.

Initiation of policy process

Awareness of policy makers of
policy issues to be addressed

POLICY
FORMULATION
•Diagnosis
• Objectives
• Stakeholders Feedback
• Selection of measures &
instruments
Adjustments in policy design
MONITORING & EVALUATON
Feedback of policy implementation,
outcomes & impacts

POLICY
IMPLEMENTATION
• Actors and their roles
• Regulations & procedures
• Programmes & projects
Adjustments in policy
implementation

At all stages, the process of policy formulation and implementation depends on close
interaction with the generation, analysis and presentation of relevant food security
information, e.g.:
• Data and info on acute critical problems of food insecurity serve as trigger to initiate the
process of developing FSPs.
• Food security data and info are required to analyse the problems to be addressed, to
define baselines and to set realistic targets.
• Food security data and info will have to be continuously monitored during policy
implementation, in order to assess policy performance in bringing about the desired
improvements in the food security situation.
• If policy monitoring and evaluation reveal diversions of the data from the planned
objectives and targets, the information is fed back into the policy cycle, in order to
initiate necessary adjustments in policy design and implementation.

Learners’ Notes 5
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Next we will present in detail the subsequent steps of the policy formulation and
implementation process, the major stakeholders involved and the activities to be
performed in the various steps.

• Step 1 - Initiation of policy process.

• Step 2 - Policy Formulation.
• Step 3 - Policy Implementation.
• Step 4 - Monitoring and Evaluation.

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 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Initiation of the process of preparing FSPs

Usually a combination of factors, substantiated with data and information on the state of
food insecurity in a country, triggers the initiative to develop food security policies.

There are a variety of reasons for governments to take the initiative for developing food
security policies, e.g.:

Table 1: Initiation of the process of preparing Food Security Policies

Governments are (or have become) aware of the precarious food
security situation in their country, calling for political initiatives to
Awareness of a
be taken. Such awareness may have been created or reinforced
precarious food
by information and data on an acute critical food situation in a
security situation
country (e.g. hunger, malnutrition, supply shortages in the wake
of disasters).
Pressure on the government from inside or outside the country
Pressure on the (e.g. pressure groups, civil society, non-governmental or
government international organizations), to do something about prevailing
hunger and malnutrition in a country.
Needs to change the Governments need to respond to changing internal or external
conditions affecting conditions that affect the food situation of the country (e.g. food
the food security price rises, depletion of natural resources, threat of famine
situation caused by a major drought , flood, earthquake or other disasters).
Pursuit of food Governments pursue food security objectives as part of their
security objectives national development goals and of international declarations they
as part of the have endorsed (e.g. MDG 1 on poverty and hunger, “Right to
national programme Food”).

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 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Example: Why a Food Security Policy for Timor-Leste

The importance of achieving food security in Timor-Leste is evident from the high priority
given to it in national policies, strategies and programmes. The high priority accorded to
the issue was a key factor behind the development of the policy. There are further reasons
why a food security policy is needed in Timor-Leste.
1) There are widespread problems of poverty and food insecurity which need to be
effectively addressed and responded to at policy level. The fact that large segments of the
population of Timor-Leste still suffer from hunger and malnutrition … is politically
unacceptable. It stands against all principles of human, economic, social and political
development of the nation.
2) There are a number of initiatives which relate to food insecurity, yet there is no
overarching policy framework within which these can be tied together, duplications
reduced, gaps filled and synergies maximized. …
3) Amongst key stakeholders (government, civil society, the international community),
there are a number of interpretations of what the concept of food security actually means,
This results in a lack of consensus on problem diagnosis and the prioritization of options
for improvement. A food security policy is needed which sets out the critical elements and
ambit of the concept, through a process which is inclusive and ensures that all the differing
views are expressed and addressed. In this way a common understanding can be reached
and wide ownership achieved.
4) The food security context for the population has changed markedly since the end of
Indonesian occupation and the emerging independent state of Timor-Leste. Previous
institutions and administrative and service infrastructures ceased to exist, the physical
infrastructure had been largely destroyed during the events of 1999, and the majority of
the people who had been displaced and lost their assets had to be re-established. Along
with the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts, the transition from the highly regulated
and subsidized agricultural sector of the Indonesian period to a free-market economy has
created major challenges.
Now, with the most urgent rehabilitation efforts largely completed, the government and
development partners have increasingly begun to focus on medium- and longer-term
objectives of reducing poverty, and improving food security and agricultural productivity.

(extract from the National Food Security Policy for Timor-Leste, Nov. 2005)

Learners’ Notes 8
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Policy Formulation

Once the decision to develop a food security policy is made, the policy process enters into
the stage of policy formulation.

Policy formulation is rarely done as a one-step ad-hoc decision by the government. It is

usually, and should be, an iterative process, comprising various sub-steps and involving all
relevant stakeholders in the policy formulation process.

Stakeholder participation in policy formulation is essential, in order to ensure that the

policy is realistic, feasible, widely accepted and supported, and can be effectively
implemented.

The final outcome of the policy formulation phase is a (or are) policy document(s), clearly
setting-out the food security objectives, priorities, and an outline of the strategy with the
policy measures to be taken to achieve the objectives.

The cross-sectoral nature of food security and food security policies, comprises aspects of:

• food availability, i.e. food production and supply (e.g. agriculture, trade);
• access to food (e.g. income and employment generation, social protection, market
access);
• stability (e.g. disaster preparedness and emergency response, seasonal stability);
and
• utilization (e.g. safe water supply, sanitation, health and nutrition).

The cross-sectoral nature of food security and FSPs has important implications which
make the process of formulating and implementing FSPs different from sector policies.
This particularly refers to a high number of stakeholders from different sectors to be
involved in policy formulation and implementation and to the concept of policy documents
to be prepared.

There are two options for preparing food security policy document(s):

1. Integration of FSP issues into overall and sectoral national development policies
and strategies of a country (e.g. Poverty Reduction Strategy and agricultural and
social sector policies and strategies); and
2. Preparation of a particular FSP document, incorporating all aspects which are
relevant for improving food security and taking into account the linkages which exist
to overall and sectoral development policies and strategies of the country.

Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages, as presented in the following
table:

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 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Table 2: Options for preparing Food Security Document(s)

Option Advantages Disadvantages

Integration of Food Ensures integration of food
Risk of conceptual ambiguities and
Security Policy security concerns in other
inconsistencies in the pursuance of
concerns into relevant sector policies.
food security objectives in the
overall and
different sectors.
sectoral policies
Preparation of a Policy document provides Sector ministries
specific Food consistent framework of feel less committed to make their
Security Policy food security objectives and contribution to policy formulation and
document policy measures. implementation.

Learners’ Notes 10
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Policy Formulation sub-phases

Ideally the process of policy formulation is structured in the following four sub-phases,
which we are going to describe in detail below:

• Phase 1 - Establishment of a task force for FSP formulation

• Phase 2 - Diagnosis of the food security situation
• Phase 3 - Policy drafting
• Phase 4 - Validation

Phase 1 - Establishment of a task force for FSP formulation

The task force should be composed of representatives of key stakeholders (policy analysts
from relevant government departments, NGOs, experts, etc.) with terms of reference and a
work plan for the tasks to be fulfilled throughout the policy formulation process until
finalization of the policy document(s).

Due to the complexity of food security policies, it may be advisable to form sub-teams for
food security formulation to deal with specific food security issues, such as agricultural
production, food marketing, processing, storage, trade, social protection and nutrition.

Representatives of the different ministries mandated with the specific food security and
related sector issues will need to be represented in the sub-teams.

Phase 2 - Diagnosis of the food security situation

During the diagnostic phase, the following tasks are to be performed:

• Collecting and analysing relevant food security data and information, to identify the
(priority) problems of food insecurity to be addressed and to generate baseline data;
• Reviewing existing policies and policy frameworks with relevance for food security;
• Stocktaking of existing food security initiatives;
• Consulting relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations operating in
the field of food security.

During this phase, a first round of FSP formulation workshops should be conducted at
central and decentralized levels.

FSP formulation workshops

In this first round of workshops conducted in the disgnostic phase, representatives of all
relevant stakeholders are invited to:
• share their experience and opinions on the food security issues;
• articulate the problems they perceive; and
• develop a common understanding on what food security means and what FSPs
should strive for.

Learners’ Notes 11
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

A problem analysis according to the Logical Framework format, bringing all issues
contributing to food insecurity into a logical order of cause – effect relationship, is a useful
tool to identify root causes and priority problems to be addressed by a food security policy.

Phase 3 - Policy drafting

On the basis of the results of the diagnosis of the food security situation and trends, a first
draft of the FSP document(s) will be produced by the task force.
Throughout this drafting phase, the task force will continue to closely interact with the key
stakeholders and higher level policy makers.

The policy document(s) will need to clearly set out the objectives to be achieved, and to
address all relevant food security issues related to access, availability, stability and
utilization where action is required.

The Logical Framework method provides a useful tool to establish a consistent structure of
policy objectives and suitable policy measures to reach the objectives. Such consistency is
a precondition for a feasible and realistic policy.

See Annex 1: Worksheet - Outline and Contents of a food security policy document

Phase 4 - Validation
Once a first draft policy document is produced, it will be circulated to all relevant
stakeholders for review and comments.
In order to ensure maximum response, transparency and acceptance, a second-round
stakeholder workshop for discussing the first draft policy document(s) should be
conducted.

On the basis of the feed back on the first draft, the task force team will prepare a revised
second draft policy document.

This second draft policy document will be presented to the high-level policy decision
makers (Prime Minister, Cabinet, Parliament) who will have to endorse the FSP. During
this final round of consultation with the high-level policy makers, further amendments to
the draft policy document may be required, leading to a final draft policy document to be
eventually officially endorsed.

Example: Agenda for a Food Security Policy Validation Workshop

We present below an example of the agenda of a second-round stakeholder workshop for
validation of the draft Food Security Policy in Timor-Leste:
1. to review, discuss and validate the contents of the draft policy document;
2. to identify gaps, omissions and flaws in the draft document, and amendments to be
made;
3. to prioritize policy actions; and
4. to clarify next steps to be taken to complete and implement the Food Security Policy.

Learners’ Notes 12
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Policy Implementation

The policy document provides the framework for action, i.e. implementing the FSP.

Policy document

The policy document includes:

• the food security objectives and priorities;
• an outline of the policy measures to be implemented;
• the institutional set-up; and
• the role of the stakeholders in policy implementation.

On the basis of the measures and priorities defined in the document, a Strategic Plan of
Action for implementing the policy measures will have to be formulated.

As to the type of policy measures to be implemented, the following two broad categories
can be distinguished:

Table 3: Types of Policy measures

Rules, regulations and procedures to be set by public authorities
and applied in policy implementation.
Under FSPs, typical measures of this category are, for example:
• minimum standards of living established as a legal right;
1. Regulatory type • criteria of eligibility / targeting of public support;
• input / food price regulations / subsidies;
• import / export taxes, subsidies or regulations;
• role and obligations of central and local government institutions
to provide certain services; etc.
Policy measures which are implemented through programme and
project type approaches by government or non-governmental
actors.
Under a FSP, typical measures of this category are, for example:
• food / cash-for-work schemes;
• feeding programmes;
2. Programme • targeted support to vulnerable population groups;
type • promotion of food production in general and/or targeted support
to poor farmers;
• natural resource conservation / rehabilitation;
• establishment of an emergency FS reserve;
• promotion of food marketing, rural infrastructure, etc.
Already ongoing initiatives in relevant fields are to be taken into
account.

Sometimes there is a combination of the regulatory and programme types of policy

measures, e.g. when a new regulation needs to be implemented through a programme-
type approach, or if the effective implementation of a programme or project depends on
new laws or regulations to be introduced.

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 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Let’s have a look at some examples of combinations of regulatory- and programme-type

policy measures:

Examples of combination of regulatory and programme measures

• When minimum subsistence levels (e.g. right to sufficient food) are established as a
legal right of each citizen, there must be a programme to put this right into practice, e.g.
through safety net programmes, food assistance or other forms of public transfer
schemes.
• If, in order to keep food prices low, food price and/or consumer subsidy regulations are
introduced, there needs to be a programme to put these regulations in to practice, e.g.
a special food import, food aid and/or subsidy scheme.
• A programme for sustainable resource management may only be effective if a land
reform or new land use regulations are enacted.

For the planned projects and programmes to be implemented under the Food Security
Policy, project outlines will have to be prepared. The following table presents an example
for the structure and contents of such an outline.

Table 4: Structure and Contents of Project / Programme Outlines

Item Contents
Subject of policy measure
Title
(with reference to policy measure)
Subjects and strategy of intervention Brief description of planned intervention
Specific food security objectives to be
Objectives
achieved, planned results
Target group(s) Direct and ultimate beneficiaries
Indicators for measuring project/
Indicators
programme progress and achievements
Actors involved in implementation and
Institutional responsibilities
their roles
Overall planned project / programme
Time frame
duration, phases of implementation
Costs Investment and operational costs.
Planned / confirmed / envisaged /
Funding possible sources of funding, co-financing
arrangements
Including preconditions for successful
project / programme implementation yet
Assumptions and risks to be established (e.g. necessary studies
to be conducted, laws and regulations to
be released, human capacity building)

Learners’ Notes 14
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Monitoring and Evaluation

In order to keep track of progress in policy implementation and achievements compared to

plan, a Monitoring and Evaluation system will have to be established.

The Monitoring and Evaluation system serves various important functions:

• To provide the government and other stakeholders with up-to-date information on the
state of implementation of the FSP;
• to assess whether the implementation of the policy is on track towards attaining the
planned objectives;
• to identify any flaws in the design or implementation of the policy that need to be
corrected to ensure effective policy implementation; and
• to make proposals for respective policy adjustments.

The establishment of an M & E System for the Food Security Policy should be guided by
the following principles:

• M & E should be performed at all levels of policy implementation and by the different
stakeholders (government, NGOs and other implementing agencies).
• Monitoring activities by different organizations need to be harmonized with regard to
indicators used, monitoring methods applied, structure of reports and reporting
timeframe. To this end, common monitoring guidelines will need to be prepared.
• While the implementing organizations are responsible for monitoring at the project and
programme level, the monitoring results of all food security-related interventions should
be compiled and analysed by a central monitoring unit at the institution in charge of
coordinating FSPs.
• At certain time intervals, comprehensive and in-depth evaluations of the progress in
implementation and achievements of the Food Security Policy will need to be
conducted.

The compiled monitoring results and the results of the evaluations will be communicated to
the policy makers, in order to initiate any necessary adjustments in design and/or
implementation of the FSP.

Learners’ Notes 15
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Summary

The policy formulation and implementation process involves a high number of

stakeholders (all governmental and NGOs institutions, organizations and groups that are
affected by a policy or that play a role during policy formulation, implementation or
monitoring.

The policy formulation and implementation process comprises four typical and interlinked
steps:
1. Initiation of policy process;
2. Policy Formulation;
3. Policy Implementation; and
4. Policy Monitoring & Evaluation.

Ideally the Policy Formulation step is structured in the following four sub-phases:

1. Establishment of a task force for food security policy formulation;

2. Diagnosis of the food security situation;
3. Policy drafting; and
4. Policy validation.

Learners’ Notes 16
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

If you want to know more...

Online resources
Klennert, Klaus (ed.), ACHIEVING FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY, Actions to Meet
the Global Challenge, A Training Course Reader, InWent, Feldafing, 2005
http://www.inwent.org/E+Z/content/archive-eng/11-2005/media_art2.html

Metz, Manfred, FOOD SECURITY POLICY ADVICE, Summary of a Lessons Learned

Study on three German TC Policy Advisory Projects in Cambodia, Ethiopia and
Mozambique, GTZ Eschborn, August 2006; http://www2.gtz.de/dokumente/gut/13365.pdf

Additional reading
Stamoulis, K., Zezza, A. (2003) A Conceptual Framework for National Agricultural, Rural
Development, and Food Strategies and Policies. ESA Working Paper No. 03-17

Learners’ Notes 17
 Course - Food Security Policies - Formulation and Implementation
Lesson 4 - Policy Formulation and Implementation

Annex 1: Outline and Contents of a Food Security Policy

Document

The following is an example of the broad outline of a food security policy document.

1) INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

(why a food security policy for country x)

2) ANALYSIS OF FOOD SECURITY SITUATION AND TRENDS

3) OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPLES AND PRIORITIES OF FOOD SECURITY POLICIES

(incl. links to other relevant national and sector development policies)

4) STRATEGIC APPROACHES, POLICY MEASURES & INSTRUMENTS

aimed at improving:

- access to food (e.g. rural and urban employment and income generation, cash/
food for work, safety nets, social protection of vulnerable groups)
- food supplies (e.g. promotion of agriculture and food production, food
marketing,
food trade)
- stability of access and supplies (e.g. disaster preparedness and response,
relief
food aid, food stocks, emergency food reserves)
- food utilization (e.g. water and sanitation, health and nutrition education, food
safety, supplementary feeding).

5) INSTITUTIONAL SET-UP

Role of stakeholders and coordination mechanisms (ministries and government

institutions at central and decentralized levels, NGOs, international and donor
organizations, civil society, private sector).

6) MONITORING AND EVALUATION

M & E system and approaches, indicators to be monitored, links to poverty

monitoring.

Learners’ Notes 18