Editorial note from the FOODSECURE coordination team
For the FOODSECURE research team and review board it is essential that the outcomes of the project contribute to the evidence base for addressing the policy challenges in regions facing food insecurity, in Africa and beyond. The insights should therefore combine scientific rigour with relevance and be accessible to those who prepare FNS strategies.
In this regard, the timing of the conference in Africa at this stage in the project, 1 ½ years into the duration of the project, provides a triple opportunity:
• First, to discuss with peers a draft conceptual research framework for the scientific contributions from this 5-year project;
• Second, to tap into the network of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and agricultural research platforms to sharpen the policy and research questions for further work, in particular the stakeholder analysis and empirical studies in the regions.
• Third, to do advocacy on the need for a policy framework for food and nutrition security in Africa, in particular for strategies that address the twin challenge of providing food for all in the decades ahead and adjusting to greater uncertainty and risk in the global food system.
Let’s highlight briefly how each of these themes will be addressed at the meetings in order to identify the key food and nutrition security (FNS) challenges in Africa and a range of research questions around improving food security and nutritional outcomes.
Conceptual building blocks for the project’s scientific contributions
A concerted effort of the FOODSECURE research team and review board on the conceptual linking of long term FNS and short term price volatility is available as FOODSECURE working paper 13. Two papers prepare the ground for the quantification of the causal relations in long term scenarios (working paper 14) and short modelling (working paper 15). These papers revisit the common understanding of the drivers and indicators of food and nutrition security and the potential linkages between economic, social and environmental factors of risk to FNS. Agricultural Policy drivers of key players are seen as critical for the future functioning of the global food system, they are discussed in working paper 12.
Informing the agenda
It is widely acknowledged that innovations in agriculture and other sectors have a remarkable impact on FNS. While the impact assessments of such innovations mostly focus on a specific type of innovation and FNS outcome, a meta-analysis in working paper 11 expands the assessment to several types of innovations and their multiple impacts including those on agricultural production and distribution, environmental aspects and nutrition outcomes.
Partnerships will help us to create impact
We are particularly happy with the fruitful collaborations that have developed around the project. For example, the Farming First network has supported us in the consultation on innovations for FNS.The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is facilitating the participation of key experts from Africa and the Caribbean into the upcoming meetings in Addis Ababa (see more news below).
We thank our collaboration partners for their continued interest in the FOODSECURE project. Above all, we look forward to working with you in strengthening food and nutrition security in Africa and other regions
Your LEI coordination team
Hans van Meijl, Thom Achterbosch and Ewa Tabeau
LEI Wageningen UR, the Netherlands
Any comments or suggestions? Please feel free to contact us at foodsecure@wur.nl
News
“Challenges in Food and Nutrition Security in Global and Local African Perspectives". Consortium meeting and international conference in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, on October 7-9, 2013.
Blog / Conference Website
We have created an interactive conference blog/Website: www.foodsecureblog.wordpress.com. Here, you can find all relevant information for the conference. We will keep it updated (presentations, video clips) during the conference.
African colleagues participating in Addis conference
A group of eight African experts will join the FOODSECURE Consortium Meeting in Addis Ababa: Prof Claude Adandedjan, Benin. Dr Sam Asuming-Brempong, Ghana. Dr. Mahamadou Elhadji Gounga, Niger. Mr Raymond Jatta, The Gambia. Ms Beatrice Muriithi Wambui, Kenya. Dr Morara Nyairo Newton, Kenya. Dr Kenneth Masuki, Tanzania. Dr Hazel Patterson-Andrews, Trinidad & Tobago. Their participation has been facilitated by a collaboration between the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR) and the IFPRI regional office in Ethiopia. The meeting presents an excellent opportunity for these key experienced and young experts to share research results and experiences about the latest developments in and problems related to food and nutrition security in Africa. For more information look at the Website.
First stakeholder workshop held in Bruges
The 1st FOODSECURE stakeholders workshop took place in Bruges on 5-6 September 2013. Around 20 high-level representatives of a number of international and European organizations and businesses, including OECD, EC, UNEP-WCMC, Nestle, Bayer CropScience, Biovision Foundation, ePURE, Oxfam, and Copa-Cogeca joined the meeting. They deliberated on visions of global food and nutrition security for the years to come (until 2050). Modeller teams of LEI, IIASA, IFPRI, and PBL were present and observing. The stakeholders' visions and scenarios will be taken up by the FOODSECURE modellers for quantification and further processing into policy response proposals. Two more high-level stakeholders workshops will be organized in 2014-2015.
Contact: Ewa Tabeau, LEI
Selection of key publications for the consortium meeting in Addis Ababa
 FOODSECURE working paper no.13. This paper presents a first step towards the formulation of a broad conceptual framework which will be used in the FOODSECURE project to analyse the determinants of food and nutrition security. It draws on previous research and insights to develop such a framework. The framework addresses determinants and drivers of food and nutrition security at multiple levels of aggregation.
 FOODSECURE working paper no. 15. This paper presents work in progress to establish a conceptual framework that links short-term price changes with food and nutrition security. As the existing research on the impact of price shocks on nutritional status is very limited, the developed conceptual framework elaborates different channels through which price changes and price risks affect households and food security.
 FOODSECURE working paper no. 14.
This paper aims at providing an overview of the different modeling solutions proposed in the FOODSECURE toolbox and defines a strategy for using the different models in a consistent manner. In particular, it explores how the FOODSECURE models tackle the key food security indicators and drivers and translate assumptions about the future within their framework. It also discusses the relative strengths and weaknesses of the different models to address different policy questions.
 FOODSECURE working paper no. 11. It is widely acknowledged that innovations in agriculture and other sectors have a remarkable impact on FNS. While the impact assessments of such innovations mostly focus on a specific type of innovation and FNS outcome, the meta-analysis in this paper expands the assessment to several types of innovations and their multiple impacts, including those on agricultural production and distribution, environmental aspects and nutrition outcomes.
 FOODSECURE working paper no. 12.
This paper re-visits the widespread perception that a few key countries, i.e. “major actors” on international food markets, are in a position to influence world food security through their agricultural and trade policies. Were this assumption true, a large part of the world food insecurity could be likely solved by reforming the policies of those few countries. The authors provide a critical overview of the key agricultural and trade policies of the major players in the global food system. A separate, detailed overview of farm policies in Brazil, China, and the US is included.
In addition, working papers no. 5 (Food and Nutrition Security Indicators: A review) and no. 6 (Long-time drivers of Food an Nutrition Security), which were introduced in e-newsletter no. 2, are recommenable as preparation materials for the conference.
Selection of recent journal articles:
Rutten, Martine M. What Economic Theory Tells Us About the Impacts of Reducing Food Losses And/or Waste: Implications for Research, Policy and Practice. Agriculture & Food Security 2, no. 1 (24 September 2013): 13. doi:10.1186/2048-7010-2-13. You can download the article from: http://www.agricultureandfoodsecurity.com/content/2/1/13
Tim Wheeler and Joachim von Braun. Climate Change Impacts on Global Food Security. Science 2 August 2013, Vol. 341 no. 6145 pp. 508-513. You can download the article here.
For a short video statement of Joachim von Braun please click here
FOODSECURE research partners
Find a complete list of research partner involved in the FOODSECURE project at our respective Webpage.
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