We are pleased to present to you the first issue of the e-newsletter of FOODSECURE, an interdisciplinary research project on the future of food and nutrition security supported by EU-funding. The e-newsletter addresses researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders from within and outside the project interested in the latest research activities regarding food security.  The newsletter will keep you updated four times a year. You can also visit our Website www.foodsecure.eu

FOODSECURE research team at kick-off meeting in The Hague, September 2012.

With ample continued attention for the global food security challenges by thought leaders, the private sector, policymakers (e.g. the Irish Presidency of the EU) and others, there is a strong call on the research community to deliver more evidence on what are effective food security strategies. This has led to the formulation of the FOODSECURE project. Since its start about a year ago the research teams in FOODSECURE have progressed substantially on their envisaged research goals. Teams have been revisiting 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 food and nutrition security, or FNS in short. Working paper no. 1 provides us with a set of definitions and policy strategies, whereas working paper no. 5 reflects on the existing set of short and long-term FNS indicators. There is a clear need to add information on the stability and gender dimensions of food security to the current set of indicators. This will also benefit from further insight into the food-health nexus (see working paper no. 3 ). Finally, a major achievement is to quantify drivers of change (see working paper no. 6) and to set up a modelling toolbox which can quantify food security drivers in long-run scenarios (2020-2050). Working paper no. 2 provides the basis with its review of global scenario exercises, whereas working paper no. 4 on EU policies on rice and working paper no. 7 on consumers' attitudes towards palm oil highlight  agricultural policies as drivers of FNS. The toolbox will support the development of exploratory scenarios with stakeholders therewith supporting a new set of IPCC climate change scenarios (see news item below of research team "Vision development and stakeholder involvement" below) .

In the coming months, the current building blocks will be integrated into a framework that connects FNS indicators to their drivers of change. A database with partly new country-level information on indicators of FNS and potential causes will contribute to evidence on local policies and development aid. Our Website will always present you with the latest information. The project team will also have delivered a preliminary assessment of new agricultural technologies and scenarios of their adoption, informed by stakeholder consultation.

We are proud and happy with these milestones achieved so far and looking forward to more research results that can make a difference for food and nutrition security in the world.

Hans van Meijl, Thom Achterbosch and Ewa Tabeau
FOODSECURE coordination team, LEI Wageningen UR.
Any comments or suggestions? Please feel free to contact us at foodsecure@wur.nl

On the occasion of the kick-off meeting of FOODSECURE, an expert meeting entitled “Food Security – Towards Policies that Matter” was organized to introduce the project to the beneficiaries within the institutions of the European Union in September 2012. The main conclusion of the meeting was that the evidence-base for policy making needs urgent strengthening in response to the need to reduce hunger, as well as for budget austerity. Policy makers need to understand the root causes of hunger when selecting and targeting the policy options that are on their desk already. Staff from six units of the European Commission participated in the meeting, which counted over twenty policy experts. For a report and other workshop materials see report.

An international workshop on “Food price volatility and food security” co-organized by ZEF and IFPRI took place at ZEF in Bonn January 31 - February 1, 2013. Leading international experts and junior researchers shared and discussed their findings on the much debated volatility and speculation issues in food markets. Volatility matters especially for the poor. Contact: Joachim von Braun, ZEF, jvonbraun@uni-bonn.de. For the workshop summary, links to presentations and short video interviews see http://www.zef.de/1548.html?pk=4063Enter

FOODSECURE researcher Luca Salvatici from the University Degli Studi Roma Tre (URoma3) has submitted a paper to this year’s AAEA Conference (Agricultural and Applied Economics Organization). See http://www.aaea.org/2013am
He also submitted a proposal for an organized session at the AIEAA (Associazione Italiana di Economia Agraria e Applicata – Agricultural and Applied Economics Italian Association). See http://www.aieaa.org Contact: Luca Salvatici, lsalvatici@uniroma3.it

The FOODSECURE research team on "Vision development and stakeholder involvement" (WP5) met with modellers from LEI (Stichting Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek, the Netherlands) and IIASA (Internationales Institut für Systemanalyse, Austria) to discuss the role of Shared Socio-Economic Pathways (SSPs) for future stakeholder involvement in scenario development for Food and Nutrition Security. They met in Laxenburg, Austria, on February 7-8, 2013. Based on the discussions in Laxenburg, the Story-and-Simulation approach applied by project partner Prospex will be adapted. The first scenario development exercise will be held in September 2013. Contact: Gerdien Meijerink, LEI, Gerdien.Meijerink@wur.nl

Are Consumers Concerned about Palm Oil? Evidence from a Lab Experiment. Anne-Célia Disdier, Stéphan Marette, Guy Millet.

Long-Term Drivers of Food and Nutrition Security.
David Laborde, Simla Tokgoz, Maximo Torero

Food and Nutrition Security Indicators: A Review.
Evita Hanie Pangaribowo, Nicoals Gerber, Maximo Torero.

The Impact of European Union Preferential Policies in the Rice Industry.  A Dynamic Panel Gravity Approach. Valentina Raimondi, Margherita Scoppola, Alessandro Olper.

Background Risk of Food Insecurity and Insurance Behaviour: Evidence from the West Bank. Elisa Cavatorta (SOAS, University of London) and Luca Pieroni (University of Perugia).

A review of global scenario exercises for food security analysis. Assumptions and results. Michiel van Dijk.

Perspectives on relevant concepts related to food and nutrition security. Hannah Pieters, Anneleen Vandeplas, Andrea Guariso, Nathalie Francken, Alexander Sarris, Jo Swinnen, Nicolas Gerber, Joachim von Braun, Maximo Torero.

Rutten, Martine, Lindsay Shutes, and Gerdien Meijerink. 2013. Sit down at the Ball Game: How Trade Barriers Make the World Less Food Secure’. Food Policy 38 (0) (February): 1–10. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919212000991

Swinnen, J.F.M. and Squicciarini, P. 2012. Mixed Messages on Prices and Food Security, Science 335(6067): 405-406

Verpoorten, M., Arora, A., Stoop, N. and J. Swinnen. 2013. Self-reported food insecurity in Africa during the food price crisis. Food Policy 39:51-63.

Wicke, B., Verweij, P., van Meijl, H., van Vuuren, D. P., & Faaij, A. P. 2012. Indirect land use change: review of existing models and strategies for mitigation. Biofuels, 3(1), 87-100
http://www.future-science.com/doi/pdf/10.4155/bfs.11.154

Please find the latest information on commitments and documentation of the FOODSECURE kick-off meeting in The Hague (September 2012) and the Brussels expert meeting (September 2012) at the sharepoint. See: http://www.foodsecure.eu/beheer/ProjectFiles.aspx

For upcoming (and past) events related to the FOODSECURE project please have a look at our Website under Events.

Find a complete list of research partners involved in the FOODSECURE project at http://www.foodsecure.eu/About.aspx