SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: POLICY, PRACTICE AND
ENVIRONMENT
DVA4804
QUESTION 4: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS THAT
CONTRIBUTE TO FOOD INSECURITY AND HOW THESE CAN BE
AMELIORATED
NB: This assignment should be edited, adapted, and personalised to suit your own
understanding, writing style, course requirements, and lecturer’s instructions.
, Introduction
Food insecurity is a multifaceted issue that occurs when people lack consistent physical and
economic access to adequate, safe, and nutritious food. Thus, equating food insecurity with
limited food production is inaccurate. Qaim and Kouser (2013) stress that food security is
linked to both physical and economic access to food, but Zewdie (2014) shows that climate
change can impact food supply, accessibility, and utilisation. As a result, food insecurity can
exist even when food is physically available if households lack sufficient cash, markets are
inaccessible, or people are unable to appropriately use nutrients. The issue is especially
important in developing nations, where poverty, agricultural dependency, environmental
vulnerability, and weak institutions are all intertwined. As a result, the causes of food insecurity
are inextricably intertwined. Economic poverty can limit people's ability to purchase food;
climate change can reduce agricultural productivity and increase production risks;
unsustainable agricultural methods can undermine land's long-term productive capacity; and
ineffective policy coordination can prevent otherwise appropriate interventions from reaching
vulnerable households. Jacobsen et al. (2013); Qaim and Kouser (2013); Zewdie (2014); and
Candel (2017) show that no single technical or policy initiative can eliminate food insecurity.
Effective amelioration necessitates an integrated approach that links increased agricultural
output to food access, environmental sustainability, appropriate technology, social protection,
and good governance.
1. Poverty and Limited Economic Access to Food
Food insecurity is one of the most common causes of poverty. There may be food at
marketplaces but households may not be able to afford to buy it. According to Zewdie (2014)
food accessibility is the ability of an individual, community or a country to obtain enough
quantity and quality food. The problem is especially significant in Sub-Saharan Africa, where
households may be confronted with high food prices, limited market access, poverty, uncertain
employment, low levels of education and inadequate property rights. These limits curtail
purchasing power and availability to healthy food.
Poor people tend to spend a large share of their income on food, thus food price spikes are
disastrous for them. Households may cut down on the amount or quality of food they eat as
costs go up. They may also choose less priced and less nutritious foods. Hunger cannot be
ended simply by producing more food, therefore. Zewdie (2014) stated that the availability of
food alone is not sufficient to guarantee food security since people should also have the
economic means to obtain and consume food in a proper manner. A major criticism of
production-based food security is this.
To solve this issue, the efforts to enhance household purchasing power and food supply need
to be continued. Improved access to productive assets, social protection, employment creation
and income diversification can improve household food access. Zewdie (2014) identifies
diversification of income-generating activities including off-farm employment as an adaptation
technique. Such diversification is essential, as households that depend entirely on subsistence
farming are particularly vulnerable to crop failure. Improved rural infrastructure and market
access can also enable smallholder farmers to sell agricultural products and buy food when
household output is low.
2. Climate Change and Environmental Vulnerability
ENVIRONMENT
DVA4804
QUESTION 4: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS THAT
CONTRIBUTE TO FOOD INSECURITY AND HOW THESE CAN BE
AMELIORATED
NB: This assignment should be edited, adapted, and personalised to suit your own
understanding, writing style, course requirements, and lecturer’s instructions.
, Introduction
Food insecurity is a multifaceted issue that occurs when people lack consistent physical and
economic access to adequate, safe, and nutritious food. Thus, equating food insecurity with
limited food production is inaccurate. Qaim and Kouser (2013) stress that food security is
linked to both physical and economic access to food, but Zewdie (2014) shows that climate
change can impact food supply, accessibility, and utilisation. As a result, food insecurity can
exist even when food is physically available if households lack sufficient cash, markets are
inaccessible, or people are unable to appropriately use nutrients. The issue is especially
important in developing nations, where poverty, agricultural dependency, environmental
vulnerability, and weak institutions are all intertwined. As a result, the causes of food insecurity
are inextricably intertwined. Economic poverty can limit people's ability to purchase food;
climate change can reduce agricultural productivity and increase production risks;
unsustainable agricultural methods can undermine land's long-term productive capacity; and
ineffective policy coordination can prevent otherwise appropriate interventions from reaching
vulnerable households. Jacobsen et al. (2013); Qaim and Kouser (2013); Zewdie (2014); and
Candel (2017) show that no single technical or policy initiative can eliminate food insecurity.
Effective amelioration necessitates an integrated approach that links increased agricultural
output to food access, environmental sustainability, appropriate technology, social protection,
and good governance.
1. Poverty and Limited Economic Access to Food
Food insecurity is one of the most common causes of poverty. There may be food at
marketplaces but households may not be able to afford to buy it. According to Zewdie (2014)
food accessibility is the ability of an individual, community or a country to obtain enough
quantity and quality food. The problem is especially significant in Sub-Saharan Africa, where
households may be confronted with high food prices, limited market access, poverty, uncertain
employment, low levels of education and inadequate property rights. These limits curtail
purchasing power and availability to healthy food.
Poor people tend to spend a large share of their income on food, thus food price spikes are
disastrous for them. Households may cut down on the amount or quality of food they eat as
costs go up. They may also choose less priced and less nutritious foods. Hunger cannot be
ended simply by producing more food, therefore. Zewdie (2014) stated that the availability of
food alone is not sufficient to guarantee food security since people should also have the
economic means to obtain and consume food in a proper manner. A major criticism of
production-based food security is this.
To solve this issue, the efforts to enhance household purchasing power and food supply need
to be continued. Improved access to productive assets, social protection, employment creation
and income diversification can improve household food access. Zewdie (2014) identifies
diversification of income-generating activities including off-farm employment as an adaptation
technique. Such diversification is essential, as households that depend entirely on subsistence
farming are particularly vulnerable to crop failure. Improved rural infrastructure and market
access can also enable smallholder farmers to sell agricultural products and buy food when
household output is low.
2. Climate Change and Environmental Vulnerability
