Exploring the disparity in global food security indicators

Global Patterns of Agricultural Investment and Food Security: Evidence from the fDi Markets Database

The number of hungry people is on the rise and more efforts are needed to improve the global food security status. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) proposes more investment in the agricultural sector to boost production and alleviate hunger. However, there are fewer papers that distinguish enterprises investment from public investment. In this case, we take advantage of detailed investment data in the fDi Markets database to explore the global patterns of agricultural investment. In particular, we identify the top destination countries based on aggregate and sub-sectoral agricultural investment data. Then we investigate the relationship between agricultural investment and food security, which is measured by per capita protein intake. Finally, we propose some suggestions from the investment motivation perspective to help food-insecure countries to attract overseas investment. We find that developed countries are the primary sources of global agricultural investment and these sources have been becoming more diverse in the past decade. It implies the trend towards a more inclusive investment environment worldwide. However, the global distribution of agricultural investment is uneven as food-insecure countries only receive 20% of the global agricultural investment. The top three destination countries, USA, China, and Russia, have a relatively high food security level. In contrast, countries suffering from food insecurity receive fewer investment projects, and most of which are on a small scale. Given the limited socio-economic development status in food-insecure countries, it is essential for all levels of society to help them and contribute to ending hunger.

How do carbon emissions, economic growth, population growth, trade openness and employment influence food security? Recent evidence from the East Africa

East Africa has a substantially greater rate of food insecurity than other regions of the world. Scenarios of climate change and other macroeconomic variables are important contributors to food insecurity in East Africa. Using data spanning from 1990 to 2020, this study looked into the influence of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, economic growth, population growth, trade openness, and agricultural employment on food security in the East Africa. The fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) models were used in this study. The heterogeneous panel cointegration test's findings indicated that the study variables have an equilibrium long-term connections. The estimation findings from the FMOLS and DOLS models showed that an increase in CO₂ emissions increases food security in the East Africa over the long term. According to other findings, long-term food security is positively impacted by economic expansion, population growth, trade openness, and employment in agriculture. However, trade openness has a detrimental long-lasting effect on food security. Future research directions, research limitations, and policy implications are discussed.

Usefulness and misrepresentation of phone surveys on COVID-19 and food security in Africa

We survey efforts that track food security in Africa using phone surveys during the COVID-19 pandemic. Phone surveys are concentrated in a few countries mostly focusing on a narrow theme. Only a few allow heterogeneous analyses across socioeconomic, spatial, and intertemporal dimensions across countries, leaving important issues inadequately enumerated. We recommend that the scientific community focuses on countries (and regions and groups within countries) where the evidence base is thin, and that policymakers in less researched areas attract more research by improving their statistical capacity, openness, and governance.

Screening Food Insecure during Pregnancy: Pilot Testing an Effective Brief Tool for Use in an Australian Antenatal Care Setting

The purpose of this research is: (1) to determine the prevalence of food insecurity among pregnant people using the 10-, 6-, and 2-item iterations of the USA Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) and the single item measure, and (2) identify an appropriate combination of questions that could be used to identify food insecurity in a clinical setting for a population of people who are pregnant in Australia. Cross-sectional survey collecting self-reported data from pregnant people in Australia (open May 2021 to March 2022). Survey included demographic characteristics, including income/welfare use, education, age, pregnancy information, household size and composition, and two measures of food insecurity. In total, 303 participants were included in the analysis. Sensitivity and specificity of the various combinations of questions were conducted. Food insecurity was estimated using the single item, and the 2-item, 6-item, and 10-item versions of the HFSSM, food insecurity was 6.2%, 11.4%, 11.7%, and 14.3% respectively. Respondents who were living in households that were food insecure answered affirmatively to question one, two, or three of the HFSSM, with the combination of questions one and three showing the best sensitivity and specificity for the whole sample, as well as for those who have characteristics likely to lead to food insecurity. Further testing of the 2-items, comprised of items one and three from the HFSSM, need to be conducted with a larger and more diverse sample to determine if this is an appropriate screening tool in an antenatal clinical setting to determine food insecurity during pregnancy.

The combined effect of institutional quality and capital flows on food and nutrition security and undernourishment in Sub-Saharan Africa

Issues related to malnutrition, broadly defined, have received a growing attention in recent years, not only in connection with the Sustainable Development Goals but also recently with the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, there exists a complex interaction between institutions, capital flows, and food and nutrition security that has received less attention in the relevant literature. In this paper we estimate a series of dynamic panel data models to examine the impact of institutional quality and capital flows on food security, nutrition security and undernourishment by using panel data for 25 SSA countries over the period 1996 to 2018. One of the key contributions of the paper is the use of both aggregate and disaggregated capital flows to examine the impact on both food and nutrition security, a dimension that has been surprisingly neglected in most of the relevant literature. We combine this with the interaction of various types of capital flows with an institutional quality index we constructed from various governance indicators to examine the impact of institutions on the overall nexus. Finally, we examine the impact not only on food and nutrition security but also on undernourishment. Our findings clearly demonstrate the importance of a heterogeneity approach and reflect on earlier work regarding the role of institutional quality in the overall nexus between external capital flows and various measures of food and nutrition security which leads, and as expected, to an interesting variation in the results obtained, depending on the type of capital flows and the interaction with the governance indicators.

Exploring linkages between food security and economic growth: a Systematic mapping literature review

Food security can be achieved by being carried out simultaneously alongside the economy's growth at the macro level. While many countries worldwide carry out economic growth policies to improve food security, the causal relationship between economic growth and food security is still debated. This study uses a systematic mapping review to analyze the relationship between food security (FS) and economic growth (EG) using a systematic mapping review. There are 26 previous research results from 780 articles obtained. Database from google scholar, ScienceDirect, Elsevier, and JSTOR with a limited date range on published information from 2004-2021. The result shows an empirical gap in the relationship between FS dan EG with 76.92% supporting the correlative relationship between FS and EG, while the other 19.23% claimed that there is no correlation, and 3.85% (one study) explored the relationship between EG and FI (Food Insecurity). Furthermore, 11 studies explained that EG has a positive effect on FS; one study stated that it has a negative impact, and another one hurts Food insecurity. Meanwhile, seven studies revealed that FS has a positive effect on economic growth, one study on the contrary, and two studies explained it has no effect. Availability and GDP per Capita variables were mainly used in describing the relationship between FS and EG.

Measuring and Mapping Food Security Status of Rajasthan, India: A District-Level Analysis

The present study tries to analyse the status of food security, along with its various components, such as food availability, accessibility, and stability with the help of a multidimensional index across districts of Rajasthan, India based on an indicator approach. The QGIS mapping computer application and quintile method were used to map districts into low, medium, high, and very high categories. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis was applied to find out the significant determinants of food security and its respective components. The results confirm that there is a wide range of inequalities in terms of food security and its components of availability, accessibility, and stability across districts. It was found that the Ganganagar district (0.407) was rated the most food-secure district due to relatively higher food stability (0.401) in the Rajasthan state. On the contrary, lower food availability (0.084) and accessibility (0.183) contributed to the lowest food security in the Dungarpur district. Moreover, districts associated with dry regions are highly vulnerable and relatively less food secure compared to districts having surface irrigation facilities. Hence, the study recommends; diversification from farm to non-farm activities; sufficient storage capacity to control price fluctuations throughout the year, formulation and dissemination of climate-resilient technologies; investment in infrastructure, promotion of water management, conservation technologies, regulation and replenishment of groundwater in rural areas for augmenting cropping intensity; district-specific policies to arrest food insecurity; and strengthening the coverage of rural employment programme, i.e. MGNREGA.