KEOPS - LEAP4FNSSA - Classification

Food security exists when all people at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. Food security is built on four pillars: availability, access, utilization and stability. Food and nutrition security embraces meeting energy, protein and nutrient needs for healthy life. Food systems overlap with agricultural systems in the area of food production, but also comprise the diverse set of institutions, technologies and practices that govern the way food is marketed, processed, transported, accessed and consumed. The food system activities are grouped into four categories: producing food, processing and packaging food, distributing and retailing food, and consuming food. The review paper aims at highlighting the connections and linkages between food sustainability and food security. There are very strong linkages between food and nutrition security, responsible environmental stewardship and greater fairness in food management. They intersect in agricultural and food systems at the global, national and local levels. Today, the main concern for the food and agricultural sector is to provide simultaneously enough food, in quantity and quality, to meet the nutritional needs of a growing population and to conserve natural resources for future generations. A sustainable food system supports food security, makes optimal use of natural and human resources, is culturally acceptable and accessible, environmentally sound and economically fair and viable, and provides the consumer with nutritionally adequate, safe, healthy and affordable food for present and future generations. Changes in both food consumption and food production are important to ensure more sustainable food systems and to achieve food and nutrition security in the Mediterranean region. Since diets sustainability is of paramount importance for achieving food and nutrition security, there is an urgent need to design and implement appropriate policies to improve the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the current food consumption patterns.

How smallholders may contribute to food and nutrition security remains a key challenge in many developing countries. Despite being the main rural actors, smallholders are frequently the most food insecure, given an array of biophysical and socioeconomic challenges that were addressed during the workshop. These proceedings discuss the potential role of smallholders in food security and in poverty reduction. The opportunities and constraints are assessed, by analysing the availability, access and utilisation of production factors. The key message is that enhancing smallholders’ production capacities and their economic and social resilience may have a positive impact on food security and nutrition at different levels. However, not all smallholders are the same, and assistance strategies need to differentiate between smallholders who should be ‘moving up’ into more productive systems and those who should be ‘moving out’ of farming. The choice should depend on the type of constraints smallholders face. The analysis considers, in addition to the role of small farmers as food suppliers, smallholders’ role as consumers and their level of nutrition security. The link between agriculture and nutrition is analysed to understand how agriculture affects human health and dietary patterns. Given the importance of smallholdings, strategies to increase productivity in agriculture are essential to improve food and nutrition security, as is food diversity. Finally, synergies and trade-offs between economic, environmental and social objectives and outcomes are analysed through an overview of the methods and tools used to assess food security on small farms at household level. Models at country level are usually focused on long-term conditions, but short-term analyses would also be welcome. Developing global models to assess food security is also relevant, to include trade issues in the analysis. Models at farm household level in developing countries have a valuable role to play in the analysis of the impact of any policy on small farmers.

به منظور بررسی اثر سیستم های گوناگون تغذیه ای بر عملکرد و اجزاء عملکرد گیاه روغنی آفتابگردان رقم یوروفلور (Helianthus annuus L.) در شرایط تنش رطوبتی، آزمایشی به صورت کرت های خرد شده در قالب طرح بلوک های کامل تصادفی در سه تکرار در مزرعه تحقیقاتی دانشکده کشاورزی دانشگاه بوعلی سینا همدان در سال 93-1392 اجرا شد. تیمارها شامل دو سطح آبیاری بهینه و تنش کم آبیاری (به ترتیب آبیاری پس از 60 و 120 میلی متر تبخیر از تشتک تبخیر کلاس A) به عنوان کرت های اصلی و تیمارهای گوناگون تغذیه گیاهی شامل: 1- عدم کاربرد هر گونه کود شیمیایی و زیستی (شاهد)، 2- کاربرد 100 درصد کود شیمیایی پیشنهاد شده (NPK)، 3- کود آلی ورمی‌کمپوست، 4- کود زیستی فسفونیتروکارا، 5- ورمی‌کمپوست+ فسفونیتروکارا، 6- ورمی‌کمپوست+ 50 درصد کود شیمیایی نیتروژن و فسفر پیشنهاد شده، 7- فسفو نیتروکارا+ 50 درصد کود شیمیایی نیتروژن و فسفر پیشنهاد شده، 8- ورمی‌کمپوست+ فسفونیتروکارا+ 50 درصد کود شیمیایی نیتروژن و فسفر پیشنهاد شده و9 - 50 درصد کود شیمیایی نیتروژن و فسفر پیشنهاد شده به عنوان کرت های فرعی بود. نتایج حاصل از این بررسی نشان داد که تنش کم آبی و تیمارهای تغذیه ای به طور معنی داری تمامی صفات اندازه گیری شده را تحت تأثیر قرار دادند. همچنین اثر متقابل سیستم تغذیه در آبیاری بر صفات وزن طبق، تعداد دانه در طبق، عملکرد دانه و عملکرد بیولوژیک معنی دار بود. بالاترین عملکرد دانه در شرایط آبیاری بهینه با کاربرد کامل کود شیمیایی به دست آمد (591 گرم در مترمربع)، در حالی که در شرایط تنش کم آبی، بیشترین عملکرد (314 گرم در مترمربع) به کاربرد ورمی‌کمپوست به همراه نیمی از کود شیمیایی توصیه شده تعلق داشت. به طور کلی، از مقایسه کودهای بررسی شده چنین به نظر می رسد که کاهش مصرف کودهای شیمیایی و جایگزینی آن با ورمی‌کمپوست می تواند در راستای نیل به کشاورزی پایدار در شرایط تنش رطوبتی، مؤثر واقع شود.

The present discussion document gives an overview of where European research can add the most value in relation to tackling food and nutrition security challenges and points to areas where we can expand our research potential. Moreover, it highlights the need to develop a governance structure that will allow sharing of best practices and facilitate the transfer of knowledge and innovation to feed the planet sustainably. It should stimulate a global discussion with stakeholders and the general public, ultimately shaping a legacy for Expo 2015.

Globally, there is enough high-quality land to support nearly double the current population. However, Asia already has an acute land shortage, and as a region it is already on the verge of a food deficit. Feeding the 4.2 billion people expected for the year 2025 cannot be achieved with available land resources. Under the low-input systems found in much of Asia, productivity will continue to decline as land degradation and other factors take their toll. Further, lack of political will, insufficient investment into modern agriculture, and a general indifference to sustainable land management, guarantee a food deficit and in some countries, contribute to poverty and famine. Local and regional food shortages are likely to continue to occur unless mechanisms for equitable food distribution, effective technical assistance and infusions of capital for infrastructure development are implemented throughout Asia.

Efficient and sustainable utilization of resources, particularly land and water resources for agriculture have occupied the centre stage in the economic agenda of a nation. The regional resource availability and the biotic, abiotic and socio-economic constraints are largely varied in the any crop production system of that region. The integration of sustainable resource use with the production programs and income as objectives of farming thus, leads to a multiple objective-planning framework. Attaining sustainable increase in agriculture production by considering the biophysical variability of the region without affecting the natural resources base is therefore very important to achieve food security for the growing population in a developing country situation. The current study is to develop appropriate land use pattern in crop agriculture for sustainable land and water use to the agricultural development in the Bavani Basin of western zone of Tamil Nadu state in southern India, using a multiple goal linear programming approach. Bhavani basin in the western zone of Tamil Nadu - one of the most diversified in bio physical features, was evaluated in this study. The land use model employed in the study following the bio-economic model by Shiferaw and Holden, (2003) who incorporated the important variations in the biophysical system (land and soils) and market characteristics. This study traced the alternative cropping pattern which would maximizes the farm net income at a relatively lower water requirement, lower land requirement (hectare days to ensure relatively more fallow period to lower land exhaustion rate) and that would lower the environment damage in-terms of lower Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ) with the given land and ground water availability of each identified ten homogeneous land units beside the length of growing period determined on the basis of quantum and distribution of rainfall and temperature. The major biophysical factors considered beside the land availability, ground and surface water availability were; crop suitability for the particular soil type, crop sequence and climatic variations and these factors were specified as constraints in the land use model. The input data for the model were collected from the sample respondents in the delineated homogeneous land units. The actual water availability for each standard week (t) was estimated after adjusting the effective rainfall received during the period of crop stand from the total water requirement of each crop activity. The land use model estimates revealed the possibility of increasing the crop income from the current level of INR 6.14 billion to INR 8.25 billion annually. This alternative crop plan also helped to reduce the area under high water consuming crops in water deficit areas.

In the present study, ranking of agricultural land use constraints for about 700 hectares of Kashmar plain lands were determined by studying the consumption of the chemical fertilizers and impacts of irregular harvest on the quality of the groundwater resources. The studied lands were divided into 8 groups. The quality and more use restrictions were ranked by Vicor multi-criteria programming method and the related factors and indicators. Using weighted goal programming model with consideration to the 4 environmental and economical goals for each group simultaneously,, optimal cultivating pattern, sustainable management of groundwater use and achievement to the sustainable agriculture were proposed. The required data were collected from the Agriculture Administration, the Regional Water administration and the meteorological office of Kashmar County in 2011. Results showed that priority ranking of land use restrictions should be considered to prevent more damages to the agricultural areas. The results on the agricultural water resources quality during 2009 and 2011 showed that salinity increment in different subdivisions has developed. This causes the regional agriculture to face serious damages in the near future. Therefore, in order to achieve a comprehensive management on exploiting the regional groundwater resources, it is necessary to pay attention to some programs such as groundwater quality management, cultivation pattern change, cultivating the more resistant plants to salinity, replacing the chemical fertilizers with organic ones and considering the sustainable agriculture in the region..

Micro livestock appears to be the most sustainable means of producing high quality animal protein for the expanding populations of the lesser developing countries. Diversification in animal agriculture through inclusion of non-conventional livestock such as micro livestock species (goat, sheep, poultry, rabbits, guinea pigs, pigeon, ducks, snails, grasscutter etc) provide options that would guarantee fully participation of women in livestock production to alleviate rural households protein shortage or deficiencies. The micro livestock are likely to become increasingly important source of animal protein as a result of rapid increase in human population and in the light of dwindling land sizes and natural resources in general. This is on the backdrop that micro livestock have diverse economic and social functions in rural communities, and different types of micro livestock have been associated with women due to their significant potential for alleviating malnutrition and food insecurity. Therefore, supporting micro livestock should be considered as a means to empower women in rural development which has the capacity to improve household nutrition and food security. This discussion looks at the opportunities of empowering women through micro livestock as a mean of alleviating poverty and solving the food insecurity challenges in rural communities. The challenges which women might face in engaging in micro livestock are also highlighted. The basis of micro livestock farming may be taken from the perspective of animal products supply being outpaced with the increased human population in Africa. In this case, alternative sources of animal protein such as micro livestock need to be promoted, and if not, livestock products will be beyond the reach of the majority of the ordinary persons. The space for classic livestock rearing have decreased, and this scenario will suit the keeping of smaller animals which are prolific and easy to manage. This warrant serious consideration of micro livestock farming as one of the major component of the livestock production systems where women can be empowered in rural areas. Micro livestock farming has greater opportunities in improving livelihoods among the rural poor households, provided that productivity is enhanced and appropriate input and services can be availed. Gender sensitive programs that promote micro livestock farming contribution to optimization of animal product supply and enhance food security on sustainable basis are recommended. In most cases livestock professionals such as veterinarians and animal scientists often do not have the necessary familiarity and competence with gender analysis and participatory skills to implement a gender balanced assessment or response in livestock production issues.

Mung beans, also known as Lu Dou, are one of the traditional soy foods consumed mainly in East Asia, especially by Chinese and Japanese. It has been used both as nutritional food and herbal medicine. Mung is a valuable plant for sustainable agriculture due to its ability to use atmospheric nitrogen. Because of energy crises and high mineral fertilizer prices cultivation of legumes become one of the most promising strategies for sustainable agriculture. The factors determining the efficiency of symbiotic process are the genetic constitution of the host plant and bacteria, environment, and technological inputs (inoculums, fertilizers and pesticides). Inoculation of mung bean with Bradyrhizobium enhanced nodulation, and results in increasing of shoot biomass and grain yield. The legume residues are also a good source of mineral nitrogen for the succeeding crops. Mungbean is rich in easily digestible protein, it also contains vitamin A, B1, B2, C, niacin, folate, iron, calcium, and zinc. Nutrition therapy on the basis of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is quite effective at treating common diseases. The most important health benefits of mung beans are anti-oxidant effects, antifungal and antimicrobial activity, anti-inflammatory activity, activity against diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Mung bean clears heat, detoxifies, reduces swelling, promotes urination, quenches thirst, aids edema in the lower limbs. It is recommended for conjunctivitis, diabetes, dysentery, summer heat, heatstroke, dehydration, edema and food poisoning.

Economic Reforms and Food Security

The paper analyzes the relationship between socio-economic change and food and nutrition security in Nigeria. The process of achieving food and nutrition security is an important element in sustainable development as far as to end hunger, achieve better nutritional patterns, sustainable agriculture is concerned. Nigeria has a huge potential in agriculture and yet more than 40 percent of the population lives in poverty causing food insecurity and malnutrition. This would be coupled with gender inequality and large youth unemployment which continue to worsen the challenges. The weak productivity and access to inputs and good support services of smallholder farmers constitute structural barriers as they provide about 90 percent of agricultural production in the country. The relationship between food security and socio-economic change is never easy and influences over it depend on the quality of the prevailing governance, development of infrastructure, or even economic growth. The paper examines how selected socio-economic transformations especially those that enhance technological advancement, education, and fair resource allocation can increase food security prospects in Nigeria. It reiterates the necessity to make use of inclusive growth policies that address the structural inequalities and increase access to healthy, nutritious food to everyone. Dealing with these problems is inherent in Sustainable Development Goal 2 and a healthy, food-secure population

This Technical Note 'Case Study ¿ Italy' is part of a series of case studies within the ¿Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation¿ (SoCo) project. Ten case studies were carried out in Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom between spring and summer 2008. The selection of case study areas was designed to capture differences in soil degradation processes, soil types, climatic conditions, farm structures and farming practices, institutional settings and policy priorities. A harmonised methodological approach was pursued in order to gather insights from a range of contrasting conditions over a geographically diverse area. The case studies were carried out by local experts to reflect the specificities of the selected case studies.

Food and nutrition security impacts of resilience capacity: Evidence from rural Ethiopia

Scientists and researchers worldwide have recommended Conservation Agriculture as one that has the potential to promote sustainability in agriculture. This paper attempts to measure and compare the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of both conservation and conventional practices used for maize production in the northern region of Ghana employing the Multi-attribute Value Theory (MAVT) approach.Results of the study reveal minimum tillage and the combined use of minimum tillage and integrated organic-inorganic fertilizer application as sustainable practices scoring a minimum of 0.5 and above for the three pillars (economic, social, and environmental) of sustainability. Despite these scores, the z-test of difference in means of the conservation practices and conventional ones were all insignificant, indicating that the conservation practices in use were not different from the conventional ones in terms of their contribution to sustainable maize production. Technical assistance and training that aids in ensuring the appropriate application of conservation practices should be ensured if the goal of sustainability is to be realized.

In this paper we describe the kinds of understanding and responding that are needed for agriculture food and nutrition-relevant organizations to effectively confront HIV/AIDS. First we outline some underlying principles that need to be grasped in order to understand the variable and changing nature of AIDS epidemics. Key concepts here include the variance among different epidemics and the notions of susceptibility vulnerability resistance and resilience. We illustrate these concepts through describing the particular interactions between food and nutrition insecurity and HIV/AIDS and their implications for response strategies. Second we examine the implications of this understanding for the ways in which different people in affected households communities and in affected sectors -- may best respond. We focus on the particular importance of food and nutrition for the four conventional aspects of response -- prevention care treatment and mitigation and why it is a mistake to compartmentalize these approaches. The imperative and different rationales for multi-sectoral mainstreaming are then discussed. And third we move on to describe a flexible and evolving aid the HIV/AIDS lens and the processes through which agricultural and other professionals can learn to employ it in order to respond more effectively. We highlight the fundamental principles that comprise the lens and then illustrate how it can be used in practical situations to review agricultural food and nutrition policies and programs at different levels. The paper draws on the experience of countries participating in RENEWAL (Regional Network on HIV/AIDS Rural Livelihoods and Food Security) where the lens and the processes in which it is being put to use are being refined. As we make clear the lens is not a static construct rather its distortions are hopefully reduced through practice and shared experience in using it. Action research by sector organizations is key to this process of refinement and learning. A recent workshop explored methodological challenges and opportunities in research and evaluation. Two forthcoming RENEWAL publications will synthesize these methodological issues and describe the development of networks to advance practical understanding. (excerpt)