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112. Recommendations within the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic for an Agriculture-Food System that is Self-Sufficient and Resilient to Crises
- Author:
- Murat Doğan
- Publication Date:
- 07-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
- Abstract:
- The Covid-19 pandemic and the situation we are going through constitute an unprecedented moment of crisis. It does not seem possible yet to reach a clear verdict on the gravity, magnitude, spread and duration of the contagion. However, the pandemic and the crisis dynamics triggered by it have started to show their effect in every field of social life, beginning with public health. One of the most basic necessities of human life, food, is among the fields affected foremost by the shockwave caused by the pandemic.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Food, Food Security, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
113. COVID-19, FOOD ACCESS, AND SOCIAL UPHEAVAL
- Author:
- Ida Rudolfsen
- Publication Date:
- 07-2020
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Political Violence @ A Glance
- Abstract:
- According to the World Food Program’s (WFP) latest report, the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to an 82 percent increase in global food insecurity, affecting around 270 million people by the end of the year. On June 29, the organization announced it is undertaking its largest humanitarian effort to assist an increasing number of food-insecure low- and middle-income countries. In a statement about the plan, WFP Executive Director David Beasley said that “until the day we have a medical vaccine, food is the best vaccine against chaos. Without it, we could see increased social unrest and protests, a rise in migration, deepening conflict, and widespread under-nutrition among populations that were previously immune from hunger.”
- Topic:
- Food, Food Security, Hunger, Pandemic, COVID-19, and World Food Program (WFP)
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
114. Hunger, COVID-19 and The Indian Administrative State
- Author:
- Arkaja Singh
- Publication Date:
- 10-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- COVID-19 produced an acute and widespread crisis of hunger across India, which was felt most acutely by migrant workers and those who were outside the reach of India’s highly organised but rigid Public Distribution System (PDS). The hunger was incidental to the actual disease itself, but severe enough to be considered a crisis of governance on its own as it brought the Indian state face-t0-face with one of its oldest and most enduring challenges: how to ensure that essential supplies of food reach those in need of it? Could the Indian government simply have ‘universalised’ the PDS, and made it accessible to all? It was pointed out that the Indian state had adequate buffer stocks of food grain to make this feasible. However, for reasons that were never articulated, this option was never seriously considered by the government of India. Instead, governments tried to extend the reach of the PDS delivery mechanism, and to devise ways to deliver relief outside of the PDS framework. These strategies were however quite challenging for the risk-averse, (nominally) rule-bound Indian state that is disinclined to allow for discretion in spending of government funds, making purchases and allocation of largesse. Typically, the Indian state is all the more reluctant to delegate power to exercise discretion to lower levels of government. For this reason, the Indian state governments (who were at the frontline of this response) seemed to need to devise a framework of rules for the identification of beneficiaries, even in the middle of a humanitarian crisis. As a related problem, the states also did not necessarily have the organisational wherewithal to take up rapid, decentralised and locally grounded interventions. The organisational wherewithal, so to speak, could come in various forms. Some examples of this, which we saw at play, were decentralised government, the capacity to make non-state collaborations and institutionalised systems for the ‘continuous updating’ of beneficiary lists. More fundamentally, however, what is needed is the capacity for high levels of government to be able to formulate responsive policy and to be able to trust in the ability of their subordinate ranks to carry out new interventions, often in case-specific and individualised ways. Arkaja Singh’s working paper explores these issues in the context of state response to the COVID hunger crisis in the states of Delhi, Kerala, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana,
- Topic:
- Governance, Food Security, Hunger, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
115. A Hidden Cost: The Pandemic’s Impact on Nutrition
- Author:
- Avani Kapur and Ritwik Shukla
- Publication Date:
- 12-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- This brief’s focus is solely on core nutrition specific interventions for pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children under six years of age. These address the immediate determinants of fetal and child nutrition and development. Nutrition-sensitive interventions are discussed where relevant.
- Topic:
- Development, Children, Women, Food Security, and Pandemic
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
116. The impact of COVID 19 on health and food security in Cameroon
- Author:
- Egoh Aziz and Dr. Fuein Vera Kum
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Nkafu Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- The outbreak of COVID 19 in the Wuhan province of China has caused tremendous damages to human lives throughout the world while affecting the global economy due to the untold temporary lockdowns of businesses, companies, and the restriction of international travels across the globe. With high and mostly under-reported COVID-19-related fatalities in many countries as well as the added strain on healthcare services, the burden of this pandemic is easily palpable. The impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Cameroon continues to unfold and carries with it considerable human security risks. The United Nation’s Development Program considers seven main dimensions of human security through sustainable human development. These are economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political security. The departure point of this article brings into focus the effects of the current coronavirus pandemic on health and food security. Based on available data from reliable sources (such as the Ministry of Public Health, the Nkafu Policy Institute’s Coronavirus Task Force, FAO, IMF, World Bank, WHO, etc.), we analyze the impact of COVID 19 on the afore-mentioned aspects of human security and propose recommendations that can help mitigate the overarching consequences of the virus on health and food security in Cameroon.
- Topic:
- Health, Food, Health Care Policy, Food Security, Coronavirus, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Cameroon
117. Agricultural Value Chains in Development Cooperation
- Author:
- Jana Herold
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Development and Peace
- Abstract:
- The support of agricultural value chains has become an important approach in German and international development cooperation, not only to promote the economic development of a country but also to contribute to poverty reduction and food security by integrating smallholder farmers into value chains. In consequence, this approach can address a number of goals of the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. While promoting value chains has great potential to advance sustainable development, it can also have negative effects, particularly for poor and vulnerable population groups. In order for these population groups to be able to benefit from value chain support, they need targeted financial and technical support and bridging assistance. Therefore, the approach should primarily aim at poverty reduction, but also at improving food security, empowering women and sustainable natural resource management. The main challenges of the value chain approach are insufficient access to agricultural inputs, markets and agricultural credits and the lack of entrepreneurial know-how for market-oriented production. Overall, the INEF research on agricultural value chains shows that their promotion should always start with primary production, as this is the basis for any further added value. However, the land use rights of the population eligible for support, especially women, should be clarified before any investment is made. Another critical point that any support for value chains should take into account is a country's physical infrastructure. It is necessary to connect both primary production and processing to markets. The integration of smallholder farmers into value chains is particularly viable via primary production. In order to include resource-poor farmers into value chains as well, these should be actively supported at the beginning of the project, among other things through training in market-oriented production. Furthermore, access to financial services and bridging assistance as well as to agricultural inputs is of key importance, especially at the beginning of the growing season, and particularly when market-oriented production is started for the first time. Access to credits can be facilitated by organising in cooperatives. Furthermore, this form of organisation makes it possible to bundle resources and strengthen negotiating power vis- à-vis buyers. In order to ensure that smallholder farmers can continue to supply themselves with food, especially at the start of operations, a sole focus on cash crops should be avoided and instead healthy staple foods should also be promoted. To support sustainable production, the support of value chains should always include natural resource management measures. This can increase productivity and, compared to previous practice, at the same time achieve a more ecologically sustainable cultivation of the land. In this context, secured land use rights, especially for women, provide additional incentives for farmers to invest in their fields. The studies also show that the processing of local agricultural products and commercially harvested products offers income-generating activities especially for women. In this context, locally adapted partial mechanisation is important in order to increase production efficiency without displacing women from further processing.
- Topic:
- Security, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Food Security
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
118. Toward Arab Food Security
- Author:
- Natasha Banks and M. Anis Salem
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cairo Review of Global Affairs
- Institution:
- School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
- Abstract:
- A roadmap for a sustainable future without wasteful subsidies and mismanagement.
- Topic:
- Health, Food, Food Security, Sustainability, and Human Security
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Middle East, North Africa, Egypt, and Jordan
119. Edge of Survival
- Author:
- Peter J. Jacques
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cairo Review of Global Affairs
- Institution:
- School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
- Abstract:
- The interaction of food, energy, and water in North Africa is complex and building into a cascade of trouble. It is time to listen to the rural communities facing it on the frontline.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Water, Food, and Food Security
- Political Geography:
- North Africa, Morocco, and South Sudan
120. Averting a Total Collapse
- Author:
- Thomas L. Crisman
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cairo Review of Global Affairs
- Institution:
- School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
- Abstract:
- How is the water-energy-food nexus impacting ecological, social, and political systems in the Middle East and North Africa?
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Water, Food, Food Security, Global Security, and Human Security
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, North Africa, Jordan, and Oman