The world faces a dynamic challenge in reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development. Food and nutrition sustainability, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, bio-energy demand and, increasingly, rising food and energy prices, has put sustainable development on hold. The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to which world leaders and development partners have collectively signed on, is at stake.

Supporting the implementation of nationally owned policies and strategies is essential to overcoming food and nutrition insecurity and, thus, leading to the achievement of the SDGs. Such methods must be backed up by the right analytical instruments and organisational techniques, which take into account recent technical advancements.

Food insecurity

Large-scale food crises that exceed national response capacities and necessitate humanitarian intervention from outside sources often arise in developing countries with limited financial and technical resources.

The lack of credible information on food security causes, inadequate infrastructure, and weak government agencies, exacerbated by the lack of consistent policies and strategies to resolve food insecurity and risk management, all hinder decision-making and strategic planning.

Vulnerability and risk analysis, agricultural surveillance, food security early warning, environmental assessments, and resource-mobilisation activities are all resources that must be integrated into current developmental and humanitarian interventions.

In this case, national governments, development partners, and the humanitarian community must address food insecurity with appropriate programmes that:

(a) respond to the immediate humanitarian needs of communities affected by natural and man-made shocks;

(b) build poor communities’ resilience and adaptation capacity, including institutional support in building subnational, national, and regional strategies to deal with the growing frequency of emergencies.

Food security information system

The provision of timely and accurate information is a critical component of a successful food security risk management system. Therefore, investment in a food security information system is essential to improve decision-making and increase national emergency preparedness and response capacity.

Setting up an efficient food security risk management capability necessitates a thorough understanding of the various risk factors that affect food security. Risks must be defined, evaluated, and tracked. A robust food security risk analysis and monitoring system should provide data that helps us to address questions like who is food insecure and vulnerable, where they live, why they are food insecure and vulnerable, and what intervention options are best for them.

It is crucial to recognise and understand the numerous food security hazards and vulnerabilities at the subnational level; to identify information gaps and national capacities; to identify the temporal and spatial distribution of historical, present, and anticipated hazards; to determine the severity, frequency, and length of the hazards; and to determine which of the hazards can be accurately predicted.

Using appropriate risk assessment methods that must be established, the various aspects of risk management must be incorporated. The tools should make it possible to combine the potential effects of different natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, and landslides, with socio-economic and vulnerability factors. The key elements of risk assessment and monitoring are risk knowledge, hazard monitoring and early warning, needs assessment, and communication.

Food security risk management

Risk assessments necessitate the systematic compilation and review of a variety of data sets, as well as the dynamics and heterogeneity of hazards and vulnerabilities resulting from processes such as urbanisation, rural land-use change, environmental deterioration, and climate variability and change.

As such, the main components of developing a comprehensive risk analysis should include:

• Risk identification and development of risk, hazard, and vulnerability maps through a comprehensive food insecurity risk and vulnerability analysis;

• Food Security Risk Monitoring systems based on the key indicators identified above to provide early warning;

• Needs assessments during emergencies; and

• A food security risk and vulnerability analysis.

A food security risk management information system should essentially consist of the following:

• Indicators that depict the three broadly agreed dimensions of food security (availability, access, and utilisation) as well as the risks associated with them;

• Identified geographical areas and communities that may be experiencing or may experience acute food insecurity;

• Details on the key causes of food insecurity and threats to livelihoods, as well as the scale (or magnitude) of the effects on households;

• Data on the different risk management strategies used by governments, societies, and households to prevent or reduce food insecurity;

• Resources for early identification of threats and knowledge on available steps to counter possible adverse effects; and

• A robust contingency plan to help advocacy and resource mobilisation activities, as well as market strategies, such as food stamps, to prevent or reduce food insecurity situations.

In conclusion, food insecurity endangers lives and livelihoods, disrupts long-term growth, and puts populations at risk of future disasters. It is important to implement a holistic approach that meets households’ immediate food needs while still supporting long-term sustainable growth. Development partners and the humanitarian community must work together to provide the government with coordinated support for the implementation of effective strategies.

-- BERNAMA

Oswald Timothy Edward is Senior Lecturer (Risk Management) at the Faculty of Business & Management of Universiti Technologi MARA (UiTM) Johor.