Improving Food Security

Michael Hubbard

doi:10.3362/9781780445182

Improving Food Security

A guide for rural development managers

In many parts of the world, food insecurity and nutritional risk is often greater for females than for males, in infancy, in parenthood (particularly during pregnancy, nursing and as single parents), and in old age. Further, women are usually the key decision-makers in child nutrition. Therefore a substantial part of the challenge in improving household food security involves raising the incomes and education of disadvantaged women. For policy makers and students as well as rural development managers and others with an interest in food security, Improving Food Security discusses in a practical way the participative assessment of malnutrition and food security problems, how to improve nutrition, food and livestock markets, water supplies, finance, and co-operation between NGOs and governments, as well as the importance of strengthening local preparedness for famine prevention.

Published: 1995
Pages: 160

eBook: 9781780445182

Paperback: 9781853393112


Preface vii
1. PLIGHT AND POWER OF THE RURAL
MANAGER 1
The person in the middle 1
What the rural manager needs to know about food 2
security
2. ASSESSING FOOD SECURITY IN THE LOCALITY 7
Local food security and nutrition 7
Carrying out a local food security and nutrition audit 12
A local food security strategy 18
Summary 21
3. NUTRITION, HEALTH AND DISEASE 22
Nutrition priorities in rural areas 23
Finding out whether there is a nutrition problem in the 26
area
Designing programmes to improve nutrition 33
Summary 38
4. FOOD SUPPLIES AND PRICES 39
State and market 39
Techniques for finding out how well local food markets 41
work
What can be done to overcome problems 50
Summary 61
5. CREATING INCOMES AND EMPLOYMENT 63
The changing rural employment problem 63
Why government and NGOs should be involved in 63
trying to raise and maintain people's incomes
Indirect measures: creating an environment that fosters 65
productive employment for the poor
Direct measures to raise incomes 68
Summary 89
6. WATER 90
The rural water management problem 90
Potential benefits of improved water supplies 91
Government-village partnership in water management 91
Government's role in building sustained self-help in 93
water management
Key food security issues involving water 94
Summary 97
7. LIVESTOCK 99
Managing the local livestock sector during a drought 99
Managing livestock development to promote food 104
security: Dos and Don'ts
Summary 107
8. FINANCE FOR LOCAL FOOD SECURITY 109
Assessing the local financial system as it affects the poor 110
Improving the local financial system for the poor 113
Improving project funding 116
Summary 118
9. GOVERNMENT-NGO CO-OPERATION 120
The nature of NGOs 120
NGO dilemmas 121
Working with local NGOs 122
Strengths and weaknesses of national and foreign 122
NGOs
NGOs and food security 124
Summary 125
10. PREPAREDNESS FOR FAMINE PREVENTION 127
The basis for disaster preparedness 128
Essential disaster preparedness measures: national and 130
local
Making local preparedness administration more 137
effective under adverse circumstances
Appendix I: Rapid and participatory appraisal tools 139
Appendix II: Kenya's Turkana District drought
preparedness plan 142
Glossary of food security terms 145
Notes 147
References 149