African Water Development Report 2006 - United Nations Economic ...

WATER FOR FOODSECURITYFood security may have different meanings fordifferent people. The International Conferenceon Nutrition (ICN), held in Rome in 1992,defined food security as “access by all people atall times to the food needed for a healthy life”(FAO, 1997). According to FAO (1997), in orderto achieve food security a country must achievethree basic aims:(a) Ensure adequacy of food supplies in termsof quantity, quality and variety of food;(b) Optimize stability in the flow of supplies;and(c) Secure sustainable access to available suppliesby all who need them.Adequate food availability at the national, regionaland household levels, obtained throughmarkets and other channels, is the cornerstoneof nutritional well-being. At the household level,food security implies physical and economic accessto foods that are adequate in terms of quantity,nutritional quality, safety and cultural acceptabilityto meet each person's needs. Householdfood security depends on adequate income andassets, including land and other productive resources.Food security is ultimately associatedwith access to nutritionally adequate food at thehousehold level, that is the ability of householdsor individuals to acquire a nutritionally adequatediet at all times. It is well recognized that povertyis the principal cause of malnutrition (FAO,1997). Indicators for food security in Burundiindicate a decreasing trend in the percentage ofagricultural production to the overall gross domesticproduct and increasing food dependency(table 8.1).WATER FOR FOOD SECURITYBox 8.1 The Integrated Food Security Strategy for South Africa, 2002, declares:“At the national level, South Africa is food secure. It produces its main staple foods, exports its surplus food, and importswhat it needs to meet its food requirements. National food security indicators reveal that South Africa has been meetingthe food needs of its growing population from domestic sources in the past 20 years.”But at household and intra-household levels:“Currently about 35% of the total population, or 14.3 million South Africans, are vulnerable to food insecurity. Amongthese, women, children and the elderly are particularly more vulnerable.”Table 8.1: Indicators of Food Security in BurundiIndicatorYEAR1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000% of Agricultural Productionto GDP41,3 47,2 35,9 34,8 27,7 32,6 41,0 36,7 33,4 34,8 29,1Daily supply of Calories as103,1 102,7 - - - - - - - - -% of NeedsCoefficient of Food Dependency3,1 4,0 3,2 4,5 17,4 10,0 7,7 9,1 11,1 13,23 18,9Source: AWDR National Report, 2003 based on Data Base for Human Development Index: 1990-2000.191