Global food security assessment guidelines: A step-by - International ...

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International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent SocietiesTipUrban agriculture can be donein a variety of locations, such as:The most common urban food security programmes can be groupedaccording to their objectives (adapted from Reference 8):■ on vacant plots■ in home gardens■ in containers■ on balconies■ on roof tops■ in fishponds■ in school gardens■ in open spaces■ on road strips■ along railways■ below power lines■ on river banks■ in rivers■ on communal lands forcommunity-based gardening(Adapted from Reference 13)1. Enabling urban agriculture and gardens for own-consumption■ Securing sites for urban agriculture (e.g. growing vegetables and herbs,raising small livestock, bee-keeping);■ Providing seeds, tools and equipment for producing food;■ Offering training and education in relevant skills, and providing extensionservices for growing and marketing food;■ Promoting food processing techniques.2. Generating income and employment■ Developing income-generation schemes (related or not to urban foodproduction and processing);■ Assisting street food vendor and other informal food sector opportunities;■ Starting up micro-finance projects (loans for setting up non-foodrelated businesses).3. Improving access to market goods and services■ Improving local food outlet infrastructure (abattoirs, transport towholesale markets, mobile shops);■ Providing food or cash vouchers (redeemable locally) to food insecure households;■ Creating fair price shops/cooperatives;■ Providing support and technical assistance to government food supply chain and distributionservices.Examples of urban food security responses■ Food assistance – for households either suddenly cut off from their normal food supply, or experiencingdecreased purchasing power leading to a slow deterioration in their diet. Consider organizingthe following:■ a dry household ration (cooking fuel and equipment) for both the displaced and the host family;■ collective feeding centres, where food is cooked on a daily basis for communal consumption;■ cash or voucher systems, through which households can collect food at shops or eat at localrestaurants;■ links with formal and informal welfare support systems working with hardship cases, to assistin identifying food insecure households.■ Urban agriculture and gardens for own-consumption – using different means to help householdssupplement their diet and their incomes, through programmes such as: growing vegetables,herbs or aquatic foods; raising small livestock; taking up bee-keeping; supporting fresh food processingtechniques (e.g. canning fruits, drying vegetables or making jam). In doing this, take intoconsideration:■ land tenure, water access and transport constraints to urban agriculture;■ contamination risks, as well as compliance with safety standards and commercial practices;■ food production input provisions for households or groups. This can be given as a one-off forfree or on credit (e.g. gardening tools, cooking pots, etc);■ extension services 5 , geared to providing technical information, as well as information on marketsand food quality control.■ Income and employment – since most urban households rely on income from employment, itis important to be aware of the minimum income levels needed for securing food and non-foodneeds prior to planning such an intervention. Consider projects such as:565 Extension services are provided to the community by technical experts through household visits, organized group training sessions and the useof the media such as radio programmes. They may deal with topics such as agriculture, natural resource management, animal health, foodhygiene and storage.
Global food security assessment guidelines■ start-up funds, technical support and training, and assistance with legal procedures to set up aviable business;■ context-specific programmes with appropriate follow-up support over the first year;■ membership-based organizations 6 , comprised of food vendors and others who gain their livelihoodthrough selling or processing food.■ Improving access to market goods and services – to improve people’s physical and financialaccess to food through cheaper food outlets, bulk-buying or purchase of better quality fresh produce.Consider the following:■ a food purchase grant that will allow households to meet food needs for at least a month;■ local government involvement, to ensure that food hygiene and trading regulations are met;■ development of adequate infrastructure and transport facilities for food supply systems, workingwith local authorities by providing funding, and/or technical expertise.Background documentation for food security assessments in (semi-)urban settings1. FAO Food For Cities http://www.fao.org/fcit/index.asp. In particular:■ The Briefing Guide for the Successful Implementation of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculturehttp://www.fao.org/fcit/docs/briefing_guide.pdf■ The implications of supermarket development for horticultural farmers and traditional marketingsystems in Asia http://www.fao.org/ag/ags/subjects/en/agmarket/docs/asia_sups.pdf■ The impact of supermarkets on Asian farmershttp://www.fao.org/ag/ags/subjects/en/agmarket/super.html■ See also FAO's website on Agricultural Marketinghttp://www.fao.org/ag/ags/subjects/en/agmarket/super.html2. http://www.eldis.org/food/urban.htm3. FAO Experience Learning Series 27 - Participatory Urban Food and Nutrition Security AssessmentProcess (September 2004) http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/ae590e/ae590e00.HTMhttp://www.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/urban_security_en.stm4. Examples of urban food security programmes http://www.ifpri.org/themes/mp14/pubs.htm5. Ruel, M. et al, Discussion Paper 51- Urban Challenges to Food and Nutrition Security, IFPRI FSCN(October 1998) www.ifpri.org/themes/mp14/pubs.htm8Considerations specific to urban food security assessmentsUrban food security is becoming a matter of increasing concern: it has been predicted that by 2025,over 60 per cent of the world’s population will be living in cities. Latin America and Asia havealready surpassed this figure (see Reference 11). Low-income households in large cities spend wellover half of their incomes on food.Always be prepared to find local solutions to the specific problems ofthose affected.Responding to a crisis in urban settings offers National Societies theopportunity to draw on their extensive network of local volunteers –some of whom may even belong to the affected community.NoteCity and suburban farms supply food toabout 700 million city dwellers - onequarterof the world’s urban population(see Reference 11).6 Membership -based organizations encourage all members engaged in similar activities to benefit from each others’ technical expertise.Such organizations are owned by their members and often set up credit schemes. They present a common voice to authorities, requestingrecognition and support for formalizing their trades.57
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ContentsContentsAbbreviations and a
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Abbreviationsand acronymsAbbreviati
Page 7 and 8: 1Introduction1Who this guide is for
Page 10 and 11: International Federation of Red Cro
Page 14 and 15: 12Arne Hodalic / Slovenian Red Cros
Page 16 and 17: 14David Bebber/The Times
Page 22 and 23: 20Caroline Hurford /International F
Page 26: International Federation of Red Cro
Page 29 and 30: Global food security assessment gui
Page 47 and 48: 6How to compilea food securityasses
Page 49 and 50: International Federation47
Page 51 and 52: 7How to choose anappropriate foodse
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Page 61 and 62: 9 References1. World Food Programme
Page 63 and 64: 10Annexes10Annex 1How to do a MUAC
Page 95 and 96: The Fundamental Principlesof the In
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