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Taxonomy Matters: Food Security

November 22, 2024 by Kyle Strand - Maite Arakaki - Estefanny Pérez Duque Leave a Comment


Our recurring series Taxonomy Matters explores definitions of terms related to the field of international development and their connection to knowledge products that we publish. This new entry focuses on the subject of food security.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and its multilingual thesaurus AGROVOC, food security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

The IDB considers food security as crucial for the region’s development, defining it through four areas: food availability, access, stability, and use. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), there are major challenges, especially with food use. About 11% of children experience stunted growth, and 24% of adults are obese. LAC also has the highest cost for a healthy diet, and 24% of people cannot afford it, with higher rates in the Caribbean (50%), Central America (28%), and South America (20%).

The lack of food security also leads to worse health outcomes, including delayed physical and mental development in children, higher chronic diseases in adults, lower productivity, and increased healthcare costs. To address these issues, it’s crucial to build food systems that are resilient, sustainable, and inclusive.

Below we have compiled a selection of datasets and publications related to this concept. For crafting the description of some of these knowledge products, we used the generative AI functionality of the IDB Publications Catalog where indicated.

Data

IDB Agrimonitor (data)

Agrimonitor is a dataset of Product Support Estimates (PSE) for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It intends to allow policymakers and analysts to monitor agricultural policies and assess and measure the composition of support to agriculture. Indicators related to magnitude and composition aim to help better describe and address key challenges facing agriculture in the coming decade.

Publications

Food security in Central America, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Haiti

This study examines food security, discusses policy responses, and offers recommendations for managing food emergencies and preventing future crises. In 2019, 39% of the combined population of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama experienced a lack of food security, which was higher than the Latin American average. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, further threatened food security in the region. The loss of household income from widespread job losses made it harder for people to afford food. Unemployment in the region increased by 4 to 12 percentage points in 2020, and average per capita income dropped by 9.1%. At the peak of the pandemic, more than 40% of households in Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic reported going without food due to lack of income. As a result, food insecurity in Central America rose to 42.1% by 2020, affecting about 19 million people.

Effective Land Ownership, Female Empowerment, and Food Security: Evidence from Peru

Here is a summary of this work generated with the help of the AI functionality of our Publications Catalog:

The research paper examines the impact of women’s effective land ownership on female empowerment and household food security within the context of Peruvian family farming. Utilizing a rigorous instrumental variable approach, the study finds that self-declared informal land ownership significantly reduces the daily time women spend on agricultural work and increases crop diversity, leading to a 20 percentage point enhancement in the likelihood of household food security. The findings underscore the importance of effective land ownership in promoting gender empowerment and improving food security, offering valuable insights for policymakers and development practitioners aimed at empowering women in agriculture and enhancing food security in Peru and beyond.

A similar study was done in Ecuador: The Effects of Tenure Security on Women’s Empowerment and Food Security: Evidence From a Land Regularization Program in Ecuador

Good Practice Recommendations for the Governance and Management of Modern Agricultural Research, Development and Innovation Organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean

There is robust evidence that well-planned investment in public agricultural research, development, and innovation (RDI) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) can boost economies, improve food security, and reduce poverty. However, many RDI institutions in the region face challenges and need more support to succeed. Since the early 2000s, many LAC countries have worked to improve their national RDI systems by increasing the number of researchers, enhancing skills, updating management models, and encouraging more collaboration between public and private sectors.

The authors believe that strong national agricultural research systems, backed by targeted investment and skilled personnel, are crucial for improving agricultural productivity and promoting economic growth, food security, and poverty reduction. In LAC, transforming the RDI system is necessary to tackle both current and future challenges. To make these changes, it’s important to carefully plan what RDI models are needed and how to implement them. Based on their experience, the authors offer practical advice for policymakers and other stakeholders to speed up improvements in LAC’s agricultural RDI institutions, helping them meet new challenges.

Visit our publications catalog to read other studies related to food security like, A Framework for Sustainable Food Security for LAC, and many others:

•            The full collection of IDB Publications tagged with the subject “Food Security”.

Which of these knowledge products have you used? Share how in the comments section below.


Filed Under: Knowledge Management Tagged With: Data Visualization, Key Concepts, Knowledge Products, Taxonomy

Kyle Strand

Kyle Strand is Lead Knowledge Management Specialist and Head of the Felipe Herrera Library in the Knowledge, Innovation and Communication Sector of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). For more than a decade, his work has focused on initiatives to improve access to knowledge both at the Bank and in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Kyle designed the first open repository of knowledge products at the IDB and spearheaded the idea of software as a knowledge product to be reused and adapted for development purposes, which led the IDB to become the first multilateral to formally recognize it as such. Currently, Kyle coordinates library services within the organization, supports the open knowledge product lifecycle including publications and open data, and promotes the use of artificial intelligence and natural language processing as a cornerstone of knowledge management in the digital age. Kyle is also executive editor of Abierto al Público, a blog in Spanish that promotes the opening and reuse of knowledge. He has a B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.A. from the George Washington University.

Maite Arakaki

Maite holds a degree in Library Science and Information Systems from the Universidad del Museo Social Argentino. She has worked as a cataloguing librarian in private and public libraries, as well as a metadata advisor in the private sector. She is interested in semantic technologies and user experience, earning certifications in areas such as Semantic Integration and Design Thinking. Presently, she works as a taxonomist and metadata librarian at the Felipe Herrera Library in the Knowledge and Learning Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (Washington, DC).

Estefanny Pérez Duque

Editor and consultant for the Knowledge and Learning Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Ecuadorian, passionate about political science, international relations, and knowledge management. Bringing a rich academic background to her work, she holds a Master's degree in Latin American Studies with a focus on gender and development from Ohio University. Prior starting at the IDB, she contributed to the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab and at the Council of the Americas where she promoted programs related to public and private investment in the region. These initiatives targeted priority areas such as healthcare, innovation, and digital transformation.

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Open knowledge can be described as information that is usable, reusable, and shareable without restrictions due to its legal and technological attributes, enabling access for anyone, anywhere, and at any time worldwide.

In the blog 'Abierto al Público,' we explore a wide range of topics, resources, and initiatives related to open knowledge on a global scale, with a specific focus on its impact on economic and social development in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Additionally, we highlight the Inter-American Development Bank's efforts to consistently disseminate actionable open knowledge generated by the organization.

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