Global

This book links the themes of gender, nutrition and the human right to adequate food and proposes an inclusive food sovereignty framework. The authors argue that the human right to adequate food and nutrition are evolving concept and identifies two structural “disconnects” that fuel food insecurity for a billion people, and disproportionally affecting women, children, and rural food producers. These are the separation of women’s rights from their right to adequate food and nutrition, and the fragmented attention to food as commodity and the medicalization of nutritional health. »

his article on the Food Security Portal states that international cereal prices remain significantly below last year’s levels due to abundant global supplies and strong export competition. While the Food Price Monitoring and Analysis of FAO shows that cereal prices are low, the regional story is more mixed. Grain prices continued to decline in most West African countries, but maize prices have soared throughout southern Africa, particularly South Africa and Malawi. »

This report stresses that the world’s livestock diversity remains at risk and that institutional frameworks for the management of animal genetic resources needs to be improved. Some of its key findings are that livestock diversity is important to improve the adaptation capabilities and resilience of production systems to future climate challenges; that roles and values of genetic resources remain diverse, especially in poor people’s livelihoods; and that the impact of livestock-sector trends are increasingly impacting the animal genetic resources. »

This article examines the willingness-to-pay of consumers on small island states for locally produced and organic food products. To attain food security, successful production in agriculture is key. The authors argue that to this end, strategies are needed that tackle agricultural development through the production and consumption of sustainable food products. »

This working paper scrutinizes to what extend agricultural development interventions have had a sustainable impact on the poorest rural households. The paper argues that conventional agronomic interventions, focused on raising land productivity through intensification often exclude the poorest households. The authors describe five factors that play a key role in allowing the rural poor to escape poverty. »

Starting from recently published articles and new research this book presents a structured approach, which offers opportunities and challenges for local and regional food systems, that we see re-emerging globally. Based on a new classification of local food systems the book goes into adequate governance structures. This is demonstrated by a number of examples chosen from all over the world. »