Chapter I


There are different combinations of levels of food .security into which one can, categorise
countries. A country may be in the extreme situation of having an insufficient supply of food
to meet its citizens' needs, even if the food supply were divided in a "fair" (i.e. according to
need) way. In this situation, there will be widespread entitlement failure, and the most
appropriate policy response will be large-scale emergency relief from international donors.
Mozambique was in such a position in the late 1980s.

There may be national food insecurity, in the sense that a country may be unable to grow and
import enough to meet the market demand for food. Food prices will rise and an increasing
number of households will become food insecure. In this situation food security problems
are likely to be closely linked to macroeconomic concerns and may require a revision of
basic government policy.

A country may be food secure at the national level, but have a considerable number of food
insecure households. These will generally be identifiable in regional or socio-economic
terms, and require sectoral or targeted policy initiatives.

In middle income and even upper income countries, malnutrition may exist in spite of
national and household food security. The appropriate response here may be in terms of
education or health, depending on whether the malnutrition is a result of individual food
insecurity, or health problems.

It is important to identify the nature and level of food insecurity problems, as a first step in
developing an appropriate strategy for enhancing food security. Although some household
problems can be tackled at the national level, and some national level problems will respond
to an increase in household entitlements, the interaction between the different levels of food
security are critical in devising an effective response.


1.2 Chronic and transitory food insecurity

Up until now, no mention has been made of time, yet it is a very important factor in
determining the nature of food security problems. It is common to draw a distinction
between chronic food insecurity and transitory food insecurity. When individuals or groups
of people suffer from food insecurity all of the time, then they can be said to suffer from
chronic food insecurity. Transitory food insecurity occurs when households face a temporary
decline in access to food. Transitory food insecurity can be further divided into temporary
food insecurity and cyclical or seasonal food insecurity. Temporary food insecurity occurs
when sudden and unpredictable shocks, such as drought or pest attack, affect a household's
entitlements. For urban households, sudden unemployment may also be a cause of transitory
food insecurity. Seasonal food insecurity occurs when there is a regular pattern of inadequate
access to food. This is often linked to agricultural seasons, particularly when it is difficult for
households to borrow to even out flows of food over time. Box 1.1 describes such a situation
in Burkina Faso.