Chapter 3


4 The Food System under Stress

In this section, three types of food insecurity will be examined in terms of how they can be
identified, and how governments and households develop appropriate policies and coping
strategies. The first sub-section looks at chronic food insecurity, where countries, regions or
households have insufficient food to meet their needs on a year to year basis. The second
category examined is transitory food insecurity of a seasonal or cyclical nature, where food
insecurity appears at regular and broadly predictable times of the year, or on a year to year
basis. Finally we examine temporary food insecurity resulting from shocks such as such as
drought, flooding or pest attacks.

These types of food insecurity are not completely separable, either in terms of definition or
in terms of impact. It may be difficult to distinguish between an extremely bad year of a
cyclical pattern of food insecurity and a shock. The impact of a food shock will be more
severe in an area already suffering from chronic food deficits. On the other hand, a country
which suffers from significant seasonal or cyclical food insecurity may have mechanisms in
place which allow it to respond more readily to a one-off food shock. However, for purposes
of analysis it is useful to examine the different categories separately.

4.1 Chronic food insecurity

Individuals, households, regions and countries who suffer from chronic food insecurity have
inadequate access to food on a day to day basis, regardless of the season or time of year. It is
difficult to identify those suffering from chronic food insecurity simply by looking at
indicators of market operation. Chronic food insecurity does not often manifest itself in
terms of price rises, because the most common cause is lack of resources translatable into
food purchasing power.

Where market mechanisms are impeded or displaced by state intervention then there can,
under some circumstances, be indicators of chronic food insecurity. When movement
controls hinder the transport of grains from surplus to deficit regions, then food insecurity
can manifest itself in food prices in the deficit region which are consistently higher than in
the rest of the country by more than the appropriate transport costs. In a country where
rationing is the chosen mechanism for food distribution, persistently long queues for basic
food staples can indicate chronic food insecurity. However, care must be taken in
interpreting these signs, so as not to confuse food insecurity with excess demand for
underpriced commodities.

National and regional food balance sheets can give some evidence as to the availability of
food, and the adequacy of that food supply relative to the specific population. However, this
does not give any indication as to economic and physical access to the food supply. A food
balance sheet may show adequate food supply, but distribution may be very uneven.
Chronic food insecurity, at whatever level, must be identified in context with evidence of
low calorie intake at the household level, preferably supported with physical evidence of
malnutrition. The various techniques discussed in Chapter 2 for measuring food
consumption and malnutrition are all relevant in this context.


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