At the request of the FIVIMS secretariat at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a review of 50 Common Country Assessment (CCA) reports and 25 Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), covering regions and countries with widely differing development status, was carried out as part of a FIVIMS/CCA integration project. The two major objectives of this review study were to assess the extent to which food insecurity and vulnerability problems are analysed and incorporated into policies, strategies and interventions, and to identify clear areas for improvement. The study was performed by an interdisciplinary team of scientists from the Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR), The Netherlands.
Based upon the checklist of 20 items in the Terms of Reference agreed between the FIVIMS and WUR, a predefined analytical framework was developed comprising 255 questions grouped into seven domains: (1) general country details; (2) report preparation details; (3) definitions used for food security and vulnerability, and for poverty; (4) policy statements on food insecurity and vulnerability, and on poverty; (5) data collection, use and presentation; (6) analysis; and (7) policies, strategies and interventions. The analysis was carried out in two stages.
First, comparison of the data for the seven domains from the 75 country reports resulted in a detailed discussion of the breadth and depth of food insecurity and vulnerability analysis within these same country reports.
Second, the consistency with which the domains of food (in)security, vulnerability and poverty were dealt with, was analysed by answering the question “Does the selection of food insecurity and vulnerability as a development priority, in a country, result in clear definitions of food insecurity and vulnerability, in detailed analysis, in formulated policies and strategies, and, finally, in interventions aimed at reducing food insecurity and vulnerability?”
The review has three main conclusions.
First, there is a general deficiency in analysis of the extent and the underlying causality of food insecurity and vulnerability, and of poverty of specific population groups. Hence little analytical basis is provided for targeted policy and programme development. The incomplete nature of food insecurity and vulnerability analysis in these reports shows the need for a wider utilization of existing capabilities in a country through the involvement of more parties, and for the expansion of such existing capabilities through capacity building. It is recommended that data collection be improved with special attention given to geographical, temporal and social disaggregation. Analytical methods need to be improved, in parallel with the identification of a comprehensive and congruent set of indicators. This forms the basis for functional cooperation among a diverse group of national and international institutions operating at national as well as subnational level.
Second, the report concludes that in both types of country reports there is a lack of consistency between, on the one hand, priority setting and analysis, and, on the other hand, policies, strategies and interventions aimed at alleviating food insecurity vulnerability, and poverty.
Third, this review concludes that the CCA reports and PRSPs start with different perspectives, but both result in similar policies, strategies and interventions, irrespective whether or not food insecurity and vulnerability or poverty are identified as development priorities. It is therefore recommended that efforts be made to integrate situation analysis (and report) of poverty reduction, livelihood protection and strengthening, and sustainable development, with an identifiable component that highlights food insecurity and vulnerability issues.
Food security must be recognized as an essential component of development.
Based on the three main conclusion and derived recommendations, this review strongly recommends that an integrated framework to address food insecurity and vulnerability, and poverty be developed and incorporated into the preparation procedures of both CCA reports and PRSPs, or of any type of food insecurity and vulnerability, and poverty situation analysis, to support a comprehensive and well structured analysis that derives from a broad process of participation.
