Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Re: Data collection and analysis tools for food security and nutrition - Online consultation on the V0 Draft of the Report proposed by the HLPE Steering Committee and the Project Team

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thanks for this important discussion.

My contribution is as follows:

1a.  No. Food security and Nutrition is profoundly diverse. A holistic framework is required, in order to capture all the components of the FSN system. That framework is the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF). The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, if implemented well, would significantly transform global food systems.

1b. No. Because it is not holistic. Too much relevant data would not be collected.

1c. No. The four-stage-cycle does not mention critical issues, such as assessing information needs, team formation, planning, finding and using data, data collection techniques, etc. Further expounded in the FAO e-agriculture strategy guide.

1d. The Costa Rica Food and Nutrition Policy.

2a. No. Because it is not holistic.

2b. Data on production (and productivity), storage, marketing, business, finance, policy and legal factors.

3a. Yes.

3b. No. Trends such as climate change, pandemics, pestilences, empowerment, governance, and root causes of food and nutrition insecurity.

3c. Technology is empowering. Digital technologies would enable communities on the global continuum to effectively and efficiently participate in food security and nutrition, if properly applied. Inclusion and Innovation result in empowerment.

4a. No. Capacity constraints emerge from underlying or root causes. Also, there are connectivity and content hindrances. These include poor basic infrastructure, poor production and storage services, poor marketing and business services, poor financial services, and lack of or inappropriate policy and legal framework.

5a. Yes. Others: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Nanotechnology.

5b. Data is collected on: (i) Basic infrastructure. (ii) Production and storage services. (iii) Marketing and business services. (iv) Financial services. (v) Policy and legal framework. In each of these stages, the FSN data value chain is applied, in accordance with conventional data collection and analysis practice.

5c. See (b).

5d. Respect for human rights, good stewardship (including professionalism), gender equality, good governance, persons with special needs, non-discrimination, social protection.

6a. Yes, Transparency and accountability; responsive service delivery; authentic institutions; and the rule of law.

6b. Risks of data-driven technologies: (i) Subjective algorithms. (ii) Unpredictable behaviour of advanced technologies. (iii) 'Usurping' of human work. (iv) Lack of conscience. (iv) Data privacy (v) Data security.

6c. (i) Equitable benefit-sharing (ii) Governance. (iii) Climate change adaptation and/or mitigation. (iv) Empowerment of communities. (v) Value chain approach. Note: These factors are intricately woven.

6d. -  The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). - Conflict Analysis and Management.

6e. Financing needs: Often context-specific and subject to assessment. But, in general terms, financing for basic infrastructure, production, marketing etc., as aforementioned.

Financial mechanisms and tools: Policies, markets and institutions which enhance FSN.

7a. Data on the following: (i) Demographics. (ii) Economics (iii) Technologies. (iv) Politics. (v) Institutions. (vi) Culture.

7b. Data on the following (country): In addition to the above (7a), data on infrastructure, production, storage, marketing, business, finance, and policy and legal frameworks.

References:

  • Community Food Security Assessment Toolkit (United States Department of Agriculture)
  • Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change (Participatory Learning and Action-60).
  • Costa Rica and its commitment to sustainability. In: Challenges for food and nutrition security in the Americas.
  • Data Management and Mapping tools and systems for food security; Food and Agriculture Organization, Project GCP/RAS/247/EC.
  • Empowerment theory, research, and application; American Journal of Community Psychology, 1995.
  • Factors affecting implementation of good government governance (GGG) and their implications towards performance accountability; International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2013.
  • Food Security and Food Production Systems; . In: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
  • Food security and Nutrition Data Collection Framework: Inter-agency Social Protection Assessment (ISPA)
  • Innovation for Inclusive Growth; Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2015.
  • Quantitative methods for integrated Food and Nutrition Security measurements.
  • Sustainable Livelihoods Guidance Sheets; Department for International Development, 1999.
  • The Costa Rica Food Security and Nutrition Policy.
  • The Food and Agriculture Organization E-Agriculture Strategy Guide.
  • The Future of Food and Agriculture: Trends and Challenges (Food and Agriculture Organization)