Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

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    • Here is my brief write-up in the context of Southeast Asia for consideration. Please find it attached

      Sincerely

      Rishiraj Dutta

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      Use and Application of the CFS Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (CFS-FFA): Context from Southeast Asia through the SERVIR SEA Program of Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

      The SERVIR Southeast Asia (SERVIR SEA)1 program is a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that has put into practice some good examples of how the FAO CFS- FFA framework has been institutionalized in the region. this has been done by leveraging geospatial technology and Earth observation data to address food security and nutrition programs for the affected regions of Southeast Asia focusing on the most vulnerable and marginalized communities.

      1. Enhancing Early Warning Systems
      • Practice: SERVIR SEA develop tools for real-time monitoring and forecasting of climate-related risks. For example, the Southeast Asia Drought Watch (SEADW)2 provides near real-time drought monitoring and forecasting capabilities that enables governments and other stakeholders to mitigate the impacts of drought on agriculture and food systems.
      • Benefit: SEADW acts as an early warning system minimizing risk by ensuring timely interventions to marginalized farmers in drought-prone areas of countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam.

      2. Capacity Building using Geospatial Technology

      • Practice: Capacity building is the cornerstone of SERVIR SEA program that strengthens the technical capacity of stakeholders to use geospatial data for appropriate decision-making. The programs offer customized and tailored training programs on remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) and machine learning to support agriculture and food security as well as ecosystem and carbon management. One good example is the Myanmar Land and Agriculture Monitoring Project (LAMP)3 which equips stakeholders such as international agencies, non-government organizations and civil society organizations to assess crop yields, fire hotspots, and vegetation health.
      • Benefit: LAMP has been able to empower capacity of humanitarian communities to address food security challenges in the country particularly in areas affected by protracted crises.

      3. Developing Decision-Support Tools based on User Needs

      • Practice: SERVIR SEA has been engaged in designing tools and platforms that are well tailored to regional and national needs for food security assessment and crisis management. The Myanmar Land and Agriculture Monitoring Project (LAMP) is a good example of how it is making high-resolution land cover maps and crop area estimations data available to the humanitarian agencies and the public therefore, enhancing the information access to stakeholders towards improving the overall food security assessment in the country.
      • Benefit: Improving data accessibility for food security planning and minimizing the impact of climate change on vulnerable populations.

      4. Fostering Regional Collaboration

      • Practice: SERVIR SEA is working to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration among Southeast Asian nations. It promotes collaborative projects and joint activities in the Greater Mekong Subregion that have enabled stakeholders in the region to share best practices for addressing food security risks during crises.
      • Benefit: Such initiatives have helped increase regional partnerships to address common challenges, resulting in more integrated and effective responses to food security risks.


      5. Gender and Social Inclusion

      • Practice: SERVIR SEA prioritizes gender equality and social inclusion (GESI)4. The initiative guarantees that GESI is fully incorporated into their training programs utilizing gender-sensitive approaches while increasing stakeholders' capacity to use geospatial tools for agricultural decision-making.
      • Benefit: Integrating GESI, benefits women and marginalized groups by providing equitable access to technology and resources, leading to improved food security outcomes across communities.


      Conclusion

      The integration of geospatial technology, capacity building, and regional collaboration of SERVIR SEA aligns well with the concepts of the FAO CFS-FFA framework. These experiences show how creative technologies and participatory techniques can improve food security and nutrition during long-term crises, particularly among Southeast Asia's most vulnerable communities.

       

      1 https://servir.adpc.net/ 

      2 https://servir.adpc.net/tools/southeast-asia-drought-watch-seadw 

      3 https://servir.adpc.net/tools/land-and-agriculture-monitoring-project-lamp

      4  https://servir.adpc.net/news/3d-participatory-mapping-model-promote-socially-inclusive-climate-action 

      See the attachments:

    • Dear HLPE-FSN Secretariat,

      Please find an attachment to my inputs on "Understanding what we must be prepared for – the nature of shocks"

      I hope the points suggested will be useful for contributing towards development of this report.

      Best regards

      Rishiraj Dutta

      1. What types of shock are more relevant to food systems and which ones are more likely to affect food security and nutrition (FSN)? What type of shocks have been under-researched, especially regarding their impact on FSN and food systems?

      Food systems are particularly vulnerable to a range of shocks that directly impact food security and nutrition (FSN) with environmental and climatic shocks, such as droughts, floods, and extreme weather events having direct effects on agricultural productivity and food supply chains. These shocks can lead to significant crop losses, disrupt transportation and distribution networks, and cause food shortages. It is well-known that climate change exacerbates these issues by altering weather patterns, making such shocks more frequent and severe. At the same time economic shocks, including price volatility and recessions, also critically affect FSN as it reduces household incomes and purchasing power, thus limiting access to nutritious food, especially for low-income populations. Health shocks, such as COVID-19 have demonstrated the profound impact that disease outbreaks can have on all aspects of food systems disrupting labor markets, hindering food production and processing, and causing logistical challenges in terms of distribution which directly affects food availability and affordability. Similarly, political and social shocks, such as conflicts and civil unrest, destroys infrastructure, displaces communities, and disrupts market operations. All these shocks often amplify their effects that creates complex crises that are difficult to manage and mitigate. Moreover, slow-onset environmental changes such as soil degradation and water scarcity are often overlooked despite their long-term implications for agricultural sustainability and food security. Therefore, these research gaps needs attention towards addressing them in a comprehensive manner to enhance the resilience of food systems against a broad spectrum of shocks.

      2. How might different kinds of shocks (e.g. climatic, social, financial or political) affect different regions and different aspects of the food system (e.g. production, processing or distribution)?

      Different kinds of shocks impact various regions and aspects of the food system uniquely. For instance, climatic shocks such as droughts and floods have direct impact on food production, particularly in regions or countries that relies heavily on agriculture. For instance, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia are agrarian regions where communities depend on rain-fed agriculture and are highly vulnerable to such shocks. Droughts can lead to significant crop failures, thereby reducing food availability and increasing prices. Floods can destroy crops, livestock, and infrastructure that may culminate into food shortages and disruption to the local economies. Such climatic events can affect the overall global food supply chain, causing food shortages, price rise and food access.

      Today, different regions are seeing different kinds of conflicts and geopolitical issues with parts of Asia, the Middle East and parts of Africa facing ongoing conflicts that has led to direct impacts on the food security situation not only for these regions but direct implications on the global food security situation resulting from destroyed infrastructure, displaced populations, and creating barriers to food distribution. These disruptions have led to acute food shortages and malnutrition with supply chains being severed and markets becoming inaccessible. Political instability also hinders implementation of effective food policies and aid distribution, exacerbating the food insecurity situation. Therefore, these results in shocks that have long-lasting impacts, that may span over several years.

       

      Financial shocks such as economic recessions also affect all aspects of the food system but are particularly detrimental to food accessibility and affordability. Regions or countries with fragile economies become highly susceptible to these shocks. Economic downturns can lead to reduced household incomes and higher unemployment rates, limiting people's ability to purchase food while financial instability can affect the processing and distribution sectors by increasing costs and reducing investments in infrastructure and technology.

      3. How to balance preparing for short-term shocks (e.g. droughts and floods) versus the need to ensure food systems fit within planetary boundaries and long-term sustainability of systems?

      Balancing preparation for short-term shocks should involve integrating adaptive and resilient strategies into agricultural practices and food policies. For instance, in the short term, investing in infrastructure such as irrigation systems and flood management can help mitigate the impacts of droughts and floods. Crop diversification and the use of drought-resistant and flood-tolerant crop varieties can increase resilience against climatic extremes, ensuring a more stable food supply. Developing early warning systems and emergency response plans can enhance preparedness and response to such shocks.

      For long-term sustainability, it is essential to align food production practices with planetary boundaries through sustainable agricultural practices that conserve resources and protect ecosystems. This should include adopting practices such as conservation measures, agroforestry and integrated pest management that tends to help maintain soil health and biodiversity. Reducing food waste and making the supply chain efficient can also contribute to attaining sustainability. There should be policies in place that should incentivize sustainable farming practices and support research develop innovative technologies that enhances the productivity while minimizing environmental impacts.

      4. Are there ways of enhancing resilience to unknown and unforeseen shocks?

      Diversification:

      Enhancing resilience to unknown and unforeseen shocks to food security and nutrition (FSN) requires a comprehensive approach that builds adaptive capacity across the entire food system. The potential areas that could a key role are given below:

      Crop and Livestock Diversification: Growing a variety of crops and raising different types of livestock can sometimes pose risk of disease spread. Therefore, diverse farming systems are encouraged that tends to withstand shocks because if one crop or livestock type fails, others may still thrive.

      Economic Diversification: It is suggested that farmers and communities are being encouraged to diversify their income sources so that their dependency on agriculture is reduced while providing financial buffers during agricultural shocks.

      Strengthening Supply Chains:

      Local and Regional Food Systems: Develop local and regional food systems that would help reduce dependency on global supply chains which are more susceptible to disruptions. Local markets can provide more stable and accessible sources of food during global crises.

      Redundant and Flexible Supply Chains: Encourage multiple suppliers for critical inputs so that existing supply chain is enhanced that can prevent disruptions. Flexibility in supply chains may allow quick adjustments to new sources or routes when required.

      Building Adaptive Capacity:

      Education and Training: Arrange capacity building initiatives for farmers and food system workers by training them to understand adaptive practices and technologies which can enable them to respond more effectively to unexpected changes.

      Research and Development: Encourage investing in research to develop resilient crop varieties, innovative farming techniques and efficient resource management practices that can prepare existing food systems from a wide range of potential shocks.

      Policy and Governance:

      Robust Policy Frameworks: Establish policies that promote sustainability, resilience and equity in food systems that can help in coping with shocks. These should include land use policies, water management regulations and support for sustainable practices.

      Social Safety Nets: One should also be encouraged to implement social safety nets such as food aid programs and insurance schemes to ensure protection to the most vulnerable groups from the impacts of unforeseen shocks.

      Community Engagement and Collaboration:

      Local Knowledge and Practices: Engage with local communities and incorporate traditional knowledge and practices to enhance resilience. Community-driven initiatives often provide innovative and context-specific solutions.

      Collaboration and Partnerships: Foster collaboration among governments, NGOs, private sector entities and international organizations to create a coordinated and comprehensive approach to building resilience.

      See the attachments: