STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT & STRENGTHEN FOOD SECURITY AND RESTORE LIVELIHOODS

1. STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT & STRENGTHEN FOOD SECURITY AND RESTORE LIVELIHOODS

2. Basis & aim of food security & livelihood strategies • · Specific interventions depend on findings of food security & livelihood assessments • ·Interventions are aimed at: • Restoring assets & production levels of affected communities • Integration of refugees in the host community/country and of IDPs, returnees & ex-combatants in their communities/home country

3. DEFINITIONS OF CONCEPTS Food Security: “Access to food, adequate in quantity and quality to fulfill all nutritional requirements for all household members throughout the year” (FAO/UNICEF def.) Vulnerability: “a state of defenselessness, insecurity and exposure to risk, shocks and stress” (Chambers 1989). Vulnerability to food security: an aggregate measure for a given population or region of exposure to different types of shocks or disaster events and the households’ ability to cope with these events.

4. Food-based strategies • Seeds/ tools/ fertilizer: provided to encourage agricultural production, as starter packs to returnees, or to diversify crops. • Seed vouchers and fairs: stimulates local seed procurement systems while allowing buyers access to a wide range of seeds. E.g CRS in Tambura(S.Sudan) • Local agricultural extension servicesoften combined with seeds/tools • Training and education in relevant skills • Livestock interventions; emergency destocking; restocking livestock; distribution of livestock fodder & nutritional supplementation; provision of water sources. • Distribution of fish nets and gear, or hunting implements • Promotion of food processing

5. Income and employment Strategies • ØCash-for-work (CFW) provides food-insecure hhs with opportunities for paid work. • ØFood-f or-work (FFW) provides households with opportunities for paid work & asset creation. • ØFood-f or-recover (FFR): form of food-for-work that leads to recovery without external technical supervision. • ØIncome generating schemes allows for diversification of sources of income in small-scale, self-employment business schemes e.g. supporting popn.in management, supervision and implementation of their businesses.

6. Access to market goods and services • Market and infrastructure support: Plus transport to allow producers access distant markets. • Destocking: Improves livestock price during drought/ pressure on water and pasture. • Fair price shops: controlled or subsidised prices, or in exchange for vouchers or goods in kind. • Food or cash vouchers: for exchange in shops for food and other goods. • Support and technical assistance to government services: including agricultural extension services and veterinary services. • Microfinance projects: Credit facilities and methods for saving assets, which may involve grants, loans, cattle banks, cooperative savings accounts, etc.

7. Nutrition and livelihoods • 1. Livelihoods framework • Definition of Livelihood: “a level of wealth & stocks and flows of food & cash which provide for physical & social well-being & security against becoming poorer” (WFP,1998). • Livelihood is a level of: • ü Wealth Stocks Flows of Food Flows of Cash Physical well being Social well being Security against poverty Provides for ·Livelihoods are secure when hhs have secure ownership of,or access to resources & IGAs, plus reserves & assets, to offset risks, ease shocks & meet contingencies (Chambers and Coney, 1992; Chambers, 1988). ·Livelihood systems are maintained by on-farm & off-farm activities, and they provide a variety of procurement strategies for food and cash.

8. Livelihoods and malnutrition • Livelihoods influence household food security in 2 ways: • i. The risk of livelihood failure determines the vulnerability of a hh. to income, food, health & nutritional insecurity;   • ii. The greater the share of resources devoted to acquisition of food & health services, the higher the vulnerability of the household to food insecurity. • When livelihoods collapse, hhs are vulnerable due to inability to: • Acquire food • Access food through purchase or exchange • ·Access better health care services • Poor living conditions MALNUTRITION

9. Livelihoods and humanitarian responses In more settled communities or refugee camps, humanitarian responses should be in form of projects that impact on household food security, reducing current or future risk (mitigation) and promoting access to food, as in the case of the above strategies to strengthen household food security. Food Aid distribution aims & objectives and livelihoods. · Food Aid agencies: not just save lives with food, but also restore livelihoods. One of WFPs objectives is “to restore livelihoods and promote self-reliance through support to productive activities”. This is achieved through support and implementation of various micro-projects and food –for-work activities in various parts of the world.

10. CONSTRAINTS TO ENSURING FOOD SECURITY & RESTORING LIVELIHOOD IN EMERGENCIES POLITICAL & SECURITY conditions that restrict access to land and mobility of affected populations • Government must OK access with relief supplies. • Government denial to access some rebel controlled areas. • Insecurity on ground in certain areas.