Food Security and Agricultural Competitiveness: Concepts and Perspectives

1. Food Security andAgricultural Competitiveness: Concepts and Perspectives Presentation to the Caribbean Conference on Education for Rural People 18 – 19 May 2006, St. Lucia

2. Outline of Presentation • Food Security – Definition, dimensions, vulnerability, conceptual framework, Caribbean perspective • Agricultural Competitiveness – Definition, competitiveness drivers, price and non-price factors, determinants of cometitiveness • The link between Rural People, Food Security and Agricultural Competitiveness

3. Food Security • Food Security is a flexible multi-faceted concept as evidenced by the numerous attempts to define it • Food Security as a concept emerged in the mid 1970s at the time of global food crisis when the focus was on supply side issues – availability and volume/price stability • Over the past thirty years, there has been considerable reconstruction of the official thinking on food security – shift to demand side

4. An Evolving Concept 1974 Global concerns over availability and stability in supplies 1983 Concept expanded to include access by vulnerable groups to available supplies 1986 Introduction of the temporal dynamics of food security chronic vs transient food insecurity Mid 1990s Broadened to include food safety nutritional balance, food preferences

5. Definition – 1996 WFS • “Food Security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” • Food insecurity exists when people do not have physical or economic access to food as defined above

6. The Four Dimensions of Food Security • Availability – production, imports, stocks, food aid • Access – both physical and economic - levels of poverty, purchasing power, marketing and transport infrastructure, food distribution systems • Stability – of supplies and access – weather, price fluctuations, natural and human-induced disasters • Safe and healthy food utilization – care and feeding, food safety and quality, access to clean water, health and sanitation

7. Vulnerability • Refers to the full range of factors that place people at risk of becoming food insecure • The degree of vulnerability is determined by exposure to risk factors and coping mechanisms • Four areas of potential vulnerability – socio-economic and political environment, performance of the food economy, care and feeding practices and health and sanitation

8. Vulnerable Groups • Those who would be vulnerable under any circumstances – disability, illness, age or some other characteristic • Those whose resource endowment is inadequate to provide sufficient income from any available source • Those whose characteristics and resources render them potentially vulnerable within the context of social and economic shocks

9. Food Security as a dynamic concept Non-vulnerable Vulnerable

10. ... OR VULNERABLE OF BECOMING WET? DRY...? Food Security as a dynamic concept

11. Conceptual Framework for Food Insecurity Socio-economic and Political environment National Level Sub-National Level Food Availability Stability of Food Supplies and Access Access to Food Health and Sanitation Food Utilization By the body Food Consumption Care Practices Nutritional Status

12. Factors affecting food security outcomes in the Caribbean Declines in incomes from Traditional crops Declines in Productivity Erosion or threatened loss of preferences High dependence on Imported food Food Insecurity Growing incidence of Food related diseases Increasing incidence of pockets of poverty

13. Caribbean perspectives • Dietary energy consumption (Kcal/person/day) varies from a low of 2109 in Haiti to a high of 3123 in Barbados • All CARIFORUM countries above recommended 2200 kcal/person/day except Haiti – total availability of food not a major issue • Access is however of concern – relatively high levels of poverty particularly rural poverty – % of pop. below national poverty line range from low of 8% in Barbados to 60% in the case of Haiti

14. Caribbean perspective • Level of undernourishment ranges from <2.5% in Barbados to 27% in Dominican Republic to 47% of population in Haiti • High levels of development do not necessarily address all food insecurity concerns – inappropriate consumption patterns giving rise to non-communicable diet related diseases

15. [Agricultural] Competitiveness • Is a multidimensional concept that can be analyzed from three inter-related levels – Country, Industry and Firm • In simple terms, it is the ability to compete • Firm level competitiveness is defined as “….the sustained ability of a given firm to participate in a given domestic or foreign market…..”

16. Competitiveness - Key Questions • … it is not enough to ask “is this business or firm competitive” but rather, ….”with what is this business or firm competitive” • International competition can occur in either your own local market and or in the export market • Local market concerns – Are local producers of a given product able to compete with imports? • Export market concerns – Are local producers competitive in a given export market?

17. Competitiveness Drivers At the Firm level Decisions made by managers Use of factors of Production Application of technology & management skills Technical efficiencies Cost of production Take advantage of Existing opportunities Develop new opportunities Through value adding Marketing success Firm revenue Technical Decisions Marketing Decisions

18. Agri-Food Firm/Industry Competitiveness also affected By factors that are: Macro, investment & Trade policy Education/training R & D Policy Regulation & Infrastr. Strategic Alliances Input prices Demand conditions Int’l Trade environment Multilateral and regional agreements Controlled by Government: Semi- Controllable: Environment Uncontrollable:

19. Non-Price Competitiveness Factors Greater Convenience Growing sensitivity To environmental & social issues Consumer trends & food purchasing patterns Shoppers perception - Quality Greater concern For nutrition, safety & health More variety & Excitement

20. Determinants of Competitiveness Natural resource Advantage Cost Reducing technology Value-added Human capital & managerial Expertise Regulatory environment & trade policies Competitiveness Infrastructure Quality enhancing technology Product characteristics & non-price factors Industry structure Input supply etc Firm strategy

21. The link between rural people, food security and agricultural competitiveness • The concepts of food security and agricultural competitiveness are intrinsically linked to rural people and their livelihoods • It is a dynamic relationship in which rural people can be and are affected on one hand and have had and continue to have an effect on the other

22. The Linkages • Majority of poor in the Caribbean live in rural areas and are hence vulnerable to becoming food insecure as economic access to food may limited • There is often inadequate infrastructure and health and sanitation facilities in rural areas which can affect health outcomes and food utilization • Care practices may be limited due to lack of nutrition education etc

23. The Linkages • Lack of economic, social and physical assets make rural people highly susceptible to external shocks – natural disasters, price and market changes which in turn affects food security • Since most agricultural activity is concentrated in rural areas, these areas will be most impacted by the effects of trade liberalization/preference erosion – loss of earnings, employment

24. The Linkages • Improved livelihoods of rural people through education and other support programmes should impact positively on food security (availability, access, utilization, care practices) at national, community and household levels • Rural people also hold the key to increasing agricultural competitiveness with consequences for macro-economic and sector performance, food availability and access, etc

25. Education at the core of rural development • Education and training must be at the core of strategies to transform and modernize the rural sectors in the Caribbean • We must however first develop a clear plan and strategy for rural transformation and development as a means to identifying specific education and training needs and modalities for delivery

26. Thank you