Explain the major dimensions of food security

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Food is essential for living. But food security means something more than getting two square meals. It means availability, accessibility and affordability of food to all people at all times. From this definition we can derive the following dimensions of food security: (i) Availability of food means food production within the country, food imports and the previous years' stock stored in government granaries. (ii) Accessibility means food is within reach of every person. (iii) Affordability implies that an individual has enough money to buy sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet his/her dietary needs.

Food security and the right to food • The right to adequate food is a universal human right that is realized when all people have physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or the means for its procurement, without discrimination of any kind. • Despite progress made in reducing chronic hunger, undernourishment still affects at least • Ensuring food security requires action in multiple dimensions, including: improving the governance of food systems; inclusive and responsible investments in agriculture and rural areas, in health and education; empowering small producers; and strengthening social protection mechanisms for risk reduction. • Given that food security is defined and understood through its four dimensions –availability, access, stability and utilization – it can best be explained and measured through a ‘suite of indicators’. • Hunger and food insecurity can be ended within a generation. For this to happen, however, more concerted efforts are required. All the pledges made to eradicate hunger and food insecurity need to be translated into policy and programme implementation and the mobilization of sufficient financial resources. Overview The number of people affected by hunger globally has been slowly on the rise since 2014. Current estimates are that nearly 690 million people are hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population – up by 10 million people in one year and by nearly 60 million in five years. Beyond its ethical dimension, hunger and food ...

Menu close Send • • • Back to News • • • • • • • • • Back to Sectors • • • • • • • • • • Back to Trends • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Back to Resources • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Back to Events • • • • • • • Back to Resources • • • • • • • • • • User close • Account & Access • • • • According to the “The four pillars of food security are availability, access, utilization and stability. The nutritional dimension is integral to the concept of food security,”​ the definition states. Yet what does this really mean when hundreds of millions of people are hungry and undernourished, and the already serious challenge of providing food security is expected to become more difficult as populations grow? Feeding the more than 9 billion people expected to be living by 2050 is a serious challenge. Indeed, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) deputy director-general has suggested that agricultural production needs to increase by 70% worldwide, and by almost 100% in developing countries, in order to meet growing food demand. But is the answer as simple as that? There is no silver bullet​ Food security, in particular the food supply and demand challenge, is complex. Even just filling the gap we have currently would require huge investment and time – during which population growth would increase pressure on food availability and see the same problem reoccur, “The food security pathways that are most often cited, particularly within the agricultural ...

Food is essential for living. But food security means something more than getting two square meals. It means availability, accessibility and affordability of food to all people at all times. From this definition we can derive the following dimensions of food security: (i) Availability of food means food production within the country, food imports and the previous years' stock stored in government granaries. (ii) Accessibility means food is within reach of every person. (iii) Affordability implies that an individual has enough money to buy sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet his/her dietary needs.

Food security and the right to food • The right to adequate food is a universal human right that is realized when all people have physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or the means for its procurement, without discrimination of any kind. • Despite progress made in reducing chronic hunger, undernourishment still affects at least • Ensuring food security requires action in multiple dimensions, including: improving the governance of food systems; inclusive and responsible investments in agriculture and rural areas, in health and education; empowering small producers; and strengthening social protection mechanisms for risk reduction. • Given that food security is defined and understood through its four dimensions –availability, access, stability and utilization – it can best be explained and measured through a ‘suite of indicators’. • Hunger and food insecurity can be ended within a generation. For this to happen, however, more concerted efforts are required. All the pledges made to eradicate hunger and food insecurity need to be translated into policy and programme implementation and the mobilization of sufficient financial resources. Overview The number of people affected by hunger globally has been slowly on the rise since 2014. Current estimates are that nearly 690 million people are hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population – up by 10 million people in one year and by nearly 60 million in five years. Beyond its ethical dimension, hunger and food ...