Critical and emerging issues

For food security and nutrition

A Note by the HLPE

Maryam Rahmanian,

HLPE Steering Committee Vice-Chairperson

CFS Open-Ended Working Group on the

Multi-Year Program Of Work (MYPOW)

6 March 2015

Outline

1) The CFS request

2) Process and methodology

3) Outcomes

The CFS request

HLPE third main role

(CFS reform document, 2009)

“Identify emerging issues, and help members

prioritize future actions and attention on key focal

areas”

CFS request (CFS 40, 2013)

“the CFS requested the HLPE to produce a note on

critical and/or emerging issues in the area of food

security and nutrition”

Identifying issues

Why is methodology

so important ?

+++

Why is methodology

so important ?

What is a critical / emerging issue for FSN?

How to identify them?

Methodological challenges

• Many disciplines, and as many visions,

concepts, interpretation as there are different

disciplines.

• Intersectoral issues and increased

interdependencies between ag, FSN and

other sectors

Process and methodology (2)

Methodological challenges

• Issues can emerge in the future: need for

anticipation, foresight

• Context changes, issues vary over time and

knowledge about them

• Diverse, evidence-based, knowledge

systems: how to apply one approach that

enable taking them into account, confront

results (including test validity?)

Methodology

as one key outcome as well

Calendar

8th HLPE StC meeting (new StC)

Peer Review of process & methods

First draft of process & methods

9th HLPE StC meeting

Inquiry and E-consultation

29-31 Oct 2013

20 Nov – 9 Dec

31 Oct - 20 Nov 2014

9 January to

15 March 2015

Process and Concept note,

notice and questionnaire

First draft of final note 1st May - 9 July 2014

Secretariat’s synthesis

Peer review of final draft note

Final note to CFS

9-21 July 2014

10 Dec - 9 Jan 2015

15 Mar-15 April 2014

CFS request (CFS 40)

28 Apr – 1 May 2014

6 August 2014

11 October 2013

Characterizing issues according

to their FSN impacts : Set of Criteria

1. Impact on each of the 4 dimensions of Food Security,

with a special attention to nutrition;

2. Depth/Systemic: the extent to which the issue is relevant

to food and nutrition systems as a whole, or to specific

parts of those systems;

3. Breadth: how many people are affected;

4. Time-frame: the urgency of the issue, or the risks of

negative effects increasing over time if intervention is not

made rapidly;

5. Acceleration: an issue that is likely to increase rapidly in

importance within a relatively short time;

6. Gaps in knowledge and understanding: an issue for

which knowledge and the synthesis of knowledge to inform

decision-making and society as a whole are lacking.

Characterizing issues according

to their FSN impacts

With special attention to

• Nutrition aspects

• Impacts on vulnerable groups

• Gender

Questionnaire:

• Description of issue

• Characterisation (criteria)

• Evidence behind

Replies: 123 issues

Results

97 knowledge organizations, institutions and

knowledge networks invited to provide inputs. 25 replied, submitting a total of 90 issues. Open consultation : 42 issues (from 28 different

sources). Total : 123 issues from 53 different contributors

Inquiry

104 86

198

79

106 112 130

141

176

115 123

0

50

100

150

200

250

PV LT CC SP BF SH FIA FLW WA Sad Liv CEI

Total number of contributions per report

181 128

271

128

326

193 207 224

366

590

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

PV LT CC SP BF SH FIA FLW WA CEI

Total number of pages of contributions

Synthesis of the Inquiry

Mapping 123 issues

Knowledge base

For most of the issues the knowledge base is qualified medium or high.

The “low” qualification is often attached to

contributions which are precisely pointing to a lack of consideration and/or knowledge for a specific issue.

Most of the contributions provide additional

supportive information, often with references of publications

Synthesis of the Inquiry

Mapping 123 issues into clusters

9 Thematic clusters

Systemic issues

Resources and environment

Consumption

Production

Economic organization and trade

Social

Governance

Conflicts and crisis

Knowledge

And 29 sub clusters

Result of the clustering Major sets of issues

Changing consumption patterns

Livestock increase

Production

Changing

organization of

Food Systems,

urbanization and

globalization

Climate change

Natural resource availability

and accessibility

Social changes

in Agriculture

Challenges/opportunities

47 issues presented as challenges (only)

51 issues presented as challenges which could be

opportunities

Shows that there are possibilities to intervene

26 issues presented as opportunities, mainly in

research, knowledge management, capacity

development, good practices and policies

Whatever the timeframe of impacts (long or short),

the timeframe for implementing solutions is

presented as being more short term / urgent.

Most vulnerable / Gender

For most issues is identified a specific impact on

most vulnerable.

Generally negative impacts are more negative on

vulnerable populations. Less clear for positive

impacts.

Generally specificity of the impact on most

vulnerable and on women go in the same

direction.

Gaps in the results?

A wide sample of issues Spectrum covered is broad Some issues are broad Other quite narrow could lead to identify a whole range of

analogous issues or a type, such as small livestock production, or even diversification, or conflicts and crisis for instance.

Some issues seem to be missing: - not much on poverty and the way to reduce it, nor on

development in general. - not much on technological evolutions in the agricultural and

food sectors. - not much on biodiversity.

From the Inquiry to the final Note

Starting point for StC works

1. Results of the Inquiry : 5 main sets and full results

2. Themes of previous HLPE reports

From the Inquiry to the final Note

Arriving at a short list through an iterative

process, based on :

• FSN impact criteria (incl. gender, most

vulnerable)

• Consideration of gaps (experience of StC

members, HLPE reports, literature, etc.).

• Capturing issues which relate to many other.

• Emerging character of issues.

• Speed of emergence.

• Taken all together the issues should cover a

field as wide as possible.

• Refining description of issues.

A short list

FSN

Outcomes

1. Healthy nutrition in changing food systems

2. Livestock systems and food security and nutrition:

challenges and opportunities

3. Inequalities and food security and nutrition: the

imperative of addressing the needs of disadvantaged

and vulnerable populations

4. The increasing role of financial markets in food

security and nutrition

5. Pathways to sustainable food systems: the pursuit of

human and environmental health for all

+

The nine issues having been the topic of an HLPE report

Healthy nutrition in changing food systems

• Triple Burden of Malnutrition

• Acceleration of nutritional transition

• Understanding linkages between food

systems and nutrition

• Tackling malnutrition through a food system

approach

Great extent of the issue

Systemic phenomenon

Scattered knowledge

Accelerating

Livestock systems and FSN: challenges and opportunities

• Increasing size, importance and impact on

food systems, globally

• Fast growing sector

• Key for vulnerable populations (esp. dry

areas)

• Opportunities for economic and social

development, environmental challenges

• “One health” / food safety

Driving role of the issue in the evolution of

agriculture and food systems; Speed

Inequalities and FSN

• Inequalities of access to natural resources

• Inequalities of income

>> determine inequalities in access to food

• Gender inequalities (including impact on

nutrition)

• Rich’s consumption and power to impact on

the poor

Growing

Imperfect understanding of links and impacts

Priority issue for the most disadvantaged

The increasing role of financial markets in FSN

• Agriculture is increasingly part of the global

economy and international trade

• The whole is increasingly influenced by global

financial markets : land transactions,

production decisions, credit and insurance,

commodity pricing, etc.

• Links between food and non-food

commodities (energy, financial products, ..)

Growing and accelerating

Imperfect understanding of links and impacts

Forward impact (importance for investments)

Pathways to sustainable food systems

• Linkages SFS –> Food Security (cf HLPE 2014)

• How do food systems perform for sustainability, in all the

dimensions, given the diversity of food systems

• Growing concerns about unsustainability and its FSN

consequences, and societal demand to address it.

• Growing economic, social and environmental demands

addressed to food systems

• Where do we want to go? And How?

Imperfect understanding of links and impacts, big debates

and risk of mis-conception of solutions.

Linked to many other issues.

Forward impact : importance of setting directions.