National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme

Food Security: A Benchmark Survey of the Literature Relevant to

Bangladesh

J. Mohan RAOAdvisor to FAO

and Professor of Economics,University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

Workshop on

INFORMED POLICY MAKING FOR FOOD SECURITY:Research in support of the National Food Policy

5-6 December, 2007

A Benchmark Survey of the Literature

(BMS)A benchmark compendium of food security related research complemented by an extensive bibliography

I. AIMS and METHODS

of

BMS

AIMS

• To help decision-makers in identifying research gaps and, hence, priorities

• To serve researchers as a reference tool

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Research and policy documents on Bangladesh, whether carried out in or outside the country

Research on other countries of policy, substantive, or methodological relevance to the Bangladesh case

Bibliography from 1975 to 2007 but Survey largely confined to last 7-8 years

RELATION TO RND (Research Needs Digest)

RND informed by a select bibliography and brief review of research confined to Bangladesh

BMS based on spatially wide & temporally deep literature search (1,441 titles)

Organized into themes or clusters that follow but do not necessarily coincide with the RND Key Clusters

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO LEARN FROM THE BMS

• Focus on major research-based policy conclusions and perspectives

• Distilled comparative experiences and lessons for Bangladesh food policy

• Summary statements of research methods of potential use by researchers/research institutions in Bangladesh

SOME LIMITATIONS

• While the Bib. is quite extensive, no claim is made that the Survey itself is exhaustive

• A Dimensional perspective but not necessarily exhaustive at thematic level

• Focus areas are intersections between the RND’s research priorities and the literature itself. But the literature is not equally rich in all areas

• Selection of individual items covered was guided by the abstracts and/or by quick first readings

II. PERSPECTIVE

and

FOCUS

PERSPECTIVE

Individual items reviewed (123 of 1441) were selected with the object of achieving a dimensional perspective

The selection was also guided by the desire to give special emphasis to the Clusters identified in the RND as “Key Clusters”

Focus 1: Production/Availability

Internal & External Market IntegrationAgricultural Liberalization and the PoorThe Economics of Dynamic AdvancesAccess to Inputs (Including Public

Services)

Focus 2: Physical & Social Access

Access via Safety Nets & Other PoliciesShocks, Seasonality, Stability of Access

Focus 3: Economic Access

Ultra-Poverty, Poverty, Inequality, ExclusionIncomes, Assets, Emplymt., Factor MarketsFood Prices, Purchasing Power, Markets

Focus 4: Utilization/Nutrition

Food Safety and Food QualityFood Culture, Diets, Nutrition StandardsMiscellaneous Issues Related to Utilization

Focus 5: Cross-Cutting Dimensions

• Governance

• Infrastructure

• Environment

• Women and Other Disadvantaged Groups

III. SOME SAMPLE FINDINGS

SAMPLE FINDINGS - 1 (Production/Availability)

Factors in achieving FS aims since 1990s

* Rapid adoption of HYV technologies

* Development of infrastructure

* Market liberalization Factors limiting diversification/comp. advantage

* Resource rigidity & surplus labor

* High relative costs for rice, wheat, sugarcane

due to high labor intensity & purely private,

unsubsidized irrigation

SAMPLE FINDINGS - 2 (Physical & Social Access)

Uncertainty regarding effectiveness of targeted assistance due to doubts about the extent of leakages

41% of eligible, mostly extreme poor did not participate in NGO activities because services such as health or education are offered only via the same system of rules used in extending microfinance

SAMPLE FINDINGS - 3 (Economic Access)

Monga is a severe poverty trap, a problem less of availability than of access. Durable solutions require economic diversification away from agriculture

Majority rural households are landless or land-poor and this manifests in their indebtedness, powerlessness and poverty. One consequence of this is compulsive rural-to-urban migration

SAMPLE FINDINGS - 4(Utilization/Nutrition)

Micronutrient deficiencies are major public health issues in Bangladesh. Fortification or supplementation is no panacea. Better food quality via non-staple foods is critical

Seasonality has pronounced nutritional impacts. Seasonal variation is detectable but only with appropriate anthropometric techniques

SAMPLE FINDINGS - 5(Cross-Cutting: Governance)

• Political barriers at union-level exclude the economically marginalized from the local political processes. Alliances are used to access public resources and, in turn, used to build alliances. This adversely affects access, utilization and even availability

SAMPLE FINDINGS - 6(Cross-Cutting: Infrastructure)

• The scale of Ag. Research remains low absorbing only 0.25% of AG-GDP (the desired norm at 2.00% is 8 times as high). Research needed BOTH for specialization with greater competitiveness under rising globalization AND for diversification into non-staples, high-nutrition crops

SAMPLE FINDINGS - 7(Cross-Cutting: Environment)

• There is urgent need to mainstream adaptive responses in Bangladesh to global climate change– Translate scientific info. into policy language– Involve all relevant stakeholders– Support in-country research on likely impacts

SAMPLE FINDINGS - 8(Women & Other Disadvantaged)

• While food insecurity has declined over the decades, nutrition outcomes have failed to keep pace. Malnutrition – chronic energy deficiency and low BMI - is particularly high among women in ultra poor households.

Conclusion

• Room for improving the BMS in scale, scope and intensity

• Moving beyond the dimensional perspective to cover all of the Key Clusters

• Your suggestions of important titles that we may have missed are very welcome [Please include abstracts if available]