Food security

Food security results from the interactions of four components: (i) food availability, which includes sustainable production and processing, (ii) physical and monetary access to food, (iii) food use, including quality and safety, as well as the effect on human health and well-being, and (iv) environmental, economic and political stability.

The food price crisis of 2008 brought food security back on the political agenda. Research on food security will have to contribute to solving global challenges such as reducing the  number of currently more than one billion malnourished people in the world.

Increased population growth, urbanisation and higher incomes (changing the consumption pattern towards more animal source foods) additionally accelerate the need to multiply global agricultural production. Furthermore, new demands and potentially conflicting interests for bioenergy or industrial purposes of crops will put growing pressure on already scarce resources like water, soil, biodiversity, fossil energy and raw materials.

Today, food security cannot be achieved without sustainable management of water, soil, biodiversity and the atmosphere. Climate change will increase uncertainty of food production and pose new threats to human health. In most regions, fewer people will be living in rural areas and even fewer will be farmers. They will need new technologies in order to grow more from less land, with fewer labour resources.

List of research projects related to food security conducted by members of the North-South Centre »»

NB: Projects that are part of a North-South Centre managed programme have a
reference to their detailed description on the respective page of the Annual Report 2010.