Food Security

IFPRI’s “Stories of Change in Nutrition” series of publications examines evidence from countries with high burdens of malnutrition in order to better understand how nutrition policies are made and how these policies are implemented on the ground. In Africa south of the Sahara, the series thus far covers Ethiopia , Zambia , and Senegal .

In recent years, a combination of increased food prices, slowing agricultural growth, and a rapidly rising population have put pressure on Nigeria’s domestic food security. According to IFPRI’s Nigeria Strategy Support Program (NSSP), the average share of income spent on food within the country rose from 45 percent in 2007 to 80 percent in 2008 as a result of the global spike in food prices.

Wheat plays a leading role in both the diet and the economy of Ethiopia. According to research conducted by IFPRI for the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), wheat is the fourth most widely grown crop in the country (after teff, maize, and sorghum) and ranks fourth (tied with teff) in terms of the gross value of production. In addition, wheat and wheat products make up 14 percent of the country’s total caloric intake. Ethiopia also imports a significant amount of wheat for domestic consumption – between 25 and 35 percent.

Malnutrition places a significant economic burden on African countries, costing between 3 and 16 percent of annual GDP, according to a new working paper from the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition (GLOPAN). Thus, improving nutrition in the region should not be viewed as just another development outcome; rather, nutrition interventions should be seen as potential drivers of development and economic growth in and of themselves.

The 2010 European Report on Social Protection for Inclusive Development established a comprehensive definition of social protection, defining the concept as:

‘‘A specific set of actions to address the vulnerability of people’s life through social insurance, offering protection against risk and adversity throughout life; through social assistance, offering payments and in kind transfers to support and enable the poor; and through inclusion efforts that enhance the capability of the marginalised to access social insurance and assistance’’.