THE FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC ILARO, OGUN STATE
DEPARTMENT OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS
COURSE CODE
COURSE TITLE:
GROUP : FOOD SECURITY
SALAUDEEN FAHIZAH OLAWUNMI H/NUD/23/0521
LUKOSI TAIWO OLUWATOSIN H/NUD/23/0506
ADESOLA MARY OLUWATOSIN H/NUD/23/0504
GIWA NOIMAH ANIKE H/NUD/23/0510
ALLISON ABD'AZEEZ OLALEKAN H/NUD/23/0505
ADEBIYI TEMITOPE OMOLARA H/NUD/23/0520
KILASHO MUDIRAT OMOLABAKE H/NUD/23/0513
ADEWALE MIRACLE AYOMIDE H/NUD/23/0516
ADEJUMOLA ARAMIDE H/NUD/23/0514
MOGAJI AZEEZAT H/NUD/23/0519
OWOLU HALIMA ADEYEMI H/NUD/23/0512
ABDULLATEEF NABEELAH AJOKE H/NUD/23/0511
ADARAN ELIZABETH TITILOPE H/NUD/23/0508
MUTIU KUDIRAT FUNMILAYO H/NUD/23/0507
MOGBOJURI JOY ISEOLUWA H/NUD/23/0518
SUBMITTED TO: MR OLUFADEJU
MARCH, 2025.
FOOD SECURITY
Food security is when all individuals have reliable access to sufficient quantities of
affordable, nutritious food to lead to a healthy life.
The most widely accepted definition of food security as defined by The State of Food
Insecurity (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is “Food security (is) a situation that
exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient,
safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active
and healthy life”. At the household level, food security is defined as “access to food that is
adequate in terms of quality, quantity, safety and cultural acceptability for all household
members" (Gillespie and Mason, 1991). At the household and individual level, adequate
food is defined quantitatively and even more so, qualitatively. Quantitative food may be
caloric sufficiency or the amount of food received and qualitative food may be variety,
safety and culturally acceptable food. Each household must have the knowledge and the
ability to produce or have resources to purchase the food that it needs on a sustainable
basis. As initially described by WHO, food security consists of three elements or pillars:
food availability, food access and food use. The FAO added a fourth pillar to the model:
the long-term stability of the first three pillars of food security. Hence, the four pillars of
food security, according to the World Summit on Food Security in 2009 are availability,
access, utilization and stability (Parvathamma et al., 2015). All the four factors have been
identified as crucial to food security. Originally, the term "food security" was coined to
describe whether a country has sufficient food to meet its dietary energy requirements
(Pinstrup-Andersen, 2009). However, over time it has become clear that food security is
dependent not only on the availability of food, but also on the nutritional quality of that
food (Farre et al., 2011). Human resources, agricultural research, rural infrastructure, water
resources, and farm- and community-based agricultural and natural resource management
are all areas where policy and investment reforms are needed to achieve food security.
DIMENSIONS OF FOOD SECURITY
AVAILABILITY:
Food availability is the first pillar of food security and it is a critical aspect to consider for
assuring a sustainable food security system. Food availability refers to the physical
presence of food in a given location, as a result of domestic production, commercial
imports, and humanitarian assistance like food aid (Aborisade & Bach, 2014). Land
ownership and use of land; soil health and management; crop selection, breeding and
management; livestock breeding and management and harvesting are all elements that
influence food supply through production, distribution, and exchange. Changes in rainfall
and temperature can have an impact on crop productivity. The resources like land, water
and energy used to grow food crops are also used for several other activities that creates a
competition of usage of these resources which may have an impact on food production
output. Land utilized for agriculture can be used for urbanization, lost to desertification and
soil erosion due to unsustainable farming practices. The storage, processing, transportation,
packaging and marketing of food are all part of the food distribution process. The amount
of food wasted in the distribution process can also be influenced by food-chain
infrastructure and farm storage technology. The cost of supplying water and fertilizer, as
well as the cost of moving food to national and international markets, can all be increased
by poor transportation infrastructure. All these factors influence the availability of the food
and sometimes the price of available food which this increases the need for a bartering,
exchange or cash economy to obtain food. Food exchange requires effective trading and
marketing systems which can impact food security. However, Per capita food availability
across the world are more than sufficient to ensure food security for all. Hence, it is not
food availability but food accessibility which is a major barrier to achieving food security
(Parvathamma et al., 2015). According to Barrett (2001), despite the fact that total food
availability is not a perfect measure of ensuring access or proper utilization of nutrients to
achieve food security, food availability is a however fundamental prerequisite for food
security. Food has to be available in the first place in order for the population to have access
to it.
Food availability is determined by:
• Production: Food produced in the area.
• Trade: Food brought into the area through market processes.
• Stocks: Food held by traders and in government reserves.
• Transfers: Food supplied by the government and/or relief agencies.
ACCESS:
Food availability alone is insufficient to assess food security; rather, individual access to
available food should be considered as well. Food availability does not guarantee access
and consuming enough calories does not guarantee a nutritious and healthy diet. If food
security is to be used as a gauge of family or individual well-being, it must take access into
account (Pinstrup-Anderson, 2009). Food accessibility refers to the affordability or
purchasing power and allocation of food, as well as individual and household preferences.
According to the United Nation’s Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights,
hunger and malnutrition are mostly not due to food scarcity but caused by an inability to
acquire the available food, which is usually due to poverty. Poverty can restrict food access
and make an individual or household more vulnerable to price fluctuations. Accessibility
is determined by whether or not the household has adequate income to purchase food at
current prices or enough land and other resources to cultivate its own food. Households
with sufficient resources might overcome unstable harvests and local food shortages while
maintaining access to food (Parvathamma et al., 2015). Food access refers to a family's
ability to obtain sufficient amounts of food through one or more of the following methods:
self-production and stocks, purchases, barter, gifts, borrowing and food aid (WFP, 2009).
Some instances are as follows:
• Own production-crops, cattle/livestock, etc.
• Hunting, fishing, harvesting and gathering of wild foods.
• Purchase at markets, shops, etc.
• Barter-exchange of items for food.
• Gifts from friends/relatives, community, government, aid agencies, etc
Food may be available but not accessible to certain households if they cannot acquire a
sufficient quantity or diversity of food through these mechanisms (WFP, 2009). There are
two types of food access: direct access and indirect access. Direct access is in which a
household produces its own food using human and material resources and Indirect access
is in which a household purchases food produced elsewhere by means of economic access
or receives it as a gift or aid. A household's assets, such as income, land, labour products,
inheritances and gifts, might influence its access to food. The household's preferences are
influenced by the demographics and educational levels of its members, as well as the
gender of the household's leader, who chooses the sort of food purchased. Because
intrahousehold food allocation may not be sufficient to meet the needs of each household
member, a household's access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food may not ensure proper
food intake for every household members. Food must be accessible in socially acceptable
ways, such as without relying on emergency food supplies, scavenging, robbery, stealing
or other coping techniques (Parvathamma et al., 2015). Food may be produced and
available for consumption, but it is not good if it can’t reach the people who need it. There
must be sufficient resource to properly distribute obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious
and culturally suitable diet e.g., income, prices, market, transfer, food distribution and
culturally suitable diet.
UTILIZATION
Food may be available and accessible, but certain members of the household may not reap
the full benefits if they do not receive an adequate portion of the food in terms of quantity
and variety or if their bodies are unable to absorb the nutrients of the food due to poor food
preparation or illness. Food utilization refers to the ways households utilize the food that
they have access to, as well as individuals' ability to absorb and metabolize nutrients, that
is the body's conversion efficiency (WFP, 2009). Barrett (2010) emphasized the importance
of the available food's dietary quality. Food security is dependent on the nutritional value
of food in terms of important micronutrients and vitamins, as well as the body's ability to
digest and absorb these nutrients. A variety of factors influence the quantity and quality of
food that reaches each household member after a home acquires the food. Food must be
safe and sufficient to meet each individual's physiological demands in order to achieve
food security. Food safety has an impact on food utilization, and it can be influenced by
how the food is prepared, processed, and cooked in the community and at home. The health
of humans determines how food is processed and metabolized in the body, hence access to
healthcare is another driver of food utilization. Intestinal parasites, for example, can absorb
nutrients from the human body and reduce food utilization. Hygiene and sanitation can also
help to reduce the onset and spread of diseases that have an impact on food utilization.
Food must be prepared and consumed appropriately, based on knowledge of basic nutrition
and branding, as well as availability of adequate water and sanitation to prevent food borne
diseases e.g., food and nutrition knowledge, food preparation and nutrition behavior,
cultural traditions, knowledge, standards, health status, hygiene.
Food utilization can be influenced by nutrition education and food preparation knowledge,
which can strengthen this pillar of food security (Parvathamma et al., 2015). Food
utilization includes:
• The ways in which food is stored, processed and prepared, including safety and hygiene
conditions.
• Feeding practices, particularly for individuals with special nutrition needs, such as
babies, young children, the elderly, sick people and pregnant or lactating women.
• The sharing of food within the household and the extent to which this corresponds to
individuals’ nutrition needs-growth, pregnancy, lactation, etc.
• The health status of each member of the household.
STABILITY:
The ability to receive food over time is referred to as food stability. It is the stability of the
first three elements of food security. When the first three elements i.e., availability,
accessibility and utilization is not stable over time it causes food insecurity. Food insecurity
can be of three (3) types: transitory, seasonal or chronic. In transitory food insecurity, food
may not available for short periods of time. For example, at the food production level,
natural calamities and drought can cause crop failure and reduced food availability. Any
civil war or national emergency can also decrease food accessibility. Market instabilities
that result in food price surges might lead to transitory food insecurity. Loss of job or
productivity, which might be caused by illness, are other circumstances that can
temporarily cause food insecurity. Seasonal food insecurity might cause due to growing
crops in regular pattern of growing seasons in food production, which make few crops
unavailable for a certain period. Chronic food insecurity also known as permanent food
insecurity is described as the lack of adequate food for an extended period of time.
Households in this situation are always at risk of not being able to obtain sufficient food to
meet the needs of all the household members. Chronic and transitory food insecurity is
linked since the recurrence of transitory food insecurity might make households more
vulnerable to chronic food insecurity (Parvathamma et al., 2015). World market stability,
according to Josling and Barichello (1984), is a factor in ensuring long-term food security.
According to the authors, world market stability is mostly determined by the activities of
major grain trading countries, as well as improvements in domestic storage and
consumption sensitivity. To be food secure, a population household or individual must have
access to adequate food at all times. It can also be described as when all people, at all times
have physical social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets
their dietary needs and food preferences. For an active and healthy life stability is about
being food secure at all times. For example, environmental sustainability, stable supply,
risk reduction.
FOOD SECURITY FRAME WORLD
Food and Nutrition
Security
Availability Access Use and Utilization
Crop production Income prices market, Food and nutrition hygiene,
efficient H2o use transfer infrastructure care opportunities knowledge,
stack and trade food distributes within food preparation and nutrition
household and gender behavior cultural traditions,
issues knowledge, standard, health
status
Stable supply, risk reductions, environmental sustainability
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION SECURITY
Food security is defined as the availability and the access of food to all people, whereas
nutrition security demands the intake of a wide range of food when provides the essential
needed nutrient.
Also, nutrition security provides a more inclusive view that recognizes that food must
nourish all people nutrition security incorporates all the aims of food security but with
additional emphases on the need for wholesome, healthful foods and drink for all.
METHODS OF ASSESSING FOOD SECURITY
• Per capital income at national level
• Household income and expenditure survey
• Individual dietary intake
• Anthropometry
• Experienced based food insecurity measurement scale
Per Capital Income at Natural Levels: This method estimates calorie per capital at the
country level using food balance sheet and energy intake variance data derived from
household income and expenditure survey. Necessary information needed to apply in these
methods are
Total calories available in years of interest
Number of people living in country in years interest
Coefficient of variation of caloric intake to generate energy intake distribution curve
Cut-off point to estimate the proportion of the falling under the minimum per capital
average caloric requirement.
Household Measure and lncome: This method is based on interviewing respondents to
their households. Respondents provide information on the amount of money that they
spend on food and other necessities. The method can only be used with the aid of:
i Quantity of food bought (or expenditure)
ii Foods received by any household members as either a gift or as payment for work,
goods or services
iii Foods grown for consumption by household members
This method estimates calorie consumed on average per household members per day
3) Individual Dietary Intake: The individual dietary intake can be measured through
different method including:
i 24 hours recall
ii Food frequency
iii Questionnaires
iv Food records kept by individuals or by an observes.
All dietary intake methods need to make use of reference time frame. Whereas some of the
methods rely on the participants memory.
24 hours dietary recall, food frequency questionnaire other rely on the recording of food as
they are consumed.
4) Anthropometry: Anthropometry is defined as the measurement of size, weight body
proportions and ultimately the composition of the human body. Anthropometric indicators
measure the impact of both food, insecurity and health status on the nutritional status of
individuals. The anthropometric indicators most commonly used in national surveys are
based on the weight and height (or length) of infants.
