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Food and nutrition insecurity is linked to poverty worldwide. Ensuring food and nutrition security is a major challenge for most families in rural Mozambique. The aim of this study was to assess the state of nutritional and food security in families residing in Chókwè Municipality. The study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 260 families in 7 neighborhoods. The data collected was analyzed using IBM SPSS 22 Statisticsoftware to obtain percentage values and a food safety index. The study revealed an unstable level of food and nutritional security in the Chókwè municipality of the order of 55%. The minimum monthly household income was about MZN 4,900.00 (US$76.6), an amount that does not ensure the supply of all basic consumer goods to meet families' food needs. Corn, rice, oil and tubers are among the foods most commonly consumed by low-income families in Chókwè. Most of the food consumed by the population came from family production, which depends on the region's soil and climate conditions that are limiting factors in obtaining sufficient and sustainable quantities of food for consumption. Implementing existing food and nutrition security management policies in the country can help reduce the level of food insecurity in the Chókwè community., A insegurança alimentar e nutricional está globalmente relacionada à pobreza. Alcançar a segurança alimentar e nutricional tem sido grande desafio para maior parte das famílias residentes nas áreas rurais em Moçambique. Este estudo objetivou avaliar o estado de segurança alimentar e nutricional nas famílias residentes no município de Chókwè. O estudo foi conduzido através de entrevista semi-estruturada dirigida a 260 famílias distribuídos em 7 bairros. Os dados coletados foram analisados por meio de software estático IBM SPSS 22 para a obtenção de valores de percentuais e índice de segurança alimentar. O estudo revelou níveis instáveis de segurança alimentar e nutricional na ordem de 55% no município de Chókwè. A renda mínima mensal dos agregados familiares esteve em torno de 4.900.00 MZN ($76.6 USD), valor que não garante a obtenção de todos os bens de consumo básicos para satisfação das necessidades alimentares das famílias. O milho, arroz, óleo e tubérculos, fazem parte dos alimentos consumidos com maior frequência pelas famílias de baixa renda em Chókwè. A maior parte dos alimentos consumidos pela população provinha de produção agropecuária familiar, que dependedas condições edafo-climáticas da região, fator limitante à obtenção de quantidades suficientese permanente para o consumo. A implementação das políticas de gestão de segurança alimentar e nutricional existentes no País, pode contribuir para reduzir o nível de insegurança alimentar no município de Chókwè.

For most poor countries of today, using agriculture for development is widely recognized as a promising strategy. Yet, in these countries, investment in agriculture has mostly been lagging relative to international norms and recommendations. Current wisdom on how to use agriculture for development is that it requires asset building for smallholder farmers, productivity growth in staple foods, an agricultural transformation (diversification of farming systems toward high value crops), and a rural transformation (value addition through rural non-farm activities linked to agriculture). This sequence has too often been hampered by extensive market and government failures. We outline a theory of change where the removal of market and government failures to use this Agriculture for Development strategy can be addressed through two contrasted and complementary approaches. One is from the “supply-side” where public and social agents (governments, international and bilateral development agencies, NGOs, donors) intervene to help farmers overcome the major constraints to adoption: liquidity, risk, information, and access to markets. The other is from the “demand-side” where private agents (entrepreneurs, producer organizations) create incentives for smallholder farmers to modernize through contracting and vertical coordination in value chains. We review the extensive literature that has explored ways of using Agriculture for Development through these two approaches. We conclude by noting that the supply-side approach has benefited from extensive research but met with limited success. The demand-side approach has promise, but received insufficient attention and is in need of additional rigorous research which we outline.

For most poor countries of today, using agriculture for development is widely recognized as a promising strategy. Yet, in these countries, investment in agriculture has mostly been lagging relative to international norms and recommendations. Current wisdom on how to use agriculture for development is that it requires asset building for smallholder farmers, productivity growth in staple foods, an agricultural transformation (diversification of farming systems toward high value crops), and a rural transformation (value addition through rural non-farm activities linked to agriculture). This sequence has too often been hampered by extensive market and government failures. We outline a theory of change where the removal of market and government failures to use this Agriculture for Development strategy can be addressed through two contrasted and complementary approaches. One is from the “supply-side” where public and social agents (governments, international and bilateral development agencies, NGOs, donors) intervene to help farmers overcome the major constraints to adoption: liquidity, risk, information, and access to markets. The other is from the “demand-side” where private agents (entrepreneurs, producer organizations) create incentives for smallholder farmers to modernize through contracting and vertical coordination in value chains. We review the extensive literature that has explored ways of using Agriculture for Development through these two approaches. We conclude by noting that the supply-side approach has benefited from extensive research but met with limited success. The demand-side approach has promise, but received insufficient attention and is in need of additional rigorous research which we outline.

This article explores the changes produced in the New Kingdom of Granada by the introduction of wheat cultivation in the 16th century. It examines the adaptation of this crop to the Andean landscape and the cultural, nutritional and technological transformations it entailed. It also analyzes how this crop affected the relationships between indigenous Muisca and the conquerors, especially in the city of Tunja, the village of Leyva and their environs, key centers for wheat cultivation and distribution. The Spaniards viewed the expansion of wheat cultivation, the flour trade, and the consumption of bread as indicators of economic and social urban prosperity, but a number of wheat plagues that raged throughout the 17th century affected the supply of flour and bread in the city of Santafe., Este artigo explora as mudanças que a introdução do cultivo do trigo provocou no Novo Reino de Granada no século xvi e sua adaptação ao mundo andino, bem como as mudanças tecnológicas, alimentares e culturais que produziu nas relações entre indígenas e colonizadores, principalmente ao redor de seus dois principais centros de distribuição: a cidade de Tunja e da Villa de Leyva. Para os espanhóis, a expansão e o benefício iniciais de seu cultivo, o comércio de farinhas e a fabricação do pão foram indicadores da prosperidade econômica das cidades neogranadinas até as primeiras crises de produção, causadas por várias pragas que, ao longo do século xvii, afetaram o abastecimento de farinhas e de pão na cidade de Santafé., Este artículo explora los cambios que provocó la introducción del cultivo del trigo al Nuevo Reino de Granada en el siglo xvi y su adaptación al mundo andino, así como los cambios tecnológicos, alimentarios y culturales que produjo en las relaciones entre indígenas y colonizadores, principalmente alrededor de sus dos principales centros de distribución: la ciudad de Tunja y la villa de Leyva. Para los españoles, la expansión y bonanza inicial de su cultivo, el comercio de harinas y la fabricación del pan fueron indicadores de la prosperidad económica de las ciudades neogranadinas hasta las primeras crisis de producción, causadas por varias plagas que, a lo largo del siglo xvii, afectaron el abasto de harinas y de pan en la ciudad de Santafé.

In a world of imbalance, food consumption exhibits great diversity among regions and countries. Although farmers in developed economies benefit from up-to-date agricultural technology and produce much more than they consume, households in the developing world are still combating food insecurity. This dissertation is composed of two manuscripts. One is about consumption in developing countries, while the other is related to promoting agricultural production in a developed economy. Chapter 1 applies a three-stage demand system to nationally representative household survey data to identify food demand behavior with an emphasis on food staples in two West Africa countries ‒ Niger and Nigeria. The third stage of the demand system offers demand elasticities of specific staple items. Instead of treating the population as a whole, the study distinguishes rural and urban households and households of different welfare status. Results confirm the complexity of the food and staples demand between rural/urban areas and among welfare quintiles. Therefore, researchers and policymakers should consider not only the average demand response but also its distribution among households. In addition to demand elasticities, the effects of household demographic characteristics on the structure of food consumption are also obtained. Chapter 2 estimates the rates of return to Virginia's public expenditure on agricultural research and extension (RandE) during 1949-2016 and attempts to address the ad hoc model selection problem common in previous studies. Among the econometric modeling strategies in previous literature, Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) and Bayesian Hierarchical Model (BHM) are two promising methods to solve the issue of model uncertainty. The rate-of-return estimates by BHM are preferable because BHM imposes fewer restrictions on lag structures and offers more reasonable lag shapes. By BHM, the internal rates of return (IRR) of Virginia's public expenditures on agricultural RandE

Extending beyond previous research biases towards large cities or analyses based largely on one type of urban agriculture (UA) (such as market gardening, or home gardening), this research aimed to investigate all forms of UA within two intermediate-sized Ghanaian cities (Techiman and Tamale). Where was being farmed? For whom, and why? The paper considers how findings compare to Ghana’s larger cities, and possible implications for theory and for planning. Methods included remote sensing, field mapping, interviews and a 1000-household per city questionnaire. The most common reason for farming was food supplementation. This was often via staple foods, particularly maize, rather than the leafy vegetables common in larger cities’ market gardening. Farming was predominantly via home gardening, particularly for the better off. The larger city of Tamale also sustained organised irrigated-vegetable market gardens. Findings suggest a picture not dissimilar to Ghana’s larger cities but with greater prevalence of home gardening, and a dominance of staple foods rather than perishable or high value crops. A compelling finding, which has received less attention in the literature, is the extent of, and roles played by, what this study refers to as ‘institutional land. Both Ghanaian Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s policy framing, and market crisis theorising, of the drivers and role of UA were not found to be an accurate reflection of Techiman and Tamale’s UA. Rather than being a localised survival activity of the poor or marginalised, of recent migrants, or of predominantly women, these cities contained a large scale and diverse spatiality of UA mainly for non-poor and non-migrants’ supplementation of their staple food larder. Results emphasise the context-specific nature of a city’s urban agriculture, and underline the need for researchers and UA advocates to be specific about the form of UA under the microscope when making claims for ‘an urban agriculture’., Agriculture and Double Burden Malnutrition in Urban Africa, Formas 225-2012-609, Sida SWE-2011-028

Extending beyond previous research biases towards large cities or analyses based largely on one type of urban agriculture (UA) (such as market gardening, or home gardening), this research aimed to investigate all forms of UA within two intermediate-sized Ghanaian cities (Techiman and Tamale). Where was being farmed? For whom, and why? The paper considers how findings compare to Ghana’s larger cities, and possible implications for theory and for planning. Methods included remote sensing, field mapping, interviews and a 1000-household per city questionnaire. The most common reason for farming was food supplementation. This was often via staple foods, particularly maize, rather than the leafy vegetables common in larger cities’ market gardening. Farming was predominantly via home gardening, particularly for the better off. The larger city of Tamale also sustained organised irrigated-vegetable market gardens. Findings suggest a picture not dissimilar to Ghana’s larger cities but with greater prevalence of home gardening, and a dominance of staple foods rather than perishable or high value crops. A compelling finding, which has received less attention in the literature, is the extent of, and roles played by, what this study refers to as ‘institutional land. Both Ghanaian Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s policy framing, and market crisis theorising, of the drivers and role of UA were not found to be an accurate reflection of Techiman and Tamale’s UA. Rather than being a localised survival activity of the poor or marginalised, of recent migrants, or of predominantly women, these cities contained a large scale and diverse spatiality of UA mainly for non-poor and non-migrants’ supplementation of their staple food larder. Results emphasise the context-specific nature of a city’s urban agriculture, and underline the need for researchers and UA advocates to be specific about the form of UA under the microscope when making claims for ‘an urban agriculture’., Agriculture and Double Burden Malnutrition in Urban Africa, Formas 225-2012-609, Sida SWE-2011-028

Extending beyond previous research biases towards large cities or analyses based largely on one type of urban agriculture (UA) (such as market gardening, or home gardening), this research aimed to investigate all forms of UA within two intermediate-sized Ghanaian cities (Techiman and Tamale). Where was being farmed? For whom, and why? The paper considers how findings compare to Ghana’s larger cities, and possible implications for theory and for planning. Methods included remote sensing, field mapping, interviews and a 1000-household per city questionnaire. The most common reason for farming was food supplementation. This was often via staple foods, particularly maize, rather than the leafy vegetables common in larger cities’ market gardening. Farming was predominantly via home gardening, particularly for the better off. The larger city of Tamale also sustained organised irrigated-vegetable market gardens. Findings suggest a picture not dissimilar to Ghana’s larger cities but with greater prevalence of home gardening, and a dominance of staple foods rather than perishable or high value crops. A compelling finding, which has received less attention in the literature, is the extent of, and roles played by, what this study refers to as ‘institutional land. Both Ghanaian Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s policy framing, and market crisis theorising, of the drivers and role of UA were not found to be an accurate reflection of Techiman and Tamale’s UA. Rather than being a localised survival activity of the poor or marginalised, of recent migrants, or of predominantly women, these cities contained a large scale and diverse spatiality of UA mainly for non-poor and non-migrants’ supplementation of their staple food larder. Results emphasise the context-specific nature of a city’s urban agriculture, and underline the need for researchers and UA advocates to be specific about the form of UA under the microscope when making claims for ‘an urban agriculture’., article; 2019-02-15T15:17:40.945+01:00

This thesis estimates the impact of non-tariff measures (NTMs) notified by the importing countries on agricultural trade. The non-tariff measures constitute the technical measures notified under the SPS and TBT agreements and the non-technical measures to trade. Two approaches are used; the inventory approach and the econometric approach which makes use of the gravity model. The inventory results suggest that African countries face more restrictions on their exports than what they impose on their imports. Also, Uganda, Senegal and Mali are among the top twenty most affected importers. The empirical results suggest that the impact of the overall group on non-tariff measures is ambiguous but when measures are disaggregated into technical and non-technical measures, the results show that the technical measures promote agricultural trade and that the non-technical measures restrict trade. Also, imports of industrialized nations from fellow industrialized nations are promoted by the technical measures but are restricted by non-technical measures, while those from non-industrialized countries are affected negatively by both technical and non-technical measures. Out of the five regions considered, Africa faces the largest negative impact by both technical and non-technical measures.

Climate change and its effect on the world as we know it is gaining increasingly more attention. Rising temperatures or changing precipitation patterns oftentimes lead to harvest failures which can be a threat to food security for many countries, with international crop trade said to being a successful way of moderating the severeness of yield losses due to these climate shocks. Therefore, this thesis aims at revealing the impact of climate change on crop trade. The empirical centerpiece is a PPML gravity model based on a panel data set including trade data of eight of the most important crops as well as temperature and precipitation data from countries worldwide, between 1986 and 2016. The general findings are that climate change, in the form of temperature and precipitation, does alter the trade patterns of the crops observed. The direction and magnitude of the influence, however, can vary. While temperature mostly does not show to impact the amount of crops traded, when it does, rising temperatures likely increase trade. A rise in precipitation principally seems to enhance crop trade, but this also faces some exceptions., by Katharina Samantha Siess, Diplomarbeit University of Innsbruck 2020

Climate change and its effect on the world as we know it is gaining increasingly more attention. Rising temperatures or changing precipitation patterns oftentimes lead to harvest failures which can be a threat to food security for many countries, with international crop trade said to being a successful way of moderating the severeness of yield losses due to these climate shocks. Therefore, this thesis aims at revealing the impact of climate change on crop trade. The empirical centerpiece is a PPML gravity model based on a panel data set including trade data of eight of the most important crops as well as temperature and precipitation data from countries worldwide, between 1986 and 2016. The general findings are that climate change, in the form of temperature and precipitation, does alter the trade patterns of the crops observed. The direction and magnitude of the influence, however, can vary. While temperature mostly does not show to impact the amount of crops traded, when it does, rising temperatures likely increase trade. A rise in precipitation principally seems to enhance crop trade, but this also faces some exceptions., by Katharina Samantha Siess, Diplomarbeit University of Innsbruck 2020