Food Balance Sheets: Broad Overview of Challenges in countries … · 2013. 6. 20. · Final...

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EC/FAO Programme on Information Systems to Improve Food Security

Decision-Making in the European Neighbourhood Policy East Area GCP/GLO/275/EC

Final Workshop FBS Component - 10-12 April 2013, Rome, Italy

Food Balance Sheets:

Broad Overview of Challenges

in countries of the Region

Salar Tayyib

FAO Regional Statistician

For Europe & Central Asia (REU)

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In any food system, technologically advanced or traditional,

long-term food security for all is never fully assured.

- Physical access

- Supply fluctuations

- Price volatility

- Degradation/mismanagement of natural resources/ environment

all affect the ability of families and individuals to achieve food security.

Therefore, consistent measuring and monitoring of food availability at the national and individual level is essential.

The importance of accurate and timely FBS data in a country, for informed decision-making, should be understood and appreciated by both producers and users of agricultural

statistics.

Financial and political commitment should be reflected in the inclusion of the FBS in respective national sector strategies

and programs.

FAO and the member countries should establish an on-going dialogue and cooperation in capacity development in

producing FBS.

FAO should increase and intensify its advocacy on the

importance of FBS (and Household Surveys) in enabling better food security analysis and ensuring sound decision making. It should further promote a data-user demand-

driven approach

Limited interest from national data users and decision makers in improving the detail, accuracy and timeliness of FBS data

However, FAO is not a funding organization. It can limited funds

for focused technical assistance at the national level (mainly through the Technical Cooperation Programme TCP).

Therefore, FAO must ensure on-going partnerships with other international, regional and national organizations and

institutions (governmental, Civil Society & NGOs, private sector)

In many countries, a lack of expertise in FBS production (NSO)

and analysis (Ministry).

Inherited from the centrally-planned economy years (the Soviet era) is the view that data do not have to be specifically

realistic and reliable.

This requires training of data producers and users which is hampered by lack of funds and management commitment.

Data quality issues and timeliness:

Component agricultural data (production, imports/exports, feed, waste) in many instances can be inaccurately

calculated or estimated and may be based on outdated assumptions (e.g. yields).

Furthermore, the delay in the availability of just one data component can negatively effect the timeliness and

usefulness of the FBS derived calculations.

Data quality issues and timeliness:

• Land privatization radically changed the structure of the agricultural sector

• Lack of reliable representative data from agricultural surveys – small farmer data weak

• Many countries have not conducted agricultural censuses or are just planning their first (Armenia, Tajikistan)

FBS conceptual issues:

• Food security is taken as food availability

– ignoring actual “access to food”

• Sub-national consumption patterns are not captured

(FBS are national averages)

• The need for micro-nutrition data detail

(not just calorie intake info)

• Intra-household unequal access to food is not reflected

The “cost” of food security:

what percentage of the household income is spent on ensuring adequate dietary availability/consumption ?

(Household budget/expenditure surveys should be linked to FBS calculations)

Unequal intra-household food availability:

The need for sex-disaggregated data.

Not all members of a household have equal access to food.

Data at the individual level are important to understand the food intake situation of the more vulnerable members of the

household – often women & children.

Capacity must be developed - at FAO and at the country level - in collecting, disseminating & analyzing rural sector statistics

by gender

• Reconciliation of national FBS and FAO FBS

(differing methodologies, different concepts and definitions, different datatsets)

• Reconciliation of food availability estimates at the national level as calculated from the

Household Surveys and by the FBS

Additional indicators easily calculated from available FBS data:

• Prevalence of over-nourishment

• Prevalence of population under food stress (min. dietary energy requirement corresponding to an economically active life)

• Depth of food deficit (amount of energy that would be needed to ensure that hunger would be eliminated)

Thank You.

Food Balance Sheets: Broad Overview of Challenges in countries … · 2013. 6. 20. · Final...

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