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)
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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)
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
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.
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
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.
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
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)
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
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
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
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)
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
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
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
• 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
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
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)
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
Thank You.
