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executive summary
The world is currently in the midst of a global food crisis that began in 2020 with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and worsened with the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine in 2022. be.
Climate change-related extreme weather events continue to increase in frequency and severity around the world, adding to the crisis. One of the consequences of this “polycrisis” is that for most of the past four years, populations around the world have faced rapidly increasing food insecurity.
The effects of the current political crisis are being felt around the world, but the Asia-Pacific region has been hit particularly hard. To better understand the impact of the ongoing political crisis on food security in the Asia-Pacific region, this report examines the impact of the ongoing crisis on food security in six selected countries: Bangladesh, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Lao PDR. Researching diet, nutrition and the resilience of food systems. Republic of Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan.
Through this research, the report provides relevant insights into the shocks faced by countries during the crisis and assesses the resilience of food systems in the face of these shocks. Additionally, we will build much-needed data on the impact of these shocks on national diets and nutrition.
First, the scoping review examines existing evidence on the impact of the ongoing crisis in six selected countries.
Key findings include:
• Domestic food production has declined in all six countries compared to pre-crisis levels.
• All six countries experienced significant food inflation during the crisis.
• During the crisis, consumer purchasing power declined in all six countries, and the decline was especially felt by women, young people, small producers, and migrant and seasonal workers.
• Both diet diversity and quality declined in all six countries during the crisis, with women and children suffering the most.
• The use of food and livelihood-based coping strategies increased in all six countries during the crisis.
• The impact of the crisis was felt acutely in both urban and rural areas.
We then use a conceptual model that depicts the relationship between the food environment and changes in food security and nutrition to better understand the impact of crises on diet, nutrition, and resilience. Key findings include:
• From 2019 to 2021, the amount of food imports decreased, but the value of food imports increased.
• The value and share of imports of 'NCD risk' foods increased, and the sales volume of 'risk' foods also increased.
• Overall household income increased, but the share of income spent on food remained the same or increased.
• If income decreases, the decrease is related to sales of “NCD risk” foods.
• The cost of meals is rising, further increasing the cost of nutritious meals.
• Increased cost of meals means fewer households can afford such meals.
• Increased costs of nutritious meals are correlated with negative household-level dietary and food security outcomes.
Third, to better understand the challenges faced by urban food sellers during the ongoing crisis, a survey will be conducted in 6 focus countries in 2023, and food sellers in 11 cities will be surveyed in 2023. We received 677 responses from vendors. The findings showed that urban food vendors are facing the following disruptions during the crisis:
• Reduced access to customers or markets • Supply chain disruption • Reduced income Finally, a resilience snapshot was created that assesses the shocks, vulnerabilities, capacities, and resilience strategies of all six selected countries. I did. Key highlights from these snapshots include:
• Bangladesh's dependence on rice production left the country highly vulnerable to disruptions in rice supplies during the crisis.
• Import dependence in the Kyrgyz Republic has had a major impact on the resilience of the food system, causing food inflation and price volatility.
• Overlapping shocks in the Lao People's Democratic Republic during the crisis were mutually reinforcing, highlighting the need for a multifaceted approach to improve food system resilience in the current crisis period.
• Pakistan set a stark example of the Asia-Pacific region's documented vulnerability to climate change in 2022, when unprecedented floods damaged most of the country's food production.
• In the Philippines, rapid urbanization is negatively impacting food security in urban areas, with children and women in particular facing negative nutritional consequences.
• Sri Lanka's disastrous inorganic fertilizer ban in 2021 halved local food production and highlighted the risks of implementing initiatives without stakeholder collaboration and relevant supportive training and education.
• Interestingly, although both the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Sri Lanka faced significant shocks during the crisis, each saw infrastructure improvements as evidenced by stable or increasing mobile cell phone subscriptions and social capital indices.
Based on the findings, the report concludes with recommendations to mitigate the impact of the current enormous crisis and build resilience to future shocks. These recommendations will assist policymakers and partners in key areas such as:
• Promoting resilience in local supply chains • Building resilience to climate change • Expanding social safety nets for vulnerable groups • Promoting healthy diets across the food system • Market access, supply during crises Chains to support urban food vendors to ease income disruption