Developing community-based food security criteria in rural Tanzania

Jana Schindler (), Frieder Graef, Hannes Jochen König and Devotha Mchau
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Jana Schindler: Institute of Land Use Systems
Frieder Graef: Institute of Land Use Systems
Hannes Jochen König: Institute of Land Use Systems
Devotha Mchau: Agricultural Research Institute (ARI Hombolo/Makutupora)

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2017, vol. 9, issue 6, No 13, 1285-1298

Abstract: Abstract Food security remains a major challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa. The widely acknowledged definition of food security and its four dimensions, availability, access, utilisation and stability, are somewhat abstract in the local context of small-scale farmers. Therefore, more site-specific information on the local food situation is needed to respond to the local food security challenges. Participatory elaboration of these criteria within the rural communities is crucial. The objective of this research was to elaborate community-based criteria in four selected study villages of Tanzania. We present an adapted methodological procedure based on the so-called Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA). Based on a series of farmer workshops, we analysed the local understanding of food security and derived a set of food security criteria. We found that these criteria cover the three dimensions of sustainability (social, economic and environmental), while simultaneously representing the four food security dimensions, showing that rural communities think holistically and consider multiple criteria and dimensions related to food security. Our participatory methodological approach was suitable for identifying the specific development priorities that need to be addressed for improved food security in a particular locality. The locally specific food security criteria can be used for impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation and, finally, for the adaptation of development measures to local contexts.

Keywords: Food security; Food security criteria; Food security indicators; Participatory impact assessment; Sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-016-0627-1

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