FAO - Food Security

Why do the FAO Food Security Indicators matter for the Land Community?

Producing food for the world’s growing rural and urban populations will depend on land use decisions and governance from the global to the local level. Improving food security at both the global and local level will require land governance that creates incentives for greater productivity and improves access to nutritious food for the poor and vulnerable, without creating further strain on environmental services. Smallholders have a vital role to play, both because they produce much of the world’s food and because they represent a large share of the world’s poor and food insecure. More efficient use of agricultural land can boost crop yields and meet growing global demand for food. Records on e.g. the percentage of arable land equipped for irrigation indicates weather investments are taken. At the local level, land tenure security, along with access to other resources, is linked with increased productivity and investments in land fertility, which in turn can increase food security. Addressing new challenges like climate change require investments in sustainable and climate-smart intensification. Secured tenure is an incentive for taking these investments. Hence, indicators like the number and prevalence of severely food insecure people, indicate both tenure (ins)stability as well as a report on the ultimate goal of securing access to land for the vulnerable: Food security.