Theoretical Approach To Food Security

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Literature Review: Theoretical Approaches, Empirical Studies, Analytical Concepts and Legal Frameworks Theoretical Approaches towards food security With respect to the theoretical approaches to food security, there are three theories developed in 1970s and 1980s as cause to food insecurity. The first one is Climate theory; this theory explains food insecurity as caused by climatic phenomena. Cox, related this theory with the concept of “famine belt” in which he directly links climate condition to food insecurity. This theory argued that in the national or local level, climate linked phenomena such as drought, floods and others are a major factor causing food insecurity (Cox, 1981, cited in Steven Engler, …show more content…

The proponents of this theory argued that food scarcity occurs when the availability of food is less than the food necessity of the population. The primary developers of this approach were Adam Smith and Malthus who argued that famines are primarily caused by a sudden decline in food availability. They consider natural drivers as the main causes for food insecurity and analyses their influence on harvest failures and advances in prices. They are supply oriented, in this sense the Food Availability Decline theory differs from climate theory. Food availability decline theory is vulnerable to criticism because it confined on food availability at local levels instead of including assessments on food availability at aggregate or macro levels. They argued that the crop failures due to natural disasters often result in high food prices, increased demand to deal with uncertainties. The decline in purchasing power affects the poor and those who are in trouble by bad weather to become food insecure (Lin and Yang 2000, cited in Galunde, …show more content…

“Food entitlement decline theory” has been criticized for its focus only on the economic aspect of famine and its failure to recognize the social and political aspect. First he fails to recognize individuals as socially embedded members of households, communities and states. Second, he fails to recognize that famine causes by political crisis as much as it is the result of economic shocks or natural disasters (Devereux, 2001). Those scholars who criticized Sen argue that importing food in a situation of existing insecurity could be the answer to minimize the food problem and to save lives (Steven Engler, et al,