The global concern of food security during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts and perspectives on food security

The sustainability of food security is a global concern, and one of the priorities related to it is the ability to identify effective efforts that can protect food security along the food supply chain (FSC). The present study demystifies the relation of sustainability and food security and structurally identifies the sustainable drivers, and the pragmatic interventions that can critically contribute to the sustainability of food security within each stage of the FSC. A systematic review of articles from six databases was implemented. Thematic analysis was engaged to detect the sustainable drivers and interventions practised at each stage in the FSC for food security purposes. Six main themes of the drivers and interventions were derived from the analysis: food security governance involvement, input resource management, output management, information sharing, income, and technology. The result identifies the potential that quality management has on the mediating effect towards sustainable food security, through which a conceptual model for sustainable food security in the FSC was thus developed. It is deduced that mapping and categorizing the drivers and intervention of sustainable food securities could help deepen the understanding of effective and innovative practices towards food security in the FSC.

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Mexican Banks’ Acceptance and Use of Twitter to Assist in Evaluating Farm Loan Applications: Exploring the Role of Agricultural Loans on Food Security

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education ◽

10.5191/2014.21204 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 21-57

Author(s):

Robert Strong ◽

Larry Dooley ◽

Travis Irby ◽

Lori Snyder

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Real Time ◽

Financial Decisions ◽

Security Issues ◽

Degree Of Acceptance ◽

Global Concern ◽

To Receive

Food security issues are a global concern of countless citizens irrespective of professional vocation or individual residence. Literature indicated numerous factors affect food security and researchers should continue examining elements that may influence food insecurity. The lack of acquiring finance can prohibit farmers from planting and harvesting crops, and thus, is a cause of food insecurity. Mexican banks receive economic agricultural forecasts from the Ministry of Agriculture. This study sought to describe Mexican banks’ degree of acceptance and use of the Ministry’s information on Twitter. Fourteen (N = 14) agricultural loan administrators from Mexican banks were examined to address this study’s research objectives. Agricultural loan administrators were interviewed to determine their acceptance and use of the Ministry’s statistics on Twitter. Participants reported the dissemination of agricultural statistics on Twitter saved banks time by providing a source that delivered specific crop forecasts and not all crop outlooks simultaneously. Twitter can be used to let a bank know the particular value of a commodity in real time thus being able to inform not only their financial decisions but notify farmers pursuing loans. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Twitter feeds increased performance and communication while requiring little effort due to the pervasive nature of the technology. The use of information disseminated on Twitter allowed farmers to receive funds faster thus enabling them to plant and harvest crops in order to aid in the battle against food insecurity.

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Plant sciences, public policies and food security

Outlook on Agriculture ◽

10.1177/0030727019868776 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 220-228

Author(s):

Robert S Zeigler

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Genetically Modified Crops ◽

Private Investment ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Nutrition And Diet ◽

Plant Sciences ◽

Global Concern ◽

Agriculture And Food

Food security was a major global concern in the second half of the 20th century. A positive feedback loop between public policy and technological innovation created abundant food supplies that averted predictions of famine and social chaos. Following the successful global effort to combat hunger, policy attention turned to problems of the environmental footprint of agriculture and other nutrition and diet-related health problems. Policies are developed in response to challenges presented by technology-induced change. As the rate of technological change accelerates, policy makers struggle to keep up and policies risk becoming irrelevant or stymying positive impact of innovation. Public or philanthropic investments created the foundation for private investment in technologies that have been widely adopted. As the public sector reduces its investments in research and development, it is not clear that the private sector has the appetite or means to make the needed investments. Examples of challenges facing agriculture and food security include access to and use of genetic resources, genetically modified crops and the global community’s ability to respond to and mitigate human-induced climate change. Proposed solutions to the world’s many serious challenges almost invariably involve some kind of coordinated and coherent multilateral institutional actions. Yet, today, global political trends appear to be shifting to more unilateral, bilateral and nationalistic perspectives hampering our capacity to respond effectively.

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Food Security Surveillance in the Palestinian Territories

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine ◽

10.1017/s1049023x00009389 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 17 (S2) ◽

pp. S20-S21

Author(s):

Gregg Greenough ◽

Ziad Abdeen ◽

Bdour Dandies ◽

Radwan Qasrawi

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Palestinian Territories ◽

Security Surveillance

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Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20190063 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

pp. 723-729

Author(s):

Roslyn Gleadow ◽

Jim Hanan ◽

Alan Dorin

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Computer Simulation ◽

Food Security ◽

European Countries ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Plant Insect Interactions ◽

Native Habitat ◽

Insect Pollinators ◽

Insect Interactions

Food security and the sustainability of native ecosystems depends on plant-insect interactions in countless ways. Recently reported rapid and immense declines in insect numbers due to climate change, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the introduction of agricultural monocultures, and the destruction of insect native habitat, are all potential contributors to this grave situation. Some researchers are working towards a future where natural insect pollinators might be replaced with free-flying robotic bees, an ecologically problematic proposal. We argue instead that creating environments that are friendly to bees and exploring the use of other species for pollination and bio-control, particularly in non-European countries, are more ecologically sound approaches. The computer simulation of insect-plant interactions is a far more measured application of technology that may assist in managing, or averting, ‘Insect Armageddon' from both practical and ethical viewpoints.

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