Food Security and Rural Livelihoods in the Doldrums: Exploring Alternatives for Sanyati through Sustainable Development Goals

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinashe Mitchell Mashizha ◽  
Munyaradzi Admire Dzvimbo

The topical issue of sustainable development has received significant attention from scholars, social commentators and decision-makers, yet it seems there is a gap with regard to the examination of alternatives and sustainable methods of combating food insecurity. This article makes a number of observations that point to a deepening food insecurity, and it makes recommendations to avert further catastrophes. Findings from the study indicate that the Sanyati district in Zimbabwe faces perennial food shortages and relies on government food handouts, drought relief and donor food aid. The study found that command agriculture (a government initiative) is perceived as a catalyst for ensuring food security and nutrition and enhancing self-sufficiency among smallholder farmers in rural communities. Knowledge of sustainable development goals can lead to an expanded understanding of food security in general and the manifestations of alternative rural livelihoods strategies in particular. In this article, we recommend the implementation of climate-smart agriculture at local and national levels to help farmers adapt to the changing climatic conditions. However, there is a need to make subsidised inputs available in time so as to increase household adaptive capacity and improve livelihoods.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1666
Author(s):  
Zinhle Mashaba-Munghemezulu ◽  
George Johannes Chirima ◽  
Cilence Munghemezulu

Reducing food insecurity in developing countries is one of the crucial targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Smallholder farmers play a crucial role in combating food insecurity. However, local planning agencies and governments do not have adequate spatial information on smallholder farmers, and this affects the monitoring of the SDGs. This study utilized Sentinel-1 multi-temporal data to develop a framework for mapping smallholder maize farms and to estimate maize production area as a parameter for supporting the SDGs. We used Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to pixel fuse the multi-temporal data to only three components for each polarization (vertical transmit and vertical receive (VV), vertical transmit and horizontal receive (VH), and VV/VH), which explained more than 70% of the information. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (Xgboost) algorithms were used at model-level feature fusion to classify the data. The results show that the adopted strategy of two-stage image fusion was sufficient to map the distribution and estimate production areas for smallholder farms. An overall accuracy of more than 90% for both SVM and Xgboost algorithms was achieved. There was a 3% difference in production area estimation observed between the two algorithms. This framework can be used to generate spatial agricultural information in areas where agricultural survey data are limited and for areas that are affected by cloud coverage. We recommend the use of Sentinel-1 multi-temporal data in conjunction with machine learning algorithms to map smallholder maize farms to support the SDGs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1(J)) ◽  
pp. 22-32
Author(s):  
Abiodun Olusola Omotayo

In the developing nations of the world, poor gross domestic product growth has shown serious vacuum to be filled in order to achieve the sustainable development goals. In that regard, this research article intends to contribute to the sustainable development goals of the United Nation’s goal by explaining the rural food insecurity in the light of climate change dynamic in some selected rural communities of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The data employed in the study were collected from 120 randomly selected rural household heads. Data were analysed with descriptive (frequency, mean etc.) and inferential statistics (Principal component Analysis (PCA), Tobit and Probit Regression) which were properly fitted (P<0.05) for the set research objectives. Descriptive results indicate that the average age of the respondents was 52 years with 60% of the household heads being married and a mean household size of 5.The study concluded that there is climate change effect and food insecurity in the study area and therefore recommended among others that the government of South Africa should endeavour to implement a more rural focused food securityclimate change policies in order to relieve the intensity of food insecurity situations among these disadvantaged rural dwellers of the province as well as to entrench a policy of long term development of agriculture. Finally, the study emphasized that the rural farming households should be enlightened through proper extension services to carry out climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in alleviating the food insecurity situation in the rural communities of the province. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Abiodun Olusola Omotayo

In the developing nations of the world, poor gross domestic product growth has shown serious vacuum to be filled in order to achieve the sustainable development goals. In that regard, this research article intends to contribute to the sustainable development goals of the United Nation’s goal by explaining the rural food insecurity in the light of climate change dynamic in some selected rural communities of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The data employed in the study were collected from 120 randomly selected rural household heads. Data were analysed with descriptive (frequency, mean etc.) and inferential statistics (Principal component Analysis (PCA), Tobit and Probit Regression) which were properly fitted (P<0.05) for the set research objectives. Descriptive results indicate that the average age of the respondents was 52 years with 60% of the household heads being married and a mean household size of 5.The study concluded that there is climate change effect and food insecurity in the study area and therefore recommended among others that the government of South Africa should endeavour to implement a more rural focused food securityclimate change policies in order to relieve the intensity of food insecurity situations among these disadvantaged rural dwellers of the province as well as to entrench a policy of long term development of agriculture. Finally, the study emphasized that the rural farming households should be enlightened through proper extension services to carry out climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in alleviating the food insecurity situation in the rural communities of the province. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 905 (1) ◽  
pp. 012064
Author(s):  
M N Mu’afa ◽  
S Marwanti ◽  
W Rahayu

Abstract Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals is Zero Hunger or ensure food security in the world. This study aims to determine households’ food security in Sragen District using descriptive and analytical methods with survey techniques. The research was conducted in Gemolong Sub-district, Sragen District. The determination of village samples is done deliberately (purposive) considering the largest rainfed rice fields. The data analysis used is the analysis of energy consumption and household food security. The results showed that the energy consumption of farmers’ households amounted to 6,041 kcal/day with an energy sufficiency value of 5,368 kcal/day, then obtained energy consumption level of 113% and classified in the category of high level because energy consumption level ≥ 100%. Household food security conditions showed that 53.33% were food resistant households and 46.67% were food vulnerable. Increasing production and household income by optimizing drill wells to ensure water availability or procurement of seeds resistant to rainfed rice fields can address vulnerable food situations.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Doelman ◽  
Tom Kram ◽  
Benjamin Bodirsky ◽  
Isabelle Weindle ◽  
Elke Stehfest

&lt;p&gt;The human population has substantially grown and become wealthier over the last decades. These developments have led to major increases in the use of key natural resources such as food, energy and water causing increased pressure on the environment throughout the world. As these trends are projected to continue into the foreseeable future, a crucial question is how the provision of resources as well as the quality of the environment can be managed sustainably.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Environmental quality and resource provision are intricately linked. For example, food production depends on availability of water, land suitable for agriculture, and favourable climatic circumstances. In turn, food production causes climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions, and affects biodiversity through conversion of natural vegetation to agriculture and through the effects of excessive fertilizer and use of pesticides. There are many examples of the complex interlinkages between different production systems and environmental issues. To handle this complexity the nexus concept has been introduced which recognizes that different sectors are inherently interconnected and must be investigated in an integrated, holistic manner.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Until now, the nexus literature predominantly exists of local studies or qualitative descriptions. This study present the first qualitative, multi-model nexus study at the global scale, based on scenarios simultaneously developed with the MAgPIE land use model and the IMAGE integrated assessment model. The goal is to quantify synergies and trade-offs between different sectors of the water-land-energy-food-climate nexus in the context of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Each scenario is designed to substantially improve one of the nexus sectors water, land, energy, food or climate. A number of indicators that capture important aspects of both the nexus sectors and related SDGs is selected to assess whether these scenarios provide synergies or trade-offs with other nexus sectors, and to quantify the effects. Additionally a scenario is developed that aims to optimize policy action across nexus sectors providing an example of a holistic approach that achieves multiple sustainable development goals.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The results of this study highlight many synergies and trade-offs. For example, an important trade-off exists between climate change policy and food security targets: large-scale implementation of bio-energy and afforestation to achieve stringent climate targets negatively impacts food security. An interesting synergy exists between the food, water and climate sectors: promoting healthy diets reduces water use, improves water quality and increases the uptake of carbon by forests.&lt;/p&gt;


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-92
Author(s):  
Tat'yana P. LISKOVETSKAYA ◽  
Radima G. MAL'SAGOVA

Subject. This article discusses the issues related to information support for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and food security indicators. Objectives. The article aims to determine ways to improve Russia's food security policy. Methods. For the study, we used the methods of analysis and synthesis, and statistical techniques. Results. The article describes the stages of the SDGs information support system formation and determines areas to improve the country's food security. Conclusions. The article concludes that further ensuring and improving the country's food security requires taking into account current global influences, namely the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.


Author(s):  
Caroline Mwongera ◽  
Chris M. Mwungu ◽  
Mercy Lungaho ◽  
Steve Twomlow

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) focuses on productivity, climate-change adaptation, and mitigation, and the potential for developing resilient food production systems that lead to food and income security. Lately, several frameworks and tools have been developed to prioritize context-specific CSA technologies and assess the potential impacts of selected options. This study applied a mixed-method approach, the climate-smart agriculture rapid appraisal (CSA-RA) tool, to evaluate farmers’ preferred CSA technologies and to show how they link to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The chapter examines prioritized CSA options across diverse study sites. The authors find that the prioritized options align with the food security and livelihood needs of smallholder farmers, and relate to multiple sustainable development goals. Specifically, CSA technologies contribute to SDG1 (end poverty), SDG2 (end hunger and promote sustainable agriculture), SDG13 (combating climate change), and SDG15 (life on land). Limited awareness on the benefits of agriculture technologies and the diversity of outcomes desired by stakeholders’ present challenges and trade-offs for achieving the SDGs. The CSA-RA provides a methodological approach linking locally relevant indicators to the SDG targets.


Sustainability and nutrition, Environmental impacts, nutrition policy, Sustainable development goals, Food security, Climate change and obesity


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