Reducing hunger and food insecurity is central to the Millennium Development Goals. Monitoring progress towards targets requires simple, quick and reliable methods. However, this has proved difficult for both researchers and practitioners.

Research from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations looks at how food consumption is measured in Albania, Madagascar, Nepal and Indonesia. The researchers consider the suggestion that, because food security is a complex issue, policymakers should use both ‘quantitative-objective’ indicators, such as calorie intake, and ‘qualitative-subjective’ indicators, such as how people in developing countries view their food consumption.

Many national surveys use subjective questions, such as the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Surveys. Subjective questions focus on how individuals or households view their own food security situation. These can often reveal information that is difficult to gain using quantitative measurements, such as information about malnourishment, food intake, nutrition, access to food and vulnerability to hunger. Although subjective, qualitative measurements appear simple, evidence from US surveys shows that this approach to measuring food security can provide valuable information.

However, the reliability of subjective information is difficult to assess. Recent results show subjective indicators often do not match quantitative data. For example, approximately 50 percent of people surveyed in Albania and Madagascar considered their food consumption less than adequate. But it is unlikely that the level of food insecurity in Madagascar is the same as in Albania. Madagascar has lower income per person, greater poverty levels and a higher rate of food insecurity, according to quantitative data.

The research shows:

• Whether households believe they have enough food usually corresponds with other subjective perceptions; for example, households who do not see themselves as poor, or who think that life has improved, also feel they have a sufficient level of food consumption.
• Similarly, if a person is unhappy with their present situation, it is likely that they will see their food consumption as inadequate.
• Households may be comparing their food consumption with neighbours; for example, in Madagascar perceptions of food security are influenced by a household’s wealth in relation to the wider community.

Subjective perceptions from poor households are not enough to fully understand food insecurity. While subjective views can indicate if households are vulnerable to food insecurity, they do not provide enough specific information for policymakers to use when targeting food programmes. Research into food security needs to include the views of poor people, but this must be used alongside improved household survey data. Future research should:

• redesign food security indicators based on local conditions and local ideas of consumption, as done recently in Brazil, Yemen and Bangladesh
• develop subjective food security measurements that can be used together with improved household survey data, particularly calorie consumption
• include measurements that are more sensitive to the particular food issue, similar to the US’s household surveys, and that can be used to validate subjective indicators.

Source(s):
‘Measuring Food Security Using Respondents’ Perception of Food Consumption Adequacy’, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, ESA Working Paper No.5-10, by Mauro Migotto, Benjamin Davis, Gero Carletto and Kathleen Beegle, 2005 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: World Bank; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

id21 Research Highlight: 10 July 2006

Further Information:
Benjamin Davis
Agricultural and Development Economics Division
Food and Agriculture Organization
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100, Rome
Italy

Tel: +39 06 57 056 812
Fax: +39 06 57 055 522
Contact the contributor: benjamin.davis@fao.org

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

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