Coping with food crisis: a comparative analysis of anti-crisis policies for food security

Coping with food crisis: a comparative analysis of anti-crisis policies for food securityThe IR literature and the policy reports of the main international organizations affirm the existence of a two-way causal link between food security (in its various fundamental dimensions, including diet sustainability) and international conflict; and, more generally, between food security and the political conditions for stable food prices on international markets. Equally well-established in the literature is an awareness of the serious obstacles that food security policies encounter in times of crisis. Whether they take the form of aid in kind, in cash, or via local and regional purchases, the literature notes the sub-optimal effectiveness of crisis-management policies and that these can produce unintended loss of food resources. Furthermore, the literature and the policy reports suggest that policies for food loss and waste reduction improve food security and can even contribute to preventing food crises. All in all, the available knowledge makes clear the challenge to improve the performance, in general terms and in terms of loss/waste reduction, of anti-crisis policies for both food security and international security as a whole.

The project studies the impact that crises have had on the food security policies of some relevant actors. To analyze how these actors handled the crisis, the project asks: whether and how the perception and strategic narrative of food insecurity changed, what policies were adopted to cope with the crisis and what impact they had, and whether there was a process for policy revision and innovation also in terms of food loss and waste reduction. The project tackles these research questions by studying (through interviews with policy-makers, analysis of strategic documents, and reconstruction of policy processes) the anti-crisis strategies of the main international organizations dedicated to combating food insecurity (FAO and WFP) and of the main international donors (e.g. USA and EU). The analysis focuses on the policies taken by these actors to deal with the global food crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine and scrutinizes the impact these policies had on some food-insecure countries. The analysis uses the 2008-2010 global food crisis as a comparative backdrop to assess policy changes and compare them to policy innovations in response to food crises in history. Critical historical settings (both short- and long term) will be investigated with a strong focus on institutional strategies to cope with food insecurity. Finally, the effectiveness of such public policies will be confronted with a wide range of parameters meant to measure social and medical relief from food shortage.

Based on the evidence produced and shared through the publication of research products, the project aims to provide information on the elements of anti-crisis regulations and practices deemed problematic by key food security actors. On this basis, the project also aspires to draft recommendations for the evaluation and possible revision of anti-crisis policies and to disseminate these results to contribute to the formation of decision-makers and citizens about the complex dimensions of food crises and their possible relationship with food loss and waste.