Early Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security and Livelihood in Vietnam

Objectives On April 1, 2020, Vietnam initiated a three-week lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. Lockdowns like this have had severe economic and social repercussions that are not experienced uniformly. This study evaluates whether households reporting to be severely impacted differ from those reporting to be less affected in terms of household food availability, affordability, and market access. Methods Cross-sectional data were collected as part of a World Vision Rapid Response Assessment in Vietnam (n = 3431) in May 2020. Data on household demographics, employment, food availability, affordability, and market access were collected. Households reporting a perceived severe (full or severe) impact of the COVID-19 pandemic were compared to those reporting less (moderate, slight, or no) impact using multivariable logistic regressions. Results 19.2% of respondents indicated that the pandemic had severely impacted their livelihood. There was a higher percentage of females (56.4% vs. 45.6%; P < 0.001) and urban residents (25.3% vs. 8.6%; P < 0.001) in the severely impacted group. The groups differed significantly by type of employment prior to the pandemic, and a greater proportion of those who were severely impacted reported decreased income (85.4% vs. 39.9%). Both groups reported similar availabilities of staple food groups at the household-level, but the availability of green vegetables was lower in the severely affected group (OR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.38, 1.00) than in the less affected group. However, the adjusted odds ratios for local market access to hygiene items (OR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.13, 2.39) and essential medicines (OR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.29, 2.50) indicate higher odds of accessibility for those more impacted relative to the less impacted group. Conclusions There were relatively few differences identified between the groups. While the self-reported livelihood impact status generally aligned with a loss of income, the connection between this designation and the indicators of household food availability, affordability, and market access were not as strong. The self-determination of a severe economic impact may represent a relative change in the household's socioeconomic status from before the pandemic that is not indicative of current vulnerability. Funding Sources None

Methodologies for assessing the household food availability in the context of food (in)security: a systematic review

This article aims to identify the methods used to assess household food availability in studies on food and nutritional security and to discuss its methodological aspects. Systematic review elaborated according to the PRISMA method. We searched at PubMed; Scielo and Lilacs databases, and studies that used methods of assessing the availability of food at home were included. In the end, 19 papers composed the review. Food availability was predominantly assessed for a seven days period and from a single data measurement. Other variables were also observed in the studies, such as socio-demographic data and expenditure on food. Among the limitations to assess the food availability at home, we can highlight the difficulty in measuring the food distribution among family members and the lack of information on the variability of this availability. Such assessment can be improved by investigating the strengths and weaknesses of the instruments for greater detail and accuracy of the information. We recommend the development and validation of specific instruments capable of effectively measure the food availability at the household level.

PARTISIPASI PETANI PADA LUMBUNG PANGAN DALAM MENINGKATKAN KETERSEDIAAN PANGAN RUMAH TANGGA DI KECAMATAN AMBARAWA, KABUPATEN PRINGSEWU

This research aims to analyze the rate of household food availability, the rate of farmers’ participation, factors related to farmers’ participation rate, and the impact of the participation on the food availability. The research is a survey conducted in Ambarawa Subdistrict, Pringsewu District, as Ambarawa is an area that has many active food barns. Thirty food barn institutions were chosen randomly, and from each barn two farmers were chosen randomly as respondents. Research data is collected in September – November 2016 and analyzed by quantitative descriptive analysis method. The results showed that the rate of household food availability was 3,392.97 kkal/cap/day or equivalent to 2,135.58 kg of dried unhulled rice annually. The rate of farmers’ participation was included in a medium category. Age, membership time in barns, rice production, income, membership in farmer groups were not significantly related to farmers’ participation rate. Farmers’ participation did not have significant impact on food availability of farmer households. Key words: barns, farmer household, food availability, participation

Climatic Changes and Household Food Availability in Malaysian East Coast Economic Region

Sustainable food security at household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. There are several factors such as social, economic, political, demographic, natural, and livelihood strategies that causes to the vulnerability of the status of household food security. Therefore examining the vulnerability of these factors is essential to identify the reason and recognize the most vulnerable communities. This study is an attempt to study on the vulnerability of the factors of household food availability and its linkage with climatic changes in Malaysia. The study is based on primary data collected in the months of July – October, 2012 through a questionnaire survey on 460 low income households from East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Malaysia. The samples were selected from E-Kasih poor household database, based on cluster random sampling technique. The study found that the vulnerability of the factors of household food availability has decreased statistically significantly over the last five years period in Malaysia for the factors of effectiveness of food distribution process, road and transportation facility for food distribution process, availability of expected food in the local market, sufficiency of expected food in the local market, and stability of food supply in market. The mean values of the current status of the factors of household food availability differ significantly at 1% significance level from the scenario of 5 years ago. However, most of the cases climatic issues were found less responsible for the changes of these factors. Though Malaysia is adversely affected by climatic change, the factors of food availability are not affected yet remarkably. This study suggests that the food security programs need to be integrated with climatic change adaptation programs to ensure more effective and sustainable household food security in future, especially among the poor and low income group. Moreover, a proper monitoring agency is required to ensure consistent supply of food in the rural and remote areas, especially at the time of natural calamity or off season.

KINERJA LUMBUNG PANGAN DALAM MENDUKUNG KETERSEDIAAN PANGAN RUMAH TANGGA DI KABUPATEN PRINGSEWU

This research aims to analyze the mechanism of food granary in supporting household food availability, performance of food granary institution, and factors that affect the performance of the food granary in Ambarawa Subdistrict Pringsewu Regency. The location was determined purposively with consideration that Ambarawa Subdistrict is one district which has a lot of active food granary institutions. Data were collected in September 2016. The samples were determined proportionately randomly, as many as 30 active food granaries in Ambarawa village, Ambarawa Barat village, and Sumber Agung village. This research used a survey method, and the data were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative descriptive analysis. The results showed that the mechanism of food granary was realized by saving and borrowing of unhusk rice. The members of food granary can borrow as much as 100 – 1,000 kilograms of rice per year. They borrow rice at the time of scarcity before harvest time, and save rice after harvest time. The results showed that the performance of 46.67 percent of food granaries are categorized in a low level and 53.33 percent in medium level. Factors that affect the performance of food granary in Ambarawa Subdistrict, Pringsewu Regency, are the age of food granary, the number of members, and the kind of food granary. Key words: food availability, food granary, performance

The Relationship between Smallholder Irrigation and Household Food Availability and Dietary Diversity in Greater Tzaneen Municipality of Limpopo Province, South Africa

Irrigation farming has the potential to address household food security challenges in developing countries. This paper examines household food availability, consumption and dietary diversity for irrigating and non-irrigating households in Greater Tzaneen municipality of Limpopo Province of South Africa. The paper uses primary data collected from 180 households comprising of irrigation scheme irrigators, independent (non-scheme) irrigators, and non-irrigating households. Data analysis employed descriptive analysis and analysis of variance to compare food security components of the different types of households. Results provide sufficient evidence that smallholder irrigation farming contributes significantly to household food security through improved food availability and dietary diversity. However, since most households are net food buyers, it is essential to have policies that are formulated with an understanding that household food security is not only a function of the food that farming households produce for their own consumption but more so a function of total household income. The results inform agrarian reform debates on whether South Africa should continue investing in smallholder irrigation farming for improved household welfare. An integration of smallholder irrigation farming in strategies for growing the rural economy and contributing to improved livelihoods and poverty reduction is, therefore, recommended.