Chapter 8: Water for Food Security Food security may have different meanings for different people. The International Conference on Nutrition (ICN), held in Rome in 1992, defined food security as “access by all people at all times to the food needed for a healthy life” (FAO, 1997). Essentially, in order to achieve food security, a country must achieve three basic aims (FAO, 1997): • • •
Ensure adequacy of food supplies in terms of quantity, quality and variety of food; Optimize stability in the flow of supplies; and Secure sustainable access to available supplies by all who need them.
Adequate food availability at the national, regional and household levels, obtained through markets and other channels, is the cornerstone of nutritional well being. At the household level, food security implies physical and economic access to foods that are adequate in terms of quantity, nutritional quality, safety and cultural acceptability to meet each person’s needs. Household food security depends on adequate income and assets, including land and other productive resources owned. Food security is ultimately associated with access to nutritionally adequate food at household level, that is the ability of households or individuals to acquire a nutritionally adequate diet at all times. It is well recognized that poverty is the principal cause of malnutrition (FAO, 1997). Table 8.1: Indicators of Food Security in Burundi Indicator 1990
1991
YEAR 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000
% of Agricultural Production to GDP
41,3
47,2
35,9
34,8
27,7
32,6
41,0
36,7
33,4
34,8
29,1
Daily supply of Calories as % of Needs
103,1 102,7
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Coefficient of Food Dependency
3,1
3,2
4,5
17,4
10,0
7,7
9,1
11,1
13,23
18,9
4,0
Source: AWDR National Report based on Database for Human Development Index: 1990-2000
Acute and chronic undernutrition and most micronutrient deficiencies primarily affect the poor and deprive people who do not have access to adequate food, live in unsanitary environments without access to sufficient and clean water and basic services and lack access to appropriate education and information. In sub-Saharan Africa, where approximately 70 per cent of the population lives in rural areas, crop and animal production, fisheries and forestry activities are direct sources of food and provide income with which to buy food. Increased and diversified 143