Crises, regionalisation and food (in-)security: Debating influencing factors and development pathways

Abstract der Sitzung

Despite substantial improvements in global food and nutrition security (FNS) over the last few decades, the prevalence of under- and malnutrition remains high in global South countries. To understand and explain the complex and multi-causal nature of FNS, we need to consider a large range of environmental and socio-economic as well as institutional factors (e.g. Bernzen et al., 2022; FAO, 2022). The question of how agricultural systems and related rural livelihood strategies can best contribute to FNS remains debated, and is of particular importance to vulnerable rural settings as sites of production (Ricciardi et al., 2018). This session aims to discuss multiple, changing influencing factors in inducing paths towards food and nutrition security – or insecurity. The urgency of such a debate stems from a new geography of contemporary global development (Horner and Hulme, 2017) that is strongly influencing food value chains and thus rearranging development pathways towards FNS. Production and trade are increasingly organised in a regional manner, e.g. through South-South trade, within shorter networks, or decoupled from lead firms orchestrating entire sectors from the global North (Horner and Nadvi, 2017). These processes of regionalisation have been accelerated by global crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis (Barrientos, 2022; Scholvin et al., 2022). How different forms of value chains with different geographical scope (global, regional, local) affect quality food production and access, thereby contributing to FNS, to this point remains unclear. As one strategy to improve the integration of global South farmers, mostly smallholders, into value chains, studies highlight upgrading potentials through mobile information and communication technologies (ICT), at the same time addressing their exclusionary character (Heeks, 2010). As value chains on various scales differ in their governance and development outcomes (Hulke and Revilla Diez, 2022; Pasquali, 2021), the use and access to ICTs and other technology also differs. This is but one example for changing dynamics affecting FNS. Against this background, the session will discuss different case studies and conceptual approaches to understanding the changing local development pathways for FNS caused by new global dynamics, which reinforce regional economies. We invite scholars working on FNS and the various and often contesting influencing factors on such. Topics may include (but are not limited to):

• Value chain governance, institutions on FNS;
• The role of digitalisation and ICT usage in improving FNS throughout the value chain;
• The role of gender in FNS;
• Smallholders’ integration into commercial and non-commercial markets, multi-chain strategies;
• The impact of and reaction to multiple crises;
• Methodological and conceptual refinements to analyse FNS in regional food systems (e.g. dietary diversity, food sovereignty, regional value chains)