World Food Policy Volume/Issue 2-2/3-1 Fall 2015/Spring 2016 | Page 80

Constructing a Database for Food Security Assessments in Southeast Asia

of adequate data. Studies undertaken
by international organizations with a
mandate to solve the food insecurity
problem are mostly rapid appraisal type
of analyses which are not always in-depth
and scientifically rigorous. Because of
their aim to provide quick results, these
assessment measures often focus on
availability and access to food, and give
less emphasis on utilization of food and
long-term stability. Hence, there is a need
for research to better understand the
determinants and drivers of food security
in order to contribute to a long-term
solution of the problem.

Against this background, this
article promotes the notion of establishing
panel databases that allow undertaking
in-depth and causal analyses in food
security. We map out some requirements
for databases that can serve such purposes.
Next to sampling issues, the choice of
regions and the questionnaire design will
be discussed. Also, the use of focus group
discussions has been useful in deriving
some further qualitative insights into
food security.
This
article
displays
the
shortcomings on the use of food security
concepts and measures on the one hand,
and sheds some light on the determinants
of food security of households on the
other hand. Case studies and examples
from selected Southeast Asian countries
are provided.

The article is structured as follows:
following the introduction, the literature
on the status of food security assessments
is reviewed. The dimensions of the food
security concept, its measurement,
and shortcomings as well as some of
its determinants are introduced. The
next section provides case studies from

selected Southeast Asian countries.
Furthermore data requirements for food
security assessment are highlighted. The
last section summarizes and concludes.

Food Security Assessments: A
Literature Review
Defining “food security”

T

he concept of food security
includes manifold definitions
most of which are descriptive.
Maxwell and Frankenberger (1992)
have identified >30 definitions for “food
security” and Hoddinott (1999) claims
that there are ~200 definitions of food
security which are used by different
organizations around the world. The
perhaps most accepted and most widely
cited definition of food security has been
phrased at the World Food Summit in
1996 as “a situation when all people,
at all times, have physical, social, and
economic access to sufficient, safe, and
nutritious food to meet their dietary
needs and food preferences for an active
and healthy life” (FAO 1996). Food
security has been further specified to
involve four dimensions consisting of
food availability, access, utilization, and
the stability of these conditions (WFP
2009a).

Food availability refers to the
actual availability of food in physical terms.
It can be either applied at the national
level combining domestic production,
food stocks as well as food imports and
food aid, or it is measured at the regional
or local level (WFP 2009a; 2009b; FAO
2006). Access of a household to food
is the most critical dimension of food
security; accordingly, it is the dimension

80