Dimensions of global food systems: addressing food security on a world stage

Abstract

In 2007/8 I conducted interviews with government officials and representatives of international donor agencies in Malawi and Lesotho, two countries in which ‘food insecurity’ has dominated policy discourse. The approaches of the two governments and the stance of the donors differed strikingly. Briefly, Lesotho’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security was promoting the idea of ‘block farming’ in which more innovative, commercially-oriented farmers would rent land directly from their neighbours or engage in business partnerships to create larger holdings, and attract outside investment. This plan reflected the government’s belief in the efficiency of large scale production and populist attachment to the symbolism of increasing domestic production to reduce reliance on imported food. The donor community, notably DFID, opposed the approach, prioritising the ‘food security’ side of the ‘agriculture and food security’ policy. They insisted that investment in grain production in Lesotho could not be economically viable, particularly given the country’s membership of a customs union with neighbouring South Africa where food was produced vastly more efficiently. Instead, drawing on Sen’s (1981) entitlements approach, they argued that the problem of food insecurity in Lesotho related to the inability of the poor to purchase food, and pushed for a broader focus on enhancing livelihoods.