A Review of Governance for Food and Nutrition Security in Ethiopia

Presenter's country

Ethiopia

Start Date

28-5-2016 10:55 AM

End Date

28-5-2016 12:00 PM

Location

Hall II

Submission type

Presentation

Abstract

‘Governance’ has become one key-concept of societal environments, and governance is claimed on all scales of human social live: From the global scale of regulating as well as controlling global processes of environmental degradation as well as societal processes of in- and exclusion to the mandate given to local actors to take an active role in governing their natural as well a societal resources crucial to livelihood and foremost food-security, the most basic of all human needs. History and common sense indicates that a functioning food system is an indispensable must for a stable society in agreement and acceptance of human rights.

Adverse to this claim on governance the capacity of societal entities - households or alternative social units - to ensure an adequate supply of food for their members is endangered by forces and power inequalities in scales: from the local to the global. Taking the regional example of Ethiopia, governance in food systems is being challenged by developments and forces like the climate change imperative on the global level with high impacts to local livelihoods in their various local and regional articulation, the demand for energy in various societal contexts, and last but not least, unequal and excluding power relations in processes of globalization and fragmentation. ‘Governance’ as the central claim in order to safeguard food security and reduce vulnerability to food-insecurity will mean giving an unambiguous mandate to actors and institutions to enable these to cope with the named challenges. The demand is for clear cut rules and regulatory structures in scales to safeguard a realistic societal environment for true and effective governance.

Keywords

governance, food and nutrition security, vulnerability to food-insecurity, hunger, malnutrition

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May 28th, 10:55 AM May 28th, 12:00 PM

A Review of Governance for Food and Nutrition Security in Ethiopia

Hall II

‘Governance’ has become one key-concept of societal environments, and governance is claimed on all scales of human social live: From the global scale of regulating as well as controlling global processes of environmental degradation as well as societal processes of in- and exclusion to the mandate given to local actors to take an active role in governing their natural as well a societal resources crucial to livelihood and foremost food-security, the most basic of all human needs. History and common sense indicates that a functioning food system is an indispensable must for a stable society in agreement and acceptance of human rights.

Adverse to this claim on governance the capacity of societal entities - households or alternative social units - to ensure an adequate supply of food for their members is endangered by forces and power inequalities in scales: from the local to the global. Taking the regional example of Ethiopia, governance in food systems is being challenged by developments and forces like the climate change imperative on the global level with high impacts to local livelihoods in their various local and regional articulation, the demand for energy in various societal contexts, and last but not least, unequal and excluding power relations in processes of globalization and fragmentation. ‘Governance’ as the central claim in order to safeguard food security and reduce vulnerability to food-insecurity will mean giving an unambiguous mandate to actors and institutions to enable these to cope with the named challenges. The demand is for clear cut rules and regulatory structures in scales to safeguard a realistic societal environment for true and effective governance.