Frelat Romain, Lopez-Ridaura Santiago, Giller Ken E, Herrero Mario, Douxchamps Sabine, Andersson Djurfeldt Agnes, Erenstein Olaf, Henderson Ben, Kassie Menale, Paul Birthe K, Rigolot Cyrille, Ritzema Randall S, Rodriguez Daniel, van Asten Piet J A, van Wijk Mark T
International Livestock Research Institute, Livestock Systems and the Environment, Nairobi 00100, Kenya; International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Sustainable Intensification and Socioeconomics programs, 06600 Mexico City, Mexico;
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Sustainable Intensification and Socioeconomics programs, 06600 Mexico City, Mexico;
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Jan 12;113(2):458-63. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1518384112. Epub 2015 Dec 28.
We calculated a simple indicator of food availability using data from 93 sites in 17 countries across contrasted agroecologies in sub-Saharan Africa (>13,000 farm households) and analyzed the drivers of variations in food availability. Crop production was the major source of energy, contributing 60% of food availability. The off-farm income contribution to food availability ranged from 12% for households without enough food available (18% of the total sample) to 27% for the 58% of households with sufficient food available. Using only three explanatory variables (household size, number of livestock, and land area), we were able to predict correctly the agricultural determined status of food availability for 72% of the households, but the relationships were strongly influenced by the degree of market access. Our analyses suggest that targeting poverty through improving market access and off-farm opportunities is a better strategy to increase food security than focusing on agricultural production and closing yield gaps. This calls for multisectoral policy harmonization, incentives, and diversification of employment sources rather than a singular focus on agricultural development. Recognizing and understanding diversity among smallholder farm households in sub-Saharan Africa is key for the design of policies that aim to improve food security.
我们利用来自撒哈拉以南非洲17个国家93个地点（超过13000个农户）、涵盖不同农业生态的数据，计算了一个简单的食物可获得性指标，并分析了食物可获得性变化的驱动因素。作物生产是主要的能量来源，占食物可获得性的60%。非农业收入对食物可获得性的贡献，在食物不足的家庭（占总样本的18%）中为12%，在食物充足的家庭（占总样本的58%）中为27%。仅使用三个解释变量（家庭规模、牲畜数量和土地面积），我们就能正确预测72%的家庭由农业决定的食物可获得性状况，但这些关系受到市场准入程度的强烈影响。我们的分析表明，通过改善市场准入和非农业机会来解决贫困问题，比专注于农业生产和缩小产量差距是提高粮食安全的更好策略。这需要多部门政策协调、激励措施以及就业来源多样化，而不是单一地专注于农业发展。认识和理解撒哈拉以南非洲小农户之间的差异，是设计旨在改善粮食安全政策的关键。
