Food Security

CRS' food security programming ensures that people can access the food they need to live healthy, productive lives today and in the future.

CRS' food security programming ensures that people can access the food they need to live healthy, productive lives today and in the future.

Jaye's Story

Jaye Cessay is a founding member of the National Women Farmer's Association's (NAWFA) Board and one of over 30,000 sesame farmers supported by Catholic Relief Services' Market-Led Sesame Program in The Gambia. The Market Led Sesame Program aims to improve household food security for rural families by improving their economic access to goods and services.

Through this program, CRS supports activities such as market research dissemination, literacy and handicraft skills training, and agricultural training, all of which have markedly increased women's income. Nevertheless, Jaye thinks there is more that can be achieved. "The future looks bright, however challenges like women's access to land and reliable markets need to be surmounted," says Jaye. CRS is working with NAWFA to address these and other needs to help the women of The Gambia improve their lives.

NAWFA, which is comprised of over 30,000 women is CRS' implementing partner in the program. NAWFA members produced over 220,000 pounds of sesame during the 2001-02 marketing season.

Food Security Program Overview

The right to food, as one specific aspect of a worthy standard of living, is a fundamental human right. To live a healthy and productive life, however, the right to food must include a reliable supply of food. This concept is known as food security.

The food insecure individual or household does not consume a sufficient quantity (or quality) of food to survive; or, if there is sufficient food, the individual does not have the good health to use it properly. Food insecurity is measured by low consumption and high malnutrition and mortality rates.

The reasons for widespread food insecurity in a world of plenty are varied and complex, but the immediate causes are:

These causes, in turn, are influenced by a host of other things including land, labor and yield, income and roads, health practices and access to potable water not to mention political, economic and social factors.

For CRS, food security is defined as "people having physical and economic access to sufficient food to meet their dietary needs for a productive and healthy life today without sacrificing investments in livelihood security tomorrow." CRS' food security programming objectives aim to ensure that people can access the food they need to live healthy, productive lives today and in the future.

Who Do These Activities Reach?

Food insecurity is a major worldwide problem. It is currently estimated that 800 million people in the world are food insecure the majority of whom live in South Asia and Africa with smaller percentages in Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe (World Bank, 1986; World Food Summit documents 1997).

While there have been some improvements in food security over the past 30 years, they have not been universal. For example, in South and West Asia, the food insecure population shrunk by half between 1971-2000. But in Sub-Saharan Africa the food insecure population doubled during the same period [International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), 2001].

Other statistics provide further evidence of the problem. Approximately 160 million children under the age of five are malnourished (IFPRI, 2001). Micronutrient deficiencies remain widespread, with two billion people suffering from iron-deficient anemia, two billion people at risk of iodine deficiency disorders and 250 million children affected by vitamin A deficiency (IFPRI, 2001).

Although food production in the developing world is projected to increase by 45 percent between 1997 and 2020, that won't be enough to keep pace with the expected population growth (IFPRI, 2001). If countries and households are unable to produce sufficient food to meet their needs, they will need to purchase it. Their ability to access food will then depend upon their income level. Currently, 1.2 billion people - 30 percent of the world's population - have only a dollar a day or less per person to meet their basic needs (IFPRI, 2001). It is up to organizations like CRS to ensure that those in need around the world receive the aid they need to survive.

Background of CRS' Food Security Program


CRS has been meeting the food needs of the poor since 1943 when the agency aided victims of the Second World War. Over time, the agency's relief and development projects have moved beyond simply distributing food to supporting individuals' capacity to meet their own food needs. Lack of food will continue to be a problem for most developing countries for years to come and CRS will continue to carry out food security programming where it is most needed.

Technical Partners and Donors