An important short-term result of the Agreement on Agriculture for many countries of the Region, particularly Low Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDCs), could be increased hardship for net food consumers. Although, in the medium term, the combination of a changing international market environment and domestic economic reform programmes may result in higher levels of domestic food production and lower real food prices, in the short term, many governments may find it appropriate to take compensatory measures to relieve the burden on the poorest households. In this respect, the paper distinguishes between short-term "safety net" measures to tackle food insecurity, and medium-term initiatives which achieve the same objective through raising the productivity of small-scale farmers.
The paper briefly reviews the different implications of structural and transitory food insecurity, before describing an organising framework from which to approach the issue of reducing household food insecurity. The problems likely to be experienced in identifying target groups are also summarised. The core part of the paper reviews in turn the alternative policy approaches to household food insecurity, drawing where possible on the experiences gained in the Region. The medium-term productivity-raising approaches are reviewed first, although a greater focus is placed on the safety net measures associated with employment creation, subsidies and transfers. The paper argues that medium-term productivity-raising assistance to enable small-scale farmers to benefit more fully from higher output prices are among the most successful in improving food security, but that such interventions will take time to have any effect. At the same time, many rural households will be net food consumers, as will poor urban households, and it is to ameliorate their position that safety nets are appropriate. The principle focus of the paper falls, therefore, on safety net policies, primarily those that support income directly (employment creation schemes) and those that subsidise food prices. The advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed, but the main view expressed is that the recent emphasis on the employment schemes at the expense of food subsidies is desirable and more cost-effective. At the same time, it is stressed that the choice between short- and medium-term measures involves a complex trade-off, which is illustrated by the alternative design and focus of employment projects. In this respect, the complementarily between different mechanisms for reducing food insecurity is also emphasised.
