Drivers and stressors of resilience to food insecurity - Evidence from 35 countries: Background paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2021. FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper 21-09

Resilience is associated with multivalued and multi-faceted strategies, programs, and projects, and this paper assesses whether there are few and consistently relevant elements that determine resilience capacity and which shocks are most dramatically reducing it. Diversification of income sources, education, access to land, livestock, and agricultural inputs, and reducing the quantity and quality of food consumed, seeking an extra job, selling assets, taking credit, relying on relatives and social networks are the most adopted coping strategies. Coping strategies are able to mitigate the adverse effects of shocks on resilience capacity, but they are not sufficient to offset their long-term negative consequences.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 48 pages
Publication date: 30 March 2022
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Resilience is a complex concept that is often associated with a wide range of strategies, programs, and projects aimed at building and maintaining the ability of individuals, communities, and systems to cope with adversity and recover from shocks. Over the past 15 years, there has been a significant body of empirical evidence in the literature on resilience, but many research questions remain unexplored and unanswered, particularly in the context of the recent global pandemic. In this paper, we aim to assess whether there are few and consistently relevant elements that determine resilience capacity, as well as investigate which shocks are most dramatically reducing resilience. We also explore which coping strategies are most frequently adopted in the presence of shocks.

Our results show that diversification of income sources, education, access to land, livestock, and agricultural inputs are the main drivers of households' resilience capacity. Moreover, we found that natural, health, and livelihood-related shocks are the most prevalent shocks affecting households. In addition to this, we discovered that reducing the quantity and quality of food consumed, seeking an extra job, selling assets, taking credit, relying on relatives and social networks are the most adopted coping strategies.

It is important to note that coping strategies are able to mitigate the adverse effects of shocks on resilience capacity, but they are not sufficient to offset their long-term negative consequences. Our conclusion is that adequate investments in resilience are conditional on engaging with activities that are broadly consistent across countries and fine-tuning interventions based on context-specificity.

In conclusion, resilience is a multifaceted concept that requires a comprehensive and context-specific approach. By understanding the drivers of resilience capacity and the coping strategies adopted in the presence of shocks, we can develop more effective strategies and interventions to build resilience and promote sustainable development.

Dimension: 297 x 210 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789251352274