Ssimbwa Peter

GOLLIS UNIVERSITY HARGEISA-SOMALILAND

USING LOCAL MEDIA TO ENHANCE FOOD SECURITY THROUGH INCREASED FOOD PRODUCTION

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Contents Contents ........................................................................................................................................................ 0

Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ 2

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Definition ...................................................................................................................................................... 3

Aspects .......................................................................................................................................................... 3

Manifestations ............................................................................................................................................. 4

Causes of food insecurity ............................................................................................................................. 5

Small farmers in Somaliland ........................................................................................................................ 5

Role of media and roles in media ................................................................................................................ 6

Capacity building and outcomes .................................................................................................................. 8

Bibliography................................................................................................................................................ 11

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Abstract

The paper presents on key issues and aspects of concern of food security

in Somaliland, focusing in particular on production, availability,

affordability, accessibility, awareness and food risk associated with

insufficiency. It explores the role of the media in aspects of information,

communication, innovation, and description roles among others in

exploding media environment as partners in promoting food

sustainability, production and awareness. The role in here transcend the

conventional media roles of professional training to roles in media,

bringing on board key players in food production and policy to enhance

solutions designed to ensure food sufficiency and self-reliance in food.

A conceptual interaction between internal and external factors regarding

capacity building and outcome expectations has also been constructed

as a basis upon which the media could build their intervention as they

bring on board the various stakeholders in performance of their roles in

media.

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USING LOCAL MEDIA TO ENHANCE FOOD SECURITY THROUGH INCREASED FOOD PRODUCTION

Introduction

The paper gives understanding of the notion of food security in

Somaliland and the role that media can play in promoting food security.

Definition of food security, key aspects and issues related to food are

analyzed briefly and manifestations of the food challenges in Somaliland

as well as interventions with major focus on media roles.

Definition

Food security is defined as when all people all time have physical and

economic access to enough, safe and nutritious food to meet their

dietary requirements on needs and food preferences for an active and

healthy life style (World Food Summit, 1996). Therefore, food security

denotes safety in nutrition standards that promotes peace and mutual

co-existence in a family or between individuals without which violence

will emerge. In case of this paper therefore, food security will mean

‘enough food for the people and their animals’ irrespective of gender

orientation.

Aspects

To be food secure means, food is available in adequate quantity and

quality nationally and locally despite the fact that it may be affected by

temporary or long periods of factors: geographical, human,

environmental, economic and political.

Food is affordable without food prices increasing that only the rich are

able to feed themselves while the poorer people find difficulty to obtain

food without assistance.

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Food is utilized and accessible at the household level with sufficient and

valid food needs so that people can grow and develop normally, meeting

their energy needs and avoid disease wherever they are.

Manifestations

What happens when people are food insecure? It is important to observe

here that it is rare to be food insecure and be political secure while a

hungry man is and angry man who will perpetuate violence at micro level

which will spill over macro levels. While surveys conducted by (FSAU,

2008 and World Food Summit report, 1996) indicate millions of people

who do not get enough regular healthy food. Commonalities in

manifestations include; ill-health, shorter life expectancy, malnutrition

among children, reduced immunity, low child development, early

introduction of complementary foods, food rationing and skipped meals,

shorter and underweight children, less physical and intellectual

performance are risks of poor nutrition. These have been observed by

(Food Economy Baseline Report, 2000).

Misery due to unmet food needs, reduced immunity, malnutrition of

sustained unacceptably high rates, increased or higher food prices, low

quality food, higher urban and rural food and non-food expenditures

dramatically increased between 55%-130% in areas of Sanag, for

example poor food intake and access to food is worrying in terms of

dietary diversity among the agro-pastoral communities.

The country depends mostly on imported food both manufactured and

fresh and many regions according to the 2008 FSAU report have been

categorized as ranging between acute and very critical at 20% level of

global acute.

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Causes of food insecurity

Before prescription of the roles, this paper authors deem it vital to have

a thorough understanding of the brief picture of the causes and origin of

food insecurity not only from the global perspective but also the local

perception of the underlying causes.

While in Africa, the food insecure according to (Heidhues et al., 2004) are

50% farming households, 20% urban poor and 30% rural landless. The

challenges remain high to ascertain which section is poor if those who

produce it are more affected. The causes therefore include poverty and

a complexity of factors of unstable, social and political environment that

affect sustainable economic growth, poor human resource base, natural

disaster such as floods and drought, locusts and other pests, absence of

good governance, gender inequality as well as macroeconomic

imbalance in trade and infrastructure, education and health. The

overriding factor in Somaliland case however that many communities

point at as responsible for food insecurity that inhibit significant progress

to achieving food security is an agricultural sector dependent on the

climate and the environment that turn out to be harsh and

unpredictable.

Small farmers in Somaliland

Despite the causes of food security, Somaliland like other African

countries south of the Sahara is afflicted by challenges of

underdeveloped agricultural sector characterized by over reliance on

primary agriculture, low fertility soils, environmental degradation,

significant crop loss, minimum value addition, inadequate food storage

and preservation, rain fed agriculture, food production vulnerable to

adverse weather conditions and low investment into agriculture due to

conservative attitudes and perceptions, lack of knowledge and modern

agricultural management skills.

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Barriers to market access is a great huddle to small holder farmers

resulting from poor infrastructure, market standards and limited

information, capital while much of their produce is sold at the village

level markets treated as comparatively inferior in a highly subjective

process that has worked traditionally-but this no longer works.

Limited knowledge of market dynamics such as market identification

before production, consumer needs and standards all require

information, capital, expertize which farmers’ capacity cannot reach

without external assistance.

Disease and infection, handicapping policies remain challenging issues

while the globalization concept that allows for the transfers and flows

remain a big challenge to Somaliland’s economic, institutional, legal,

political and cultural practices if technology and capital are to be

externally sourced while imported food remains a factor to boast about.

Role of media and roles in media

The media have a crucial role in highlighting food security and attempts to increase local food production because, according to IFPRI’s Klaus von Grebmer in 2005, governments listen to them more than anyone else. Also farmers may listen to the same TV and radio programs if what they are broadcasting is relevant to them. The recognition of the inadequacies of interpersonal communication strategy which involves the use of extension agents has lent credence to the emergence of broadcast media support (mass communication) in development process (Yahaya, 2001). For example, in agriculture, home economics and rural development the problem of limited number of change agents or development facilitators serving millions of development beneficiaries justify the need for media support.

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Nevertheless, the media roles will go beyond the conventional training

roles as well as roles in media as they become partners and interactants

with agricultural sector practitioners, multidisciplinary professionals,

leadership in performing the following roles in information and

communication:

Bridging roles between the rural farmers, urban consumers,

market, policy and government.

Production roles as they relay information to and from farmers on

seasonal changes, food situation and prospects, food prices and

market dynamics as well as modern production trends and

methods. Production of information about the success stories of

the farmers in Somaliland in order to bring hope and revive the

spirit as well as confidence in agriculture and food production

locally.

Communication of information as advocates and creators of

information on livelihood systems and gaps in the chain of food in

appropriate language and context so as to energize not only the

government but also consumers to popularize consumption of the

locally produced food so that the farmers produce becomes more

competitive than imported food.

The media needs to play a mix of roles in the interaction between

internal and external factors for capacity building as informers and

creators of information to head or complement interaction in mass

media to develop a common vocabulary and process through

which food production and use, access and risks are revealed for

appropriate action.

As Foulger (2008) puts it, the roles people play in normal functioning of

the medium of communication and the generic roles in media and of

media should have a considerable value especially given the continuing

emergence of new media by not only hosting broadcast programs or

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write media but reaching out to communities through research and

communicating researched information independently or in partnership

with government or the civil society including academia.

The media forms fundamental building blocks in intercultural

communication, human communication as it is important to integrate

interpersonal communication, mass media organization, small groups as

well as communication contexts of the needs of the farmers as well as

the food needs of the country and the associated emergencies.

Therefore, radio, television, newspapers, internet and other modes of

communication and journalism as a whole have blurred roles to play in

providing the path through which we can communicate and inform

policy and society on the trends and dynamics of food, production,

processing and consumption for purposeful livelihoods.

Capacity building and outcomes

Food production mechanisms and opportunities in food market

transition in the mode of agriculture i.e. from sedentary small scale

subsistence to settled commercial large scale diversified agriculture as

well as consumption behaviors from manufactured to fresh food as well

as a shift from natural and geographical dependent agriculture with

intra-sector interdependence for supporting food production requires

capacity building to realize particular outcomes pertinent o food

sufficiency. The conceptualization below therefore, postulates the

interaction between internal and external factors that influence

outcomes on food.

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Figure 1: Conceptualization of capacity building for food security promotion through media.

(The interaction between internal and external factors, and food sector outcomes of capacity

building)

Media role

bridging

production

communication

advocacy

energiser

Outcomes

performance (training farmers, innovation of variety, apply appropriate

and new methods, new positions in local government fr griculture)

organisation (improved output, food preparation, transportation, household

roles)

Food (better policies, implementation of projects, quality of life)

External factors

Stable sources of finance

Rural agricultural finance

Education

Donor support

Leadership at national and local level

Political support

Infrastructure

Water supply

security

Internal factors

Equipment

Leadership

Resources

Institutional development

Traditions and attitudes

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The postulation above signifies the interaction between internal and

external factors and the bridging role of media and roles in media in

building capacity for food security. In the interaction, issues or factors in

agriculture as leadership, equipment, institutional development,

traditions and attitudes influence each other. Factors external to

agricultural sector as stable sources of finance for agriculture, rural

agricultural finance or credit, microfinance, donor support, leadership at

national and local level, political support and other factors of education,

security, water supply, infrastructure availability influence greatly the

production, marketing, transportation, use of food, policy application

and methods of food production and preservation and sustainability.

The outcomes of capacity building for food sector categorized as

performance, organization and food supply are expected results of

proper interaction between agriculture and other sectors bridged by the

media. Under performance, improving competences by training of

current and potential farmers, innovation of variety and diversification

of crops, application of new and appropriate methods of farming,

promotion and new positions in local government for agriculture are

crucial for capacity building and better outcomes.

Organization denotes training farmers and farm management,

improvement of farm outputs, food preparation (cooking and handling),

transportation, family and household roles for sustainability all of which

lead to food through better policies and implementation of projects that

help food to translate into better quality life.

In the postulation therefore, the media plays their role of interacting,

coordinating with the various players and stakeholders across all

sections of society to promote food security, safety, supply, affordability,

accessibility and utilization.

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Bibliography Food Security Analysis Unit-Somalia (2008) Nutrition Update. World Food Program

World Food Program (2012) Trend Analysis of Food and Nutrition Insecurity in

Somalia 2007-2012.

United Nations Commission for Africa (2008) Sustainable Development Report on

Africa: Five-Year Review of the Implementation of the World Summit on the

Sustainable Development Outcomes in Africa.Addis Ababa

Food Security Analysis Unit (2000) Food Economy Baseline Report.

Food and Agricultural Organisation.

Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (2013) Nutrition Analysis Post

GU 2013, Technical Series Report No.VII.52.Somalia.

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (2013) Making the Most

of Africa’s Commodities: Industrializing for Growth, jobs and Economic

Transformation.Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mwaniki, Angella; Achieving Food Security in Africa: Challenges and

Issues. Cornell University.

Foulger, Davis (2003) Roles in Media, Oswego state university.

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