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Food security governance: a systematic literature review

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Abstract

The role of governance has been receiving increasing attention from food security scholars in recent years. However, in spite of the recognition that governance matters, current knowledge of food security governance is rather fragmented. To provide some clarity in the debate about the role of governance in addressing food (in)security, this paper reports the results of a systematic review of the literature. The synthesis revolves around seven recurring themes: i) the view of governance as both a challenge and solution to food security; ii) a governability that is characterized by high degrees of complexity; iii) failures of the current institutional architectures; iv) the arrival of new players at the forefront; v) calls for coherency and coordination across multiple scales; vi) variation and conflict of ideas; and vii) calls for the allocation of sufficient resources and the integration of democratic values in food security governance. Two lines of discussion of this synthesis are raised. First, the researcher argues that a large proportion of the food security governance literature is characterized by an optimist governance perspective, i.e., a view of governance as a problem-solving mechanism. Complementing this body of literature with alternative governance perspectives in future research may strengthen current understandings of food security governance. Approaching food security as a ‘wicked problem’ could provide valuable insights in this respect. Second, food security governance as a research field could make headway by engaging in further empirical investigation of current governance arrangements, particularly at sub-national levels.

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Notes

  1. Food security governance here refers to the governance of food security, and not to a specific type or mode of governance. Food security governance and governance of food security are used interchangeably in this article.

  2. Duplicates excluded.

  3. I scanned the first twenty pages of results. All other relevant results had already been retrieved by searching Scopus and Web of Science, global organizations’ websites, or reference checking.

  4. Eight from the FAO website, two from IFAD. Searches on the other websites did not lead to relevant results.

  5. Based on journal subject categories in Journal Citations Report. Only ISI-indexed journals were included in this analysis. Ten articles were not published in an ISI-indexed journal. If journals were ascribed to multiple categories, all categories were included.

  6. Up to the time of data collection, see ESM I.

  7. Nota bene: this refers to empirical studies on governance (arrangements) on a more meta-level, not on particular food security solutions, projects, or programs.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Robbert Biesbroek, Peter Tamas, and Hilde Tobi for their helpful comments and suggestions regarding the methods used in this review, and Gerard Breeman, Katrien Termeer, and two anonymous reviewers for their feedback on previous versions of the paper. Previous draft versions of this paper were presented at the 7th General Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research in Bordeaux in September 2013, and at the 1st International Conference on Global Food Security in Noordwijkerhout in September 2013.

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    Jeroen J. L. Candel

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Candel, J.J.L. Food security governance: a systematic literature review. Food Sec. 6, 585–601 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-014-0364-2

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