Market Information and Food Insecurity Response Analysis

Food Security, 2009

Posted: 20 May 2011

See all articles by Christopher B. Barrett

Christopher B. Barrett

Cornell University - Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management

Robert Bell

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Erin Lentz

University of Texas at Austin - Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs

Daniel G. Maxwell

Independent

Date Written: February 9, 2009

Abstract

Food aid is no longer the only, or even the dominant, response to widespread food insecurity. Donors, governments, NGOs and recipient communities exhibit rapidly growing interest in and experimentation with cash-based alternatives, both in the form of direct cash distribution to food insecure persons, and of local or regional purchase of food using cash provided to operational agencies by donors. But humanitarian assistance and development communities lack a systematic, field-tested framework for choosing among food- and/or cash-based responses to food insecurity. This paper outlines the rationale for “response analysis” and introduces a new, field-tested, systematic approach to this emergent activity. The Market Information and Food Insecurity Response Analysis (MIFIRA) framework provides a logically sequenced set of questions, and corresponding analytical tools to help operational agencies anticipate the likely impact of alternative (food- and/or cash-based) responses and thereby identify the response that best fits a given food insecurity context.

Keywords: Acute food insecurity, Chronic food insecurity, Emergency response, Food aid, Food security, Local and regional purchase, Markets analysis

Suggested Citation

Barrett, Christopher B. and Bell, Robert and Lentz, Erin and Maxwell, Daniel G., Market Information and Food Insecurity Response Analysis (February 9, 2009). Food Security, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1846605

Christopher B. Barrett (Contact Author)

Cornell University - Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management ( email )

315 Warren Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-7801
United States
607-255-4489 (Phone)
607-255-9984 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://aem.cornell.edu/faculty_sites/cbb2/

Robert Bell

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Erin Lentz

University of Texas at Austin - Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs ( email )

2300 Red River St., Stop E2700
PO Box Y
Austin, TX 78713
United States

Daniel G. Maxwell

Independent ( email )

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