Household Food Security and Regional Geography

Livelihood Prospects in Nembudziya, Northwestern Zimbabwe

Bibliographic Data

ID5877706
AuthorsNick James (0000-0002-2836-061X, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume2
Issue5
Pages1337-1362
Publication date2008-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeography Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-8198 • E-ISSN: 1749-8198
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1749-8198.2008.00141.x
OpenAlexW2006116924
LanguageEN
References cited58

Household food [in]security can be defined as the concept that underpins the various notions of relative food deprivation ranging from hunger, famine and malnutrition to seasonal shortages. The concept is also used to analyse and explain very different and complex livelihood realities at particular and local levels. Since the term emerged in the 1980s, it has gone through many changes and redefinition, but in this article the aim is to make general links to the geographies of food and other livelihood deprivations. The recent debates on livelihoods and participation link closely to the practical concerns around household food security. This article aims to present analysis that brings together regional understanding with insights into heterogeneity and the diversification of livelihoods and household food security in a particular region in Zimbabwe. Its argument is that such a multi-scale analysis can give a fuller and more useful understanding of the differences and dynamics in household food security and therefore livelihood prospects in general. The regional political economy approach provides insight into the major external impacts in the region. The two most important of these have been the introduction of cotton and in-migration, both occurring since the 1960s. A second level of analysis focuses on social relations and, hence, institutional developments within the region. These were relatively incomplete until the 1990s and since then the external forces, including the state and market forces, have determined the direction and emphasis of development in the region. Finally, the regional geography approach enables analysis of the local situation from cultural and identity perspectives. The livelihood possibilities are therefore related to social realities within and among the households. In conclusion, such regional empirical focus helps to give a fuller assessment of the unfolding household food security situation in northwestern Zimbabwe

Agriculture · Business · Development economics · Economic geography · Economic growth · Economics · Famine · Food security · Geography · Livelihood · Political science · Politics · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Urban and Rural Development Challenges

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