Understanding Food Security and Agriculture Challenges in the Euro-Mediterranean Region

摘要

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) defines food security as "a situation when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe and, nutritious food to meet their dietary needs andfood preferences for an active and healthy life" (FAO 1996). Indeed, in addition to food production, food availability and access are important parts of food security. At the macro-level, food security is achieved when a country has adequate food supplies to feed its population, either via domestic production, the global market or food aid (Breisinger et al. 2010). The dramatic rise in food prices in 2007-2008 highlighted the risks of the overdependence of many countries, including those in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), on imports for their food security and, consequently, the need to find a balance between dependency on global markets and home production.