FAO calls for diversity of food patterns

Elita Chikwati Senior Agriculture Reporter
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has urged Southern Africa to adapt to changing food consumption patterns and include food items that are now a significant component in their food balance sheet.

A food balance sheet is a comprehensive compilation of a selected country’s food supply during a specific period of time.

The food balance sheet shows the food item for human consumption, along with how it is produced, used, imported or exported, including how it benefits society.

Speaking at a workshop organised by SADC and FAO in South Africa recently, FAO representative for Southern Africa Mr Lewis Hove said the ability of countries to reliably forecast food availability was critical to economic planning and safeguarding national food security.

“Rapid urbanisation and rural transformation have resulted in changes in food consumption patterns hence, the call to expand the cereal balance sheets to include other food items which are now a significant component of the diets,” he said.

“While there is ample information on the availability of cereals in the region, there is little information on the availability of other foods that have come to dominate diets.”

Mr Hove cautioned that typical cereal-based diets had led to poor dietary diversity and insufficient consumption of essential nutrients.

“We believe a focus on food balance sheets will help us move away from maize-centric input support programmes and focus on agricultural diversification, which is critical for resilience-building,” he said.

SADC, he added, faced a triple burden of under-nutrition, over-nutrition and micro-nutrient deficiency among children.

Mr Hove indicated that the inclusion of all food commodities will allow for the much-needed information on the production and availability of both cereals and non-cereal commodities.

“Food balance sheets provide essential information on a country’s food consumption as they present a holistic picture of a country’s food supply pattern during a specified reference period,” he said.

“The adoption of the food balance sheets will also help SADC member states monitor the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on food security.”

The workshop, which was also meant to support countries in the move from cereal-based balance sheets to food balance sheets, also set the stage for the formation of a consolidated regional food balance sheet.

The regional food balance sheet is expected to help governments and traders acquire knowledge of the available food stock in the region for purposes of food security planning and sourcing of commodities.