Crop resistance and household resilience – The case of cassava and sweetpotato during super-typhoon Ompong in the Philippines

Extreme weather events can have devastating effects on agricultural production. As rural households in developing countries largely depend on agriculture, climatic shocks have the potential to undermine food security. In this paper, we explore how crop resistance contribute to household resilience in extreme weather events. As case study, we used cassava and sweetpotato, two root and tuber crops (RTCs), in the context of super-typhoon Ompong that wreaked havoc in the northern parts of the Philippines in 2018. Primary data were collected from 423 households who were affected by the super-typhoon. Methodologically, we employed a multivariate probit model to jointly estimate various household disaster responses, and applied propensity score matching techniques to control for potential endogeneity. The findings suggest that RTCs can contribute to households' resilience capacity due to their resistance to climatic shocks being underground crops. In addition, RTCs appear to be important in influencing the households’ responses to typhoon. Our findings suggest that RTC cultivation reduces the need to resort to negative coping strategies, such as using household savings and requesting assistance from neighbors and friends, and that higher consumption of sweetpotato is linked to longer spells of reduced mobility. Furthermore, in the case of super-typhoon Ompong, affected households exploited the short production cycle of sweetpotato and cassava and planted them in the typhoon aftermath, a strategy that helped to gain faster access to food. Based on these findings some policy recommendations are proposed

Searching for viable exploitation within small scale fisheries; the case of Solomon Islands

The sustainable management of small-scale fisheries in coral reef ecosystems constitutes a difficult objective especially because these fisheries usually face several stringent pressures including demographic growth and climate changes. The implications are crucial in term of food security as fish represents the major protein source for local populations in those regions. The case of the Salomon Islands fishery presented in this paper represents a challenging example of these issues. The fishery is characterized by a high diversity of coral reef marine resources but faces an increasing local food demand due to the combined effect of demographic pressure and growing need for cash. The paper proposes a bio-economic model that accounts for multi-species and multi-fleets dynamic and integrates a calibrated Lokta-Volterra trophic dynamics. Several contrasted fishing scenarios including status quo, total closure, and viable strategies are then simulated and their results compared in relation to ecological and economical considerations. The appreciation is driven by 3 biological indicators (Simpson index, species richness and marine trophic index) and 2 economical indicators (kg of fish consumed per week and weekly earned money). Finally the simulations show the extent to which fishing outputs including subsistence supply and profitability of fishing can be viable for the next fifty years

Searching for viable exploitation within small scale fisheries; the case of Solomon Islands

The sustainable management of small-scale fisheries in coral reef ecosystems constitutes a difficult objective especially because these fisheries usually face several stringent pressures including demographic growth and climate changes. The implications are crucial in term of food security as fish represents the major protein source for local populations in those regions. The case of the Salomon Islands fishery presented in this paper represents a challenging example of these issues. The fishery is characterized by a high diversity of coral reef marine resources but faces an increasing local food demand due to the combined effect of demographic pressure and growing need for cash. The paper proposes a bio-economic model that accounts for multi-species and multi-fleets dynamic and integrates a calibrated Lokta-Volterra trophic dynamics. Several contrasted fishing scenarios including status quo, total closure, and viable strategies are then simulated and their results compared in relation to ecological and economical considerations. The appreciation is driven by 3 biological indicators (Simpson index, species richness and marine trophic index) and 2 economical indicators (kg of fish consumed per week and weekly earned money). Finally the simulations show the extent to which fishing outputs including subsistence supply and profitability of fishing can be viable for the next fifty years

Linking Wellbeing and Resilience to Improve Fishery Governance

Transdisciplinary approaches and innovative combinations of social and ecological theory are required to deal with complexity and change in fisheries and other human-ecological systems. This paper examines the interplay and complementarities that emerge by linking resilience and social wellbeing approaches to better understand and govern fisheries. After first discussing the nature of resilience and of wellbeing, and the limitations of applying each concept individually, the paper explores the interplay of resilience and wellbeing in fostering a social-ecological perspective that promises more appropriate management and policy actions. Five key points of interplay are examined: (1) the limitations of simplistic optimization thinking; (2) the role of human agency and values; (3) understandings of scale; (4) insights on “controlling variables” and (5) perspectives on thresholds and boundaries. This analysis leads to a series of insights for enhancing transdisciplinary research and fishery governance.Keywords: Well-Being and Fishery Governance, Fisheries Economics, Special Topic

Food system resilience measurement: principles, framework and caveats

There is growing recognition that a better understanding of how food systems respond to crises is critical to build and protect the food security of local populations. But rigorous and reliable methods to measure food system resilience are still missing. In this paper, we build on the current literature to develop an analytical framework aimed at assessing the resilience of food systems at local level. The novel element of the analysis lies in the levels at which resilience is considered. Combining the individual actor level with the notion of 'emergent properties' of food systems, we argue that the overall resilience of food system results from processes that take place – and need to be measured – at both individual and system levels. The framework is structured around three components: (i) the mapping of the actors and the local food system; (ii) the assessment of the resilience of these actors and that of the food system, and (iii) the outcomes of this resilience, assessed in term of local population’s food security. For each of those components, indicators are proposed and the ways to collect them are discussed. The paper then presents the types of analyses that would be necessary to complete to gain a better understanding of the situation regarding the resilience of the local food system under consideration, including the analysis of “positive deviance” among food system actors. The paper concludes with a series of reflections about the caveats and challenges that one may face when attempting to assess food system resilience

Honduras food system profile: Better understanding food systems at country level

Country profiles are more than a simple compilation of national indicators. They are constructed and designed around a common framework and methodology to identify hotspots of unsustainability in the food systems and prioritize interventions at multiple scales to address these through targeted actions and investments. An important feature of the country profiles is that they are co-produced with key public and private food system stakeholders engaged in both identifying the data and validating results and emerging key messages. The use of a common framework also offers an opportunity for a global comparative analysis on food system transitions and transformations – not just at national but also international level – thus generating insights and lessons for decision-makers. We expect these profiles to contribute to relevant international processes, following the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021. This Honduras food system profile (also available in Spanish) is composed of three main blocks of information: (a) system drivers; (b) system components; and (c) system outcomes

Technical Aspects of Flow Cytometry-based Measurable Residual Disease Quantification in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Experience of the European LeukemiaNet MRD Working Party

Measurable residual disease (MRD) quantified by multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) is a strong and independent prognostic factor in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, several technical factors may affect the final read-out of the assay. Experts from the MRD Working Party of the European LeukemiaNet evaluated which aspects are crucial for accurate MFC-MRD measurement. Here, we report on the agreement, obtained via a combination of a cross-sectional questionnaire, live discussions, and a Delphi poll. The recommendations consist of several key issues from bone marrow sampling to final laboratory reporting to ensure quality and reproducibility of results. Furthermore, the experiences were tested by comparing two 8-color MRD panels in multiple laboratories. The results presented here underscore the feasibility and the utility of a harmonized theoretical and practical MFC-MRD assessment and are a next step toward further harmonization

Reframing the sustainable seafood narrative

The dominant sustainable seafood narrative is one where developed world markets catalyze practice improvements by fisheries and aquaculture producers that enhance ocean health. The narrow framing of seafood sustainability in terms of aquaculture or fisheries management and ocean health has contributed to the omission of these important food production systems from the discussion on global food system sustainability. This omission is problematic. Seafood makes critical contributions to food and nutrition security, particularly in low income countries, and is often a more sustainable and nutrient rich source of animal sourced-food than terrestrial meat production. We argue that to maximize the positive contributions that seafood can make to sustainable food systems, the conventional narratives that prioritize seafood's role in promoting ‘ocean health’ need to be reframed and cover a broader set of environmental and social dimensions of sustainability. The focus of the narrative also needs to move from a producer-centric to a ‘whole chain’ perspective that includes greater inclusion of the later stages with a focus on food waste, by-product utilization and consumption. Moreover, seafood should not be treated as a single aggregated item in sustainability assessments. Rather, it should be recognized as a highly diverse set of foods, with variable environmental impacts, edible yield rates and nutritional profiles. Clarifying discussions around seafood will help to deepen the integration of fisheries and aquaculture into the global agenda on sustainable food production, trade and consumption, and assist governments, private sector actors, NGOs and academics alike in identifying where improvements can be made.Until 15 December 2019, this article can be freely accessed online at: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1ZyqC3Q8oP-AK