case study food security

Harnessing Operational Systems Engineering to Support Peacebuilding: Report of a Workshop by the National Academy of Engineering and United States Institute of Peace Roundtable on Technology, Science, and Peacebuilding (2013)

Chapter: 5 case study: food security in south sudan.

5 Case Study: Food Security in South Sudan

I n January 2011 the South Sudanese people voted overwhelmingly, in a referendum established as part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), to secede from Sudan and create the world’s newest nation ( Figure 5-1 ). 1 South Sudan has about 10 million people in an area about the size of Texas. Despite substantial national income from oil resources, the country’s income distribution is highly unequal. Over half the population lives on less than a dollar a day, government services are extremely limited, half the population lacks clean, potable water, and a third lacks access to health care.

Furthermore, histories of ethnic grievance coupled with meddling by political elites at the national and regional levels have caused local disagreements between communities over land use, land ownership, and resources to escalate into violent conflict. Such disputes typically manifest as raids to steal cattle and sometimes to abduct women and children. Although these raids have been portrayed as economic acts driven by young men needing cattle for marriage dowries, recent intertribal conflicts point to communal and political dimensions.

The cumulative effect of raids is a continual stress on farming, but agriculture in South Sudan is rudimentary in any case. Although more than 70

____________

1 The introduction to this chapter is drawn from a background paper prepared for the workshop by Andrew Robertson, Senior Program Officer, US Institute of Peace.

FIGURE 5-1 South Sudan became the world’s newest nation in 2011. SOURCE: CIA World Factbook.

percent of South Sudan’s landmass is thought to be arable, and although the Nile and its many tributaries water these lands, only about 4 percent of South Sudan is farmed. Most land either lies fallow or is used to raise cattle—in most parts of the country, tribal culture has traditionally been pastoral rather than agricultural, and wealth and status have been measured by the number of cattle held, not harvest delivered to market. South Sudan’s limited agricultural sector is further hampered by primitive technology and high input costs. In 2009 the average value (in US dollars) of production per hectare farmed was $299 in South Sudan compared with $665 in Uganda, $917 in Ethiopia, and $1,405 in Kenya.

Even where agricultural surpluses exist, the absence of an effective national road system limits farmers’ ability to serve urban centers of consumption. With the exception of about 300 kilometers of paved roadway linking Juba to Nimule, transport occurs on gravel roadways that are inaccessible during the wet season (from approximately late April to early November). Such urban markets are mostly served by imports from Uganda or Ethiopia.

In addition, high transportation costs limit the adoption of inputs to improve productivity. Agricultural fertilizers and herbicides are almost

unheard of and, because of the cost of transportation, often do not warrant the productivity gains they provide. Replacing self-produced seed varieties with more productive varieties has been impeded by problems of access, training, and capital. Because little economic benefit accrues to early adopters, little incentive exists for investments in technologies to enhance farmer productivity.

Conflict disrupts the already meager food production by destroying scarce farm capital, driving farmers from their land, and disrupting transportation networks. During conflict, farmers are reluctant to invest in their farms. In the least developed nation in Africa, the investment is more basic than machinery. For example, in agricultural communities along migration routes used by pastoralists, fences are a crucial investment for successful farming; without them, cattle from transient tribes will enter fields to graze, greatly reducing yields or even destroying the harvest.

Long-term conflicts also tend to diminish the aggregate skill and knowledge of farming communities. Young men mobilized into militias for extended periods forget agricultural skills necessary to succeed as farmers. Furthermore, without assistance in both buying seeds and equipment and learning how to use them, young men demobilized from militias are unlikely to successfully reintegrate into rural farming communities.

FOOD SECURITY AND PEACEBUILDING

Tim McRae of Food for Peace, USAID, explored the connection between peacebuilding and food security in South Sudan. The United Nations has defined peacebuilding as involving “a range of measures targeted to reduce the risk of lapsing or relapsing into conflict by strengthening national capacities at all levels for conflict management, and laying the foundations for sustainable peace and development.” 2 Reducing the risk of conflict and laying the foundations for peace and development require food security, McRae argued. The individuals most likely to participate in armed conflicts are males from rural areas with limited education and limited economic prospects. These are the same individuals who are most likely to work in the agricultural sector to produce food security. If they are not working in agriculture, they are more likely to foment conflict.

2 See United Nations Rule of Law, section on Peacebuilding, online at http://unrol.org/article.aspx?article_id=27 .

According to the United Nations, food security involves food availability, food access, and food utilization, 3 and this definition has been adopted by other international organizations, McRae observed. All three elements must be realized to ensure food security and to create an environment that reduces the possibility of conflict.

Food availability refers to the physical availability of sufficient quantities of food to meet dietary needs for a productive and healthy life. Food may be supplied through domestic production, imports, or food aid. The 2012 crop assessment for South Sudan found that the country faced a cereal deficit of more than 473,000 metric tons. 4 This shortfall was attributed to delayed rains, lack of fertilizers, pests, disease, poor technical capacity, and conflict at the border in addition to fighting internal to the country. Improving food availability in South Sudan requires improving technical capacity, including both production and logistics. Because of the bad road system, the movement of food is extremely limited for a large portion of each year. Building better roads would help reduce the travel time to markets and revitalize trade while providing other benefits, such as improving access to schools and health care facilities.

Food access involves the economic circumstances that allow people to acquire adequate resources for the provision of foods for a nutritious diet. It thus depends on household income, the distribution of resources within a household, and the cost of food. In South Sudan, poverty is a major contributor to food insecurity. Strengthening the agricultural productive capacity of households is essential to moving people from a state of economic deprivation to self-sufficiency, McRae said. Currently, the half of Sudan’s population that lives below the poverty line is unable to withstand shocks due to droughts, flood, crop diseases, pests, or theft of livestock, all of which are common in the country. People who are marginally food secure can be reduced to food insecurity by just one of these shocks, as happened when the government shut down the flow of oil in January 2012. Agreements were later signed to release the oil, but inflation and high food prices increased food insecurity. Higher agricultural productivity, improved resilience against various shocks, increased transportation capacity, expanded access to land,

3 According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, “food utilization” is “the way the body makes the most of various nutrients in the food” and is thus related to an individual’s nutritional status. Available online at www.fao.org/docrep/013/al936e/al936e00.pdf .

4 Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme. 2012. FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission to South Sudan . Rome: FAO and WFP.

and better access to credit and to saving mechanisms would all improve food access in South Sudan.

The third component of food security has to do with food utilization, which involves adequate diets, clean water, sanitation, health, and basic principles of nutrition and proper child care. The high rate of poverty in South Sudan limits food utilization, resulting in malnutrition, which has negative impacts not only on personal health but on the growth and development of a country because it stifles productivity for entire economic sectors. More nutritional knowledge, greater access to potable water, and better overall health would help improve food utilization, McRae said.

USAID has been working in the state of Jonglei and other parts of South Sudan to build agricultural capacity, though these efforts have been impeded by continued fighting, especially as many groups have young leaders who are trying to prove themselves, according to McRae. Steps that can be useful include training and employment of local youth, better communications, support of the government’s capacity to meet basic needs, development of governance and budgeting skills in the government, knowledge transfer to small-holder farmers, and efforts to promote peace and communication in countries in conflict.

BREAKOUT GROUP DISCUSSION

In asking how systems engineering could be usefully applied to improve food security in South Sudan, this breakout group framed a series of questions that they considered crucial to developing a systems-based solution to the problem:

What are the government’s and other stakeholders’ objectives?

What is the existing system?

What historical data are available?

Can a rough model be built of the current situation?

Could analogous situations contribute to such a model?

Could existing work inform the development of such a model?

To further organize their thinking, the breakout group adopted the model suggested in the morning session of the workshop by William Rouse (see Chapter 3 ) as a possible technical approach. At the level of people , the group identified calories per day, satisfaction levels, and immediate and long-term needs as important factors. At the level of processes , they identified

food production, information processes, education, infrastructure services, security, and conflict management as critical systems components. The organizations level included tribes, NGOs, process owners, and political parties. Finally, at the society level, government, regulations, and the international community were thought to play a significant role.

The group identified assumptions that seemed to span these four levels: predictability, the need for good metrics, sustainability, ownership of various aspects of the system, stakeholder buy-in for solutions, and cultural values. Among the challenges identified, in addition to those mentioned by earlier speakers, were vested interests, the conflict between immediate and long-term needs, the newness of the government, weak infrastructure, and corruption at various levels. Finally, the group discussed what one would need to know in order to decide between different options for agricultural development such as simple subsistence agriculture, highly centralized farming, or market-focused production.

The group identified expertise and other perspectives that would be needed to provide input into an operational systems engineering model—transportation, agricultural production, logistics, culture, nutrition, public health, the environment, and the dynamics of inter- and intra-tribal politics—and in doing so realized that the outputs of the model would provide compelling information for decision makers.

Finally, the group discussed what kinds of metrics would be appropriate for the model, acknowledging that they can be interdependent and at the same time point in different directions. Among the metrics identified were measures of stability, sustainability, growth of the society, and the access to, availability of, and utilization of food. For example, the percentage of malnourished people, income, food prices, and how quickly food gets to consumers would all be important. Metrics would also need to be used to establish a baseline to enable measurement of the results of implemented changes.

In the subsequent plenary discussion, workshop participants observed that part of the model could be constructed quickly as work progressed on the overall model. They also speculated that observations of ongoing changes in South Sudan could be used to reverse engineer how the system currently works. A dynamic analysis could provide guidance for policy interventions.

The challenge of applying operational systems engineering to peacebuilding is particularly formidable in South Sudan because the country is so new and faces so many challenges. In developing a model to link food security to conflict, the conclusion was that the best approach might be to start simple, determine the most important factors, and gradually add complexity.

Operational systems engineering is a methodology that identifies the important components of a complex system, analyzes the relationships among those components, and creates models of the system to explore its behavior and possible ways of changing that behavior. In this way it offers quantitative and qualitative techniques to support the design, analysis, and governance of systems of diverse scale and complexity for the delivery of products or services. Many peacebuilding interventions function essentially as the provision of services in response to demands elicited from societies in crisis. At its core, operational systems engineering attempts to understand and manage the supply of services and product in response to such demands.

Harnessing Operational Systems Engineering to Support Peacebuilding is the summary of a workshop convened in November 2012 by the Roundtable on Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding of the National Academy of Engineering and the United States Institute of Peace to explore the question "When can operational systems engineering, appropriately applied, be a useful tool for improving the elicitation of need, the design, the implementation, and the effectiveness of peacebuilding interventions?" The workshop convened experts in conflict prevention, conflict management, postconflict stabilization, and reconstruction along with experts in various fields of operational systems engineering to identify what additional types of nonnumerical systems methods might be available for application to peacebuilding.

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, food security through the covid-19 crisis and beyond – poland: a case study.

Modeling Economic Growth in Contemporary Poland

ISBN : 978-1-83753-655-9 , eISBN : 978-1-83753-654-2

Publication date: 9 November 2023

Research Background

Applying mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in ‘locking down’ of economies, and disrupted agri-food markets worldwide. Income losses and food price increases negatively affected food security. The ‘stay-at-home’ policy led some households towards a positive shift in eating habits and maintaining these changes could contribute to better nutrition. The Russia–Ukraine war and soaring energy and food prices contributes further to the pressure on the global food system and urgency to consider longer term resilience capacities of national food systems.

Purpose of the Chapter

The aim of the chapter is to identify and review food security challenges that governments and societies have faced during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, with specific emphasis on Poland.

Methodology

The methodological approach was to undertake a narrative literature review and to analyse a number of indicators relating to food security at the national level. These were quantified using data from Economist Impact, the World Bank, the European Commission, FAOSTAT and Statistics Poland.

The 2019–2022 Global Food Security Index for Poland remained quite stable, but the number of food insecure people increased significantly. Hence, urgent government measures are needed to ensure food security for all. Since 2021, high food inflation has reduced food affordability and is expected to remain high due to the Russia-Ukraine war, market pressures on energy prices and climate-related weather conditions. Greater food self-sufficiency in Poland is a key strategy to build up the resilience of the national food system.

• Food security
• COVID-19 pandemic
• Food supply
• Food prices
• Food consumption

Kowalska, A. , Lingham, S. , Maye, D. and Manning, L. (2023), "Food Security Through the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond – Poland: A Case Study", Bukalska, E. , Kijek, T. and Sergi, B.S. (Ed.) Modeling Economic Growth in Contemporary Poland ( Entrepreneurship and Global Economic Growth ), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 89-108. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-654-220231006

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Copyright © 2024 Aleksandra Kowalska, Sophia Lingham, Damian Maye and Louise Manning. Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited

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FOOD INSECURITY, A CASE STUDY OF KENYA

Food security is one of the indicators regarding the level of country's development and was named the first MDGs that to be reached by the 2015. The target is to eradicate the extreme poverty and hunger by half compared to the levels in 1990. As the deadline is approaching, it is interesting to look at how countries are dealing with reaching their targets. It was reported that on the global level the target is going to be achieved. However, some countries are not likely to reach their own goals and improve food security situation. Thus, it is interesting to see what are the challenges these countries face in scaling-down the level of hunger. Kenya, being one of the countries that are not likely to achieve its food security goal, was chosen to analyze as a case study. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the reasons why food insecurity is still present in Kenya, despite international commitments and government policies. The following four factors after the initial research were found to have the most immense influence on the issue: neoliberal trade regime, foreign food aid, domestic policies and climate change. The factors were analyzed employing theories or neoliberalism and dependency. It was found that trade liberalization agreements and financial ties with international financial institutions restricted Kenya from developing in an efficientway its food security policies. Furthermore, due to the extensive inflows of inexpensive food imports and always available foreign food aid, local farmers found themselves in a disadvantageous position compared to the foreign food producers and this led to discouragement of domestic food production. Therefore, the agricultural sector is currently declining in Kenya, even though it is of the prime importance regarding employment and Kenya GDP. After the adopted liberal trading regime, Kenya found itself involved in unequal and exploitative relations that restrict it from improving food security situation. Governmental programs were found to be inefficient because SAPs prevent government from subsidizing vulnerable sectors or efficiently funding food security policies. Climate change, the result of the unsustainable development of currently developed economies, as well impacts heavily, by draughts or floods, food security in Kenya. All things considered, food security situation in Kenya is mostly caused by the neoliberal trading regime and the dependency on the advanced economies imposed by the regime.

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Shamsa Birik

In the last five years there has been an upward rise in the global demand for food that has led to food insecurity characterized by price volatility, price hikes, food riots, as well as loss of bio diversity and farm land. Of the nine billion population of the world, it is estimated that one billion is currently food insecure with the majority living in developing countries. Changes in climatic conditions, hikes in fuel prices and the impending force of globalization, has exposed poor countries in Africa to a food crisis problem that has led to what many have termed as the ‘food bubble’. The United States, world hegemonic power that is meant to protect the world’s poor and hungry, is currently leading in the campaign of converting world grain that is corn to fuel (ethanol) cars and automobiles. This comes even after there is a massive shortage of world food grain and the problem thereof arises when the hungry have to compete with cars to secure food. The dynamics of world politics remains a feature that is rarely pointed out in addressing the food insecurity problem as many take it to be a benign factor. Focusing on Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, this study analyzes the implications of politics on food security conundrum in the African context. The primary motivation for conducting this research is to gain a deep understanding of the threats posed by political actions, motivations and policies of various actors and institutions and the implications it has had on food security. The means of collecting and analyzing data used in conducting this study was through secondary sources such as relevant research projects, international organization reports, published books and online journals.

Matias E Margulis

The geopolitics of the Global Food Crisis and international trade has received limited scholarly attention, a significant omission given the major roles of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in structuring world food production and trade flows and as a principal inter-state governing mechanism of the global agro-food system. Analysing recent international policy actions framing the WTO as a ‘fix’ to the Global Food Crisis, this article points to the value of a critical geopolitics of agro-power sensitive to the spatial reconfiguration of production and power in the global agro-food system, problematising geospatial categories such as ‘North’ and ‘South’, and that takes seriously contests for control of geopolitical agents such as the WTO.

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Free trade has emerged as the panacea for development and prosperity over the past century. How did this idea influence agricultural policies and food security in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in the recent decades? This paper examines the literature covering the emergence of the free trade idea in the 19 th century, traces its disappearance as well as re-emergence after the second World War, and raises the question if the current free trade regime that manifested itself most prominently in the World Trade Organization (WTO), is the most fitting to raise people out of poverty and ensure food equality.

Carmen Gonzalez

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Eric Holt-Gimenez

Anika Mahla

The study reconstructs the latest discourse on the (New) Green Revolution within the German press by using the approach of an argumentative and narrative discourse analysis. In 2006, shortly before the latest food crisis (2008), the “Alliance for a Green Revolution” (AGRA) was initiated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the Rockefeller Foundation. AGRA aims at eradicating poverty and hunger by adopting a “market-led technology” approach (Toenniessen et al. 2008). The aim is to elaborate which stories (narratives) and actors with similar positions (discourse coalitions) exist regarding the (New) Green Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To answer this question, there are two major positions: on the one hand an affirmative coalition of actors in favor of the industrialization of agriculture and on the other hand a critical discourse coalition which prefers agroecological alternatives. The affirmative story emphasizes the importance of productivity, growth, technologies, chemical inputs, competitive markets and value chains in order to generate food security. The critical coalition prefers the concept of food sovereignty instead in order to claim the importance of access to land and other resources (e.g. seed) as well as the empowerment of farmers. From their perspective a democratization of food systems goes in line with participation. Further crucial pillars for a multifunctional agriculture are the focus on local production of smallholder and environmental sustainability. The similarities and differences between these coalitions are outlined on the basis of the underlying actant structures. As a result, it is stressed that hegemonic characteristics of the affirmative story are predominant in the discourse, which increases the demand for further industrialization of the food system, especially in SSA.

Nadia Lambek , Priscilla Claeys

Makana Osano Fred

Perpetua Agoya

Budalang’i sub-county floodplain of Kenya has been experiencing food insecurity for quite a long time despite its natural resources, potential agricultural land and favorable climate. Food insecurity is a recurrent national hazard and it impedes possibilities to development and agricultural production and these calls for a solution to this problem as it hampers the development process, further increasing the vulnerability of the rural society and thereby perpetuating and increasing the incidences of poverty (FAO, 2006). This study aimed on the assessment of food insecurity in Budalang’i sub-county in Busia County. This was with a view of conceptualizing on the assessment of food insecurity indicators and to identify the effects of food insecurity on the local livelihoods of the study area. The goal of the research was to propose viable measures to curb food insecurity in that region. The study employed various methodologies which included use of questionnaires, structured interviews, Observation, Focused group discussion, ground photography and sampling methods. Stratified random sampling was done to select 200 respondents which represented approximately 0.15% of the areas census, projected to be 53973 persons as at 2013 (IEBC, 2013). Data was analyzed using various statistical methods such as use of graphs and charts. These methods were used to identify inappropriate farming methods, small scale farming and frequent flooding as the major indicators of food insecurity in Budalang”I Sub-county. Furthermore, the major findings on the effects of food insecurity were; socio-economic underdevelopment and rampant poverty levels. The study concluded that inappropriate farming methods and frequent flooding are the main indicators of food insecurity in Budalang’I sub-county. It therefore recommended the community to diversify their agricultural production, the government to provide agricultural input subsidies and allocate more funds to the agricultural sector within the County budget and enact appropriate flood management programmes. The study therefore, patronages the need to evolve an integrated food security plan for effective management of food insecurity in Budalang’i sub-county.

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Food Security in Urban Cities: A Case Study Conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa

Michael Rudolph 1, , Florian Kroll 1 , Evans Muchesa 1 , Mark Paiker 2 and Paul Fatti 3

1 Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE), University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

2 DMSA, Johannesburg, South Africa

3 ³University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

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Enhancing Food Literacy and Food Security through School Gardening in Rural and Regional Communities

Timothy p. holloway.

1 School of Health Sciences, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS 7248, Australia; [email protected] (T.P.H.); [email protected] (S.J.); [email protected] (L.D.); [email protected] (R.S.); [email protected] (N.M.B.); [email protected] (A.P.H.)

Sisitha Jayasinghe

Lisa dalton, michelle l. kilpatrick.

2 Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7000, Australia; [email protected]

Roger Hughes

3 School of Heath Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC 3122, Australia; ua.ude.niws@sehguhmr

Kira A. E. Patterson

4 School of Education, College of Arts, Law and Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS 7248, Australia; [email protected]

Robert Soward

Kylie burgess.

5 Burnie Works, Burnie, TAS 7320, Australia; ua.moc.skroweinrub@olem

Nuala M. Byrne

Andrew p. hills, kiran d. k. ahuja, associated data.

Not applicable.

A qualitative case study approach with in-depth, semi-structured interviews of key school staff, and student feedback was used to assess a school kitchen and garden program in the regional area of North-West Tasmania, Australia. A detailed program description was produced to conduct a realist evaluation with a Context-Mechanism-Outcome configuration, followed by a program theory evaluation through the construction of a retrospective program logic model. Dedicated kitchen and garden spaces, knowledgeable teachers committed to the program, provision of sufficient materials and consumables, and support from the school and community were found to be the basic requirements to establish a program. Additionally, it is essential to integrate both the kitchen and garden teaching components into the school curriculum. The positive outcomes (e.g., engagement, participation, knowledge, skills, behavioral change) of the program were dependent on the underlying factors, including dedicated support of school leadership, teaching staff, and the parent body for effective student engagement in the teaching spaces and for wider engagement from families and the community. The students’ feedback provided supporting evidence of increased food literacy with improvements in their understanding, abilities, and attitudes towards gardening, producing healthy food, and preparing food. This may further lead to enhanced food security for students’ families and the broader community.

1. Introduction

Communities in rural and/or regional areas often have poorer health outcomes than their metropolitan counterparts, being challenged by geographic location and associated socio-economic determinants [ 1 ]. Consequently, these regions have a higher prevalence of chronic conditions, alongside higher rates of hospital admission, morbidity, and mortality associated with lifestyle related disease [ 1 , 2 ]. Preventative health approaches, including access to proper nutrition, would potentially ease the chronic disease burden, however, impacts on food security often make this difficult for many people. Food security can be defined as the state where all individuals have physical, social, and economic access to adequate, safe, nourishing, and culturally appropriate food that fulfills their dietary requirements and food preferences to lead a healthy and active life [ 3 ]. Food security is reliant on the maintenance of four pillars, including availability, access, utilization, and stability, and shortcomings in any of these components may render people subject to food insecurity [ 3 ]. Regrettably, food insecurity disproportionately affects population groups that may experience vulnerability and/or disadvantage, including people residing in rural and remote areas, potentially leading to limited access to nutritious food [ 4 ].

The resulting adverse diet-related health and well-being consequences may develop across all stages of life [ 5 ], and this often includes malnutrition, but also, paradoxically, obesity and associated development of chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes [ 6 ]. Plausible explanations for this contradiction include poor dietary quality and readily available energy dense, highly and/or ultra-processed foods [ 6 , 7 ], often predicated on poor understanding of food utilization, and the associated level of food literacy [ 8 ].

Food literacy is a set of inter-related knowledge, skills, and behaviors to meet food needs, including planning, selection, preparation and eating, which empower individuals, households, and communities to maintain and strengthen healthy diets [ 9 ]. Improving food literacy is essential for promoting food utilization and enhancing food security [ 10 ], which may ultimately lead to better health outcomes for communities. The issue of food security, including strengthening food utilization, may be better addressed if placed-based and community-driven approaches are employed [ 11 ].

Schools play a significant role in promoting food literacy among children [ 12 ], although interventions have been heterogeneous in nature, highlighting the need for more targeted approaches to address key competencies [ 13 ]. The implementation of school garden-based programs may be an effective approach in addressing food literacy [ 12 , 13 ] and issues of food insecurity. These types of programs have gained widespread popularity in developed countries, more commonly located in urban environments [ 14 ], as they support experiential learning opportunities [ 15 , 16 ] and promote positive health and well-being outcomes [ 17 , 18 ]. These include changes in dietary and nutritional knowledge and behaviors [ 19 ], and increased intake of fruit and vegetables among school children [ 20 ], while also tackling the increased prevalence of childhood obesity [ 21 , 22 ].

The positive effects on children’s health and wellbeing are generally context specific, contingent on a combination of underlying mechanisms working mutually [ 23 ]. School gardening programs offer opportunities to improve food literacy in children and involve parents or guardians in the process, which can lead to improved food literacy in families and the ability to influence long-term dietary behaviors [ 24 ]. This provides prospect for enhanced food security, extending into the family and wider community [ 25 , 26 ]. Although most research has focused on school gardening in urban settings, limited research has characterized their influence in rural and/or regional areas, particularly the impact on food literacy and food security.

The aim of this study was to use a case study approach to evaluate a primary school kitchen and garden program in North-West Tasmania and answer the research question: “Do school-based gardening programs have potential to enhance food literacy and food security in rural and/or regional communities?”.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. setting and context.

This case study is centered on the Kitchen & Garden program in a primary school. This program is part of a suite of support programs designed to supplement core learning areas [ 27 ]. The school of focus in this instance, is one of nine public primary schools in the Burnie Local Government Area, which is managed by the Tasmanian Government Department for Education, Children and Young People, with approximately 290 children aged 4 to 11 years enrolled in kindergarten to Grade 6 [ 28 ]. Students and their families reside in the school intake area that includes suburbs of low relative socio-economic advantage compared to the rest of the state of Tasmania, Australia [ 29 , 30 ].

The Burnie Local Area Government Area is situated in rural/regional North-West Tasmania, Australia, with an estimated population of 19,918 in 2021 [ 31 ]. The population experiences considerable impacts on food security with almost 6% of adults reporting food insecurity in 2019 [ 32 ]. Additionally, approximately 16% of adults reported insufficient moderate/vigorous physical activity and 77% reported insufficient muscle strengthening, respectively, as well as 59% and 87% not meeting the guidelines for fruit and vegetable consumption, respectively [ 32 ]. Furthermore, over 76% of the adults in this area are overweight and obese compared to 59% for the rest of Tasmania [ 32 ].

2.2. Study Design, Ethics, and Participants

This study was part of the CAPITOL (Critical Age Periods Impacting the Trajectory of Obesogenic Lifestyles) Project, managed by the School of Health Sciences, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, with research team members having extensive expertise in exercise and nutrition science, public health, and education. For the development of the case study, a qualitative research methodology was utilized, which involved three stages—data collection, data analysis, and verification and reporting ( Figure 1 ). Data collection involved in-depth semi-structured interviews, observational site visit, and review of the materials provided by participants. The data were analyzed using various methods, including the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDier) methodology [ 33 ], appraisal of student feedback surveys, realist evaluation, and program theory evaluation.

Stages of the research approach used for development of the case study to assess potential of the school Kitchen & Garden program in improving food literacy of children.

The study was approved by The University of Tasmania Human Research Ethics Committee (application number H0018654). A purposive sampling approach was used to recruit a small number of key individuals and, as we utilized a constructivist paradigm, this was sufficient to attain in-depth and information-rich data [ 34 ]. Accordingly, the school principal (with overall responsibility for the Kitchen & Garden program) and teacher coordinating the school garden program (with day-to-day responsibility for teaching activities in the garden and related administrative duties) were invited (via email followed by phone communication) to participate in the study. The participants (n = 2, both male) provided their verbal consent.

2.3. Stage 1: Data Collection

An interview guide was produced to explore key foci associated with the program ( Table 1 ). The interview questions were designed to identify needs, goals, activities, assumptions, resources, outcomes, evaluations, lessons learnt, partnerships, and further intelligence on the program. The guide was provided to participants prior to the interview, allowing for in-depth reflection and preparation of responses. Audio-recorded interviews of 45 min duration were conducted face-to-face on school premises, also enabling on-site observational visits of kitchen and garden spaces. One member of the research team (TPH) followed the interview guide, with additional probing to elicit further information when required. Interview audio-recordings were replayed, with participants’ responses transcribed and summarized. Participants provided additional print materials related to the program, including responses to the student feedback survey. This four-question survey was implemented by the school to assess the value of the program in the form of the enjoyment, skill development, and sustainability of the program.

Interview questions and associated foci utilized for collecting information on the school Kitchen & Garden program from the principal and main staff.

2.4. Stage 2: Data Analysis

The TIDier itemized checklist reporting methodology was used to analyze the data generated from the interviews, and together with review of the additional provided material, was used to produce a thorough depiction of the program. Additionally, surveys completed by students were appraised and summarized. Realist evaluation was then employed to establish a Context-Mechanism-Outcome configuration prior to the construction of a retrospective program logic model, enabling elucidation of the “theory of change”. To ensure accuracy, the analysis process involved triangulation for consensus, with three researchers independently reviewing program details, materials, appraisals, and evaluations.

The rationale for the above approach was based on the fact that many community-based health promotion initiatives, such as those in school settings, develop organically with clear local ownership and purported positive health and well-being outcomes, but without formal evaluation to substantiate the work [ 35 ]. Inherent complexity may pose evaluative challenges, requiring appropriate methodologies to help explain underlying phenomena contributing to outcomes, which may include theory-led methods, such as realist evaluation and program theory evaluation [ 36 ]. Realist evaluation places emphasis on context and understanding how a program may work, by asking “what works, for whom, and under what circumstances?”, facilitated through consideration of causal elements and production of a Context-Mechanism-Outcome configuration [ 36 , 37 ]. Program theory evaluation also strives to determine how and why a program may work, although it aims to gain an explicit understanding of the underlying assumptions, facilitated through the construction of a retrospective program logic model explaining the theory of change [ 36 , 38 ].

2.5. Stage 3: Verification and Reporting

To ensure the interpretation of data was correctly representative of the program, the program description and evaluation results were verified and confirmed with the participants (principal and responsible teacher) prior to finalizing the report.

3.1. Kitchen and Garden Program Description

The development of a program description revealed that the rationale for the Kitchen & Garden initiative was to enhance student’s food literacy by improving knowledge and understanding of healthy eating, food cultivation, and scientific principles ( Table 2 ). The program had various objectives, which ranged from developing skills in cooking and gardening, to cross-curricula linking between theoretical learning and practical application, and to encouraging practices of sustainability.

Description of the school Kitchen & Garden program depicted in TIDier checklist format.

Abbreviations: SAKGP, Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program; FTE, Full Time Equivalent.

3.2. Appraisal of Student Survey Responses

The summary of the student’s feedback (n = 9) to the survey conducted by the school provides supporting evidence on the students’ enjoyment, engagement, development of skills, access to experiential learning, in addition to sustainability of the Kitchen & Garden (KG) program. This student feedback was also considered for the realist evaluation and program theory evaluation. Below are selected comments:

Enjoyment: “I enjoy participating in the KG program!”; “I love it so much”; “I do enjoy doing all of the gardening”,

Engagement: “I enjoy planting thing(s)/feeding the chickens. I like cooking it’s pretty fun in my opinion”; “I enjoy it because I’m engaging in KG program and I like getting my hands dirty”; “Because it teaches us ways to take care of the enviro(n)ment and take care of animals”,

Skill development and experiential learning: “Learning more about making things out of clay & getting better with painting”; “I get to learn more about plants and animals. Learning about the plants are helpful because I have a garden at home”; “I’m learning how to garden and cook when I get to a(n) adult I’ll know how”.

Sustainability: “It’s important for kids to have fun at school sometimes so they want to come to school”; “Because KG can help a lot in the future and if you have a garden at home KG can help a lot”; “All schools should have the KG program (be)cause they learn life skills”.

3.3. Realist Evaluation

The contextual elements identified encompassed a wide range, including recognizing the need for the program, emphasizing the significance of having centrally located and inter-connected kitchen and garden spaces, and providing a committed teacher and learning assistant ( Table 3 ). The mechanistic elements identified were diverse and comprised of dedicated support from the school and community, fostering student engagement and enjoyment, and gaining recognition for the program’s value from parents and families. The outcomes that influence in the short-term, mid-term, and long-term were identified.

Context-Mechanism-Outcome configuration of the school Kitchen & Garden program.

3.4. Program Theory Evaluation

The theory of change for this program was exemplified by constructing a retrospective logic model ( Figure 2 ). This model outlined the critical resources required, such as spaces, staff, and materials/consumables, along with the strategies to be employed, such as securing funding, creating educational materials, and implementing promotional strategies. The outputs of these efforts included the provision of funding, teaching, and engaging in various activities, which, in turn, led to short-term, mid-term, and long-term outcomes.

Retrospective program logic model of the school Kitchen & Garden program, exemplifying the “theory of change” with applicability to school gardening interventions in rural and/or regional areas.

4. Discussion

We adopted a case study methodology to explore the potential of a primary school kitchen and garden program in enhancing food literacy and food security among students and families in a rural/regional community. The realist evaluation approach revealed that acknowledging the contextual factors is fundamental for the program’s success. This includes providing exclusive kitchen and garden spaces, having knowledgeable and dedicated teaching staff, procuring materials and consumables through support from the school and community, and complementing the core learning by incorporating the program into the curriculum and facilitating cross-curricula connections. Furthermore, the key underlying elements essential to outcomes ranged from dedicated support from the school leadership team, teaching staff, and parent body to effectively engaging students in the kitchen and garden spaces, and to garnering strong engagement and participation from families and the wider community.

After the construction of a retrospective program logic model, the theory of change inherent to the Kitchen & Garden program became evident, with available resources and strategies influencing outputs and outcomes, while simultaneously acknowledging the underlying assumptions necessary for change. The evaluation results demonstrate the program’s potential for enhancing food literacy, and consequently, promoting food security for children, their families, and the broader local community. Moreover, as rural communities may be disproportionately affected by food insecurity [ 4 ], the program logic model can serve as a framework for designing school gardening interventions beyond this particular context, highlighting the potential for the generalizability and transferability of this approach.

The attainment of improved food literacy was evidenced by linking curriculum teaching to experiential learning activities. For example, students engaged and participated in various activities such as planting vegetables and fruits from seed, harvesting, and consuming the produce, all while developing a fundamental theoretical understanding of the processes involved. Additionally, students had opportunities to care for animals, including chickens, which facilitated their understanding of animal husbandry practices, while also fostering a deeper connection to the origins and utilization of food. Further, the project work involved constructing “bee hotels” to attract bees to the garden for plant pollination, which supported student’s comprehension of plant and animal life cycles. The efficacy of experiential teaching in enhancing food literacy was supported by student survey responses, demonstrating improved knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards gardening, animal care, and cooking. The benefits of linking nutrition education with experiential approaches in school-based gardens has been shown to positively influence dietary habits in students, with increased fruit and vegetable knowledge and behavioral change [ 41 ]. Similarly, multidisciplinary approaches in school-based garden interventions may be best placed to improve children’s nutritional knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards vegetables, particularly when parents and the community are involved [ 19 ]. Given that the main domains of food literacy are the ability to plan, select, prepare, and eat [ 9 ], the Kitchen & Garden program was able to develop a range of core competencies that would lead to improved food literacy (e.g., understanding healthy nutrition, origins of food, gardening/cooking skills). It would be appropriate for future research to formally measure food literacy outcomes using validated tools.

The school places great emphasis on fostering strong relationships with students, teachers, parents, and the wider community. This aligns with its mission to empower individuals and is reflected in various programs. Because students recognized the practical value of the initiative and acknowledged the benefits of gardening knowledge for home-based gardens, this could lead to improved food security for families. Studies exploring the role of school gardens in other rural areas have similarly found that children do have the ability to gain food-related knowledge, skills, and values, which supports sustained food security in the community [ 26 ]. School gardening programs have the potential to augment the health and well-being of families at various levels. This can occur through both meso-level proximal effects, such as having a greater presence of family at schools and increased parental involvement, and family-level proximal effects, such as increased parental knowledge in nutrition, leading to improved dietary behaviors for the family [ 14 , 17 ]. In low-income settings particularly, direct participation may be necessary to encourage parental engagement and foster changed dietary behaviors [ 24 ]. Opportunities for parents/guardians to volunteer in the kitchen and/or school garden, promoting sharing of meals with students and staff, and distributing take-home kitchen-based and/or garden-based activities, may help in enhancing food security.

To expand school-based programs in rural or regional areas, and improve food literacy and food security, exploring public–private partnerships would be crucial. Following this study, the primary school partnered with 24 Carrot Gardens, a local not-for-profit organization that works with schools and the wider community, together with local volunteer architects, to co-design bespoke school gardens [ 42 ]. In rural and/or regional communities, collaboration between schools can facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills, resulting in the creation of new programs or the strengthening of existing initiatives. Furthermore, these communities often have well established social networks and unique opportunities that can be utilized to strengthen school gardening programs. For example, establishing farm-to-school linkages can enrich the student experience and improve food literacy by providing a better understanding of food systems [ 43 ]. Similarly, opportunities exist in the area to partner with local educational institutions [ 44 , 45 ], that would facilitate expertise and knowledge transfer, further strengthening such programs.

Although this study has provided supportive evidence for enhanced food literacy, as well as potential for enhanced food security, the findings may not be transferable in all contexts. For example, schools may have limited resources to facilitate dedicated kitchen and garden spaces, teachers, expertise, and time, to develop and maintain effective programs. Similarly, assumptions that the school leadership team, the school, and broader community will be fully engaged with such programs may not hold true in all circumstances. Ideally, program logic models should be developed early in planning and subsequently used to inform monitoring and evaluation. However, we adopted a retrospective approach, which may be viewed as unorthodox, but nevertheless provided critical insight into program components and the theory of change. Additionally, the retrospective development of logic model has previously been conducted in childhood obesity research [ 46 ]. Furthermore, within the scope of our study, we were unable to evaluate the impact of the program on families and the community, which would be an important research objective for future studies.

5. Conclusions

In summary, this paper presents a case study of a primary school kitchen and garden program, demonstrating enhanced food literacy, and in turn, the potential for enhanced food security in children, families, and, by extension, the community. Given that many schools in rural and regional areas have opportunities to incorporate school-based gardens, a capacity exists for similar programs to have positive community impact. As there is an urgent need across public health domains for early intervention to prevent childhood malnutrition including obesity and the expanding chronic disease burden in rural and regional areas, well-designed evidence-based school-based gardening interventions provide viable options to help address these major problems.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to sincerely thank the participants from the primary school for their assistance with this study.

Funding Statement

This research was funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant (#113672) as part of the CAPITOL Project. The study funder had no role in study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, in writing the report, or the decision to submit the article for publication. The contents of this article are the responsibility of the authors and do not reflect the views of the NHMRC.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, R.H., T.P.H., K.D.K.A. and A.P.H.; methodology, R.H., T.P.H. and K.D.K.A.; formal analysis, T.P.H. and K.D.K.A.; investigation, R.H., T.P.H., K.D.K.A. and A.P.H.; resources, K.A.E.P., K.D.K.A., R.H., N.M.B. and A.P.H.; data curation, T.P.H. and K.D.K.A.; writing—original draft preparation, T.P.H.; writing—review and editing, K.D.K.A., S.J., L.D., M.L.K., R.H., K.A.E.P., R.S., K.B., N.M.B. and A.P.H.; project administration, R.H., N.M.B. and A.P.H.; funding acquisition, K.A.E.P., K.D.K.A., R.H., N.M.B. and A.P.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by The University of Tasmania Human Research Ethics Committee (application number H0018654).

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

Author Kylie Burgess was employed by Burnie Works when this work was conducted. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

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Akshaya Patra: case study on food security

On Feb 26, the Akshaya Patra Foundation was conferred the prestigious Gandhi Peace Prize by the President of India. It began as a charitable venture in 2000, serving a nutritious lunch to 1,500 children in five Bangalore schools. The meal was so well received that a year later the Indian government mandated a nutritious lunch meal to be served in every government school. Akshaya Patra, a partner with the central and state government in this effort, is now the world’s largest mid-day meal programme, and served its 3 billionth meal this month. This successful public-private partnership uses high technology, engineering, world-class logistics and management to achieve its goals. But it also ensures India’s food security by sourcing grains and vegetables from local farmers, which in turn preserves the diversity of regional food habits and nutrition. Akshay Patra’s case study on food security was written especially for, and presented at, the ThinkTank20 (T20) meeting hosted by Gateway House in Mumbai in February 2018. The T20 is an official sub-forum of the G20, and the 2018 meeting was held under the G20 presidency of Argentina, one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of agricultural products. Food security and sustainable agriculture was one of the three key issues for Argentina’s G20 Presidency – a focus which India also shares

This case study  was written especially for, and presented at, the ThinkTank20 (T20) meeting hosted by Gateway House in Mumbai in February 2018 .  Click here to view the entire Case Study.

INTRODUCTION

Power of one hot meal is only realised by the truly famished. In a nation which ranks 103rd of 119 in Global Hunger Index 2018, it is imperative that attempts are made to eradicate hunger, and where children are involved, the need is even higher.

“ Our food security is seriously threatened by economic, ecological, and social factors. Eternal vigilance is essential for safeguarding our food security .” – M. S. Swaminathan (Indian Geneticist)

Whether food insecurity leads to poverty by waning the cognitive power of a child or poverty primes to food insecurity by decreasing the retention in the education system; the link is very difficult to establish. This vicious circle is shaped and twisted in a developing country because of various developmental factors.

Two Articles of the Indian Constitution are fundamental to the healthy growth of a society: Article 21 which guarantees every Indian citizen the “right to life” and Article 47 which explicitly states that “The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties…”  Till the end of the 4th Five Year Plan (1969-74), India’s main emphasis was on the aggregate growth of the economy and reliance was placed on the percolation effects of its growth. An alternative strategy of development, comprising an anterior attack on poverty, unemployment and malnutrition in the face of continuing poverty and undernourishment; malnutrition became a national priority from the 5th Five Year Plan (1974-78) onwards. This shift in strategy gave rise to a number of interventions to increase the purchasing power of the poor, to improve the provision of basic services to them and to devise a security system through which, the most vulnerable sections (viz. women and children) could be protected. Nutrition came to the forefront of policy making in India in the mid-1990s, with the 1993 National Nutrition Policy (NNP) and the 1995 National Plan of Action on Nutrition (NPAN).

The Policies:

National Nutrition Policy (NNP)

Under this landmark policy, the Government of India adopted an all-inclusive and wide-ranging approach towards the colossal problem of malnutrition and undernutrition, by implementing various policies and nutrition schemes.

The policies under the NNP, aimed at

• Increasing the production of food grains
• Better utilisation of food resources by applying better technology
• Educating the common man about the benefits of the food that already existed
• Protecting the vulnerable groups by protecting them against certain nutritional deficiencies and diseases
• Supplementary feeding of the most vulnerable groups

One of the key interventions conceptualised to address food insecurity under the NNP was the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. The programme was designed and launched to improve the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide by serving them free lunches on school days.

Since its launch, the programme has undergone several changes. With an aim to enhance enrolment, retention and attendance, and simultaneously improve nutritional levels among children, the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPSE) was launched as a centrally Sponsored Scheme on 15 August, 1995.

In 2001, the programme became a cooked Mid-Day Meal Scheme under which every child in Government and Government-aided primary schools were to be served a prepared mid-day meal with a minimum content of 300 calories of energy and 8-12-gram protein per day for a minimum of 200 days. The Scheme was further extended in 2002 to cover not only children studying in Government, Government-aided and local body schools, but also to children studying in Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) centres.

The Scheme went through another revision in April 2008, post which the MDM programme extended to both recognised and unrecognised Madrasas/Maqtabs supported under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan . Presently it serves 94 million children in over 11 lakh schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, as the largest feeding programme in the world.

Over the years, the Mid-Day Meal Scheme has done much to eradicate hunger and promote education, but these are not the only two areas where the scheme has helped. There also exist other areas where the indirect impacts of the same have been felt massively. For instance, in realising the goals set by countries to attain the resolutions of the Sustainable Development Goals:

• To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• To achieve universal primary education
• To promote gender equality and empower women
• To reduce child mortality

Objective of the study:

The objective of this case study is to understand Akshaya Patra’s contribution to food security and process involved to make it a successful initiative.

Click here to view the entire Case Study.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Bengaluru, India. Our organisation strives to eliminate classroom hunger by implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in the government schools and government-aided schools. Alongside, Akshaya Patra also aims at countering malnutrition and supporting the right to education of socio-economically disadvantaged children.

This case study was written especially for, and presented at, the ThinkTank20 (T20) meeting hosted by Gateway House in Mumbai in February 2018 .

For interview requests with the author, or for permission to republish, please contact  [email protected] .

© Copyright 2019 Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized copying or reproduction is strictly prohibited.

2024 - Supercharging social protection systems with anticipatory cash: Case study on Fiji’s Anticipatory Action Framework

This paper explains how, through close collaboration with the Fijian Government and other relevant stakeholders, WFP has developed a first-of-its-kind system where 100 percent of WFP’s anticipatory cash assistance will be channelled through the country’s existing social protection infrastructure. By building on the country’s disaster risk management capacities and leveraging the Government’s existing social protection infrastructure, the initiative promotes local ownership—firmly placing the Fijian Government and people in the driver’s seat of proactive disaster mitigation.

Christoph Baade and Osborne Sibande, 2024, Supercharging social protection systems with anticipatory cash: Case study on Fiji’s Anticipatory Action Framework

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Comprehensive evaluation of newly cultivated land sustainable utilization at project scale: A case study in Guangdong, China

• Research Articles
• Published: 17 April 2024
• Volume 34 , pages 745–762, ( 2024 )

Cite this article

• Chang Guo 1 , 2 ,
• Xiaobin Jin 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Xuhong Yang 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Weiyi Xu 1 , 2 ,
• Rui Sun 1 , 2 &
• Yinkang Zhou 1 , 2 , 3  

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Cultivated land plays a pivotal role in ensuring national food security, particularly in populous nations like China, where substantial investments are made to develop cultivated land as a counterbalance to construction-occupied areas. Consequently, long-term, effective monitoring of the utilization of newly cultivated land becomes imperative. This study introduces a comprehensive monitoring framework, designed for refined scales, that leverages remote sensing data. The framework focuses on the sustainable utilization of newly cultivated land, emphasizing utilization sustainability, productivity stability, and landscape integration. Its effectiveness was validated through a case study in Guangdong province, China. The results revealed satisfactory utilization sustainability and improved productivity stability of newly cultivated land in Guangdong, though landscape integration showed sub-optimal results. Furthermore, the comprehensive evaluation categorized the newly cultivated land into three levels and eight types. The study recommends enhancing the site selection process for newly cultivated land and improving the long-term monitoring, as well as incentive and constraint mechanisms, for their utilization. This study can provide a scientific reference to bolster the implementation of cultivated land protection policies, thereby contributing significantly to high-quality economic and social development.

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School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China

Chang Guo, Xiaobin Jin, Xuhong Yang, Weiyi Xu, Rui Sun & Yinkang Zhou

Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Exploitation and Protection, Ministry of Land and Resources, Nanjing, 210023, China

Jiangsu Land Development and Consolidation Technology Engineering Center, Nanjing, 210023, China

Xiaobin Jin, Xuhong Yang & Yinkang Zhou

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Foundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.42271259

Author: Guo Chang, specialized in sustainable land use.

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Guo, C., Jin, X., Yang, X. et al. Comprehensive evaluation of newly cultivated land sustainable utilization at project scale: A case study in Guangdong, China. J. Geogr. Sci. 34 , 745–762 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-024-2225-z

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Received : 19 July 2023

Accepted : 04 January 2024

Published : 17 April 2024

Issue Date : April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-024-2225-z

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