Assessing Safety Net Readiness in Response to Food Price Volatility

Abstract

In 2008, when food prices rose
 precipitously to record highs, international attention and
 local policy in many countries focused on safety nets as
 part of the response. Now that food prices are high again,
 the issue of appropriate responses is again on the policy
 agenda. This note sets out a framework for making quick,
 qualitative assessments of how well countries' safety
 nets prepare them for a rapid policy response to rising food
 prices should the situation warrant. The framework is
 applied using data from spring 2011, presenting a snap?shot
 analysis of what is a dynamically changing situation. Based
 on this data safety net readiness is assessed in 13
 vulnerable countries based on the following criteria: the
 presence of safety net programs, program coverage,
 administrative capacity, and to a lesser degree, targeting
 effectiveness. It is argued that these criteria will remain
 the same throughout time, even if the sample countries
 affected will be expected to vary. Based on this analysis
 the note highlights that though a number of countries are
 more prepared than they were in 2008, there is still a
 significant medium term agenda on safety net preparedness in
 the face of crisis. In this context, strategic lessons from
 the 2008 food crisis response are presented to better
 understand the response options and challenges facing
 governments and policy makers. The note concludes by calling
 for continued investment and scale up of safety nets to
 mitigate poverty impacts and help prevent long term setbacks
 in nutrition and poverty.