Approaches and actors in urban food security in developing countries

While much has been written concerning rural food security, associations and predictive models, work on urban food security remains fragmented with research mostly on epidemiological nutrition or on consumption economics. The paper divides factors affecting urban food security into supply, access, choice, health and social organisation. Some of the policy options available for improving food security for the urban poor are presented in each category. The appropriateness is queried of relying on the household as the basic planning unit in urban areas and the need emphasised for immediate research which can assess the effectiveness of initiatives which attempt to bring different actors and agencies together to develop policy and strategies at the city level.