Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/35322
BY JOSÉ FUNES, CLEMENS BREISINGER AND OLIVIER ECKER GIS Analyzes Food Security in Yemen can more accurately and objectively formulate policies by leveraging traditional analytical approaches with innovative spatial techniques. One of today’s most pressing development chal- L lenges is food insecurity. More than 1 billion people globally don’t have enough food to eat, and increasing food-price volatility and climate change may further exacerbate food insecurity. argely due to a combination of higher computing power, and the broader availability and adoption of GIS technologies and data, policymakers now Food insecurity often is higher in rural rather than urban areas. And people who are “food insecure” face poorer nutritional outcomes as well as potentially poorer health, lower education levels, more-limited market access and lower productivity as adults. In addition to household-level factors, many deter- minants of food security are spatial in nature. Spatial modeling can help researchers analyze major determi- nants of food security by relating the location of the food insecure to their access to markets and crucial social services. Creating a spatial data infrastructure 26 GEO W ORLD / JUL Y 2O11 Global Resources