Access

Access by households/individuals to adequate resources (entitlements) for acquiring appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.

Accessibility

One of the four pillars of food security. A household's ability to physically, economically, and socially obtain a necessary amount of food on a regular basis by purchasing, bartering, borrowing, or receiving food aid or gifts. See also: availability.

Acute Food Insecurity

Food security at a specific moment in time, regardless of causes, context, or duration. Severity is defined by assessing the degree to which households can meet basic survival needs and maintain their normal livelihoods.

Agroclimatology

A field in the interdisciplinary science of agrometeorology, in which principles of climatology are applied to agricultural production systems. Its origins relate to the foremost role that climate plays in plant and animal production.

Agroecology

The study of agricultural ecosystems and their components as they function within themselves and in the context of the landscapes that contain them.

Analogue Year

A year in history that shares key characteristics with the current year and can therefore help to support assumptions about how the current year may progress. In food security analysis, analogue years are most commonly used in relation to climate and seasonal forecasts. Information about current atmospheric and oceanic conditions/patterns is used to identify similar years that may suggest likely precipitation and temperature behavior. Analogue years can also be used to look at other issues, such as market behavior and food prices.

Anomaly

Something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected. There are different types of anomalies:

• Difference from average: This is the actual observation minus the long-term average. Difference from average is useful for quantifying deficits and surpluses in the same units as the original observation. 0 = no difference; positive means above average; negative means below average.

• Percent of average: This is the actual observation divided by the long-term average, and multiplied by 100 (to convert to percent). Percent of average is useful for quantifying deficits and surpluses in a relative manner. 100 = same as average; >100 means above average, <100 means below average.

• Standardized anomaly: This is the difference from average divided by the standard deviation. Seasonal forecast maps may present the standardized anomaly. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI, a commonly used drought measure) uses a standardized anomaly.

Arbitrage

Taking advantage of a price differential. The two most common types of arbitrage related to food security are spatial arbitrage (where commodities are moved from areas or markets with lower prices to areas or markets with higher prices and the difference exceeds the transfer costs) and temporal arbitrage (where commodities are obtained, stored and sold at a point in the future when prices are expected to be higher and the difference exceeds the costs associated with the temporal transfer.

Assembly Market

A market where smaller quantities of a commodity are accumulated or aggregated usually from different farmers and small scale traders. Assembly markets facilitate marketing and the movement of commodities as well as reduce the costs of marketing. They can also enable sellers of smaller surpluses from more remote locations to reach distant buyers.

Atmospheric Circulation

The flow, or movement, of a fluid (e.g., liquid or gas) in or through a given area or volume.

Availability

1. One of the four pillars of food security. The total amount of food that is present in a country or given area by means of domestic production, imports, food stocks, and food aid.

2. Availability of sufficient quantities of food of appropriate quality, supplied through domestic production or imports (including food aid).