Capital constraints

The difficulty of obtaining capital to start a business.

Capital cost

Cost of purchasing or renting capital goods.

Chronic food insecurity

The persistent or seasonal inability to consume adequate diets for a healthy and active life, mainly due to structural causes. Chronic food insecurity occurs even in average, non-crisis years when shocks do not occur.

Climate

Average weather over a long period of time: the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.

Climate mode

A description of one aspect of the way Earth’s climate behaves. Identifiable characteristics include variations in temperature, precipitation, and wind speed/direction. An example of a climate mode is the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

Climatology

The study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a long period of time. However, when we say we expect climatology in terms of forecasts, these are not simply average conditions, but include the range of variability in rainfall quantity, spatial distribution, and temporal distribution that are historically possible for a region.

Coefficient of variation

(CV)

The standard deviation divided by the mean. This measure puts the variability in a context of the average rainfall. Areas with large variability relative to the mean represent locations especially vulnerable to seasonal variation. Coefficient of variation is a useful statistic for comparing the degree of variation from one data series, or one location, to another, even if the means differ.

Collective action

The process of farmers jointly acting as a group in production, processing, or marketing activities.

Collusion

1. When rival companies and traders cooperate, overtly or covertly, for their mutual benefit.

2. The act in which traders jointly determine the prices at which they buy agricultural products from farmers.

Commission

A percentage of money that a trader or agent charges for conducting a transaction on behalf of a seller or buyer.

Commodity

Something tangible, that has value and can be exchanged. Commodities include food and cash crops, livestock, non‐food consumer items, and even labor.

Commodity availability

Monitors the availability of a product in a particular market to identify abundance, stability, or scarcity

Commodity balance

The balance of staple foods.

Commodity flow

The movement of commodities through space, generally from surplus to deficit areas.

Competition

A market structure in which there are many sellers of a product.

Complementary good

Also, Complement

A commodity which is consumed in combination with another commodity. When demand for one commodity rises, demand for the other will also rise.

Conduct

Also, Market Conduct

The patterns of behavior that traders follow and strategies that they employ in adjusting to the markets in which they sell or buy.

Conglomerate conduct

The act of businesses merging together and doing businesses that may or may not be related.

Consumer basket

A typical household’s market (expenditure) basket of goods, services, fees, etc. It is used for tracking the prices of consumer goods and services and the overall cost of living. The basket may be comprised of the actual quantities of consumption goods or services acquired or used by households in some period. Sometimes, a consumer basket can also be made up from hypothetical quantities created.

Consumer price index

(CPI)

An index of consumer prices which measures the change in prices associated with a typical market basket of goods and services over time. The CPI expresses current prices in terms of prices during the same period in a previous year (base or reference year), to show inflation or changes in purchasing power.

Consumption season

Also, Marketing Season

The period of time during which agricultural output is sold, typically extending from one harvest period to the next.

Contract sale

A transaction that specifies a price of a commodity and the date of delivery at a future period of time.

Coping

Contending with difficulties and acting to overcome them. In food security, we typically speak of coping capacity and coping strategies. For the purpose of scenario development, we distinguish between coping strategies that, if successful, help to mitigate acute food and income deficits (e.g., the sale of assets) and coping strategies that indicate reduced dietary quantity or quality (e.g., skipping meals).

Coping capacity

The ability of households to diversify and expand access to various sources of food, income, and other basic needs, and thus to cope with a specific stress.

Coping strategies

Activities to which people resort in order to obtain food, income and/or services when their normal means of livelihood have been disrupted or other shocks/hazards decrease their access to basic needs.

Core CPI

A price index where certain items are excluded from the CPI basket on the basis that their prices are highly volatile, subject to temporary influences or are affected by government policies. The index is used to calculate “core inflation” and reflects the underlying inflationary pressures in the economy.

See Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Corn

Maize is the plant, and corn is the kernel or grain, but corn can refer to kernels of different plants, not just maize. In some countries, including North America, maize and corn are used interchangeably, but this is not the case in most parts of the world. In general, we use maize when referring to the crop.

Cost insurance freight

(CIF)

Pricing or valuation of a good, including all of the costs (known as transfer costs) of delivering a good to the point of consumption. It may be contrasted with the FOB (or free on board) where the transfer costs are excluded. Imports are often valued at CIF prices, and exports at FOB prices.

Cost of living index

An index that measures, between two periods, the change in the minimum expenditures that would be incurred by a consumer, in order to maintain a given level of standard of living or welfare, assuming that his/her preferences or tastes remain unchanged.

Crisis

IPC phase 3. Households either:

Have food consumption gaps that are reflected by high or above-usual acute malnutrition.

OR

Are marginally able to meet minimum food needs but only by depleting essential livelihood assets or through crisis-coping strategies.

See International Phase Classification (IPC).

Crop phrenology

Crop phenology is the study of periodic plant lifecycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation).

Crop tours

A tool used to assess conditions in designated areas to help gauge the impact on food security and strengthen FEWS NET assumptions about the upcoming seasons.

Cross border trade

The movement of commodities from one country to a neighboring country, and is usually measured in terms of magnitude (e.g., metric tons) and direction (from country A to country B).

Cross price elasticity of demand

The relationship between two commodities which can be substituted for one another (see also to elasticity of demand).

See Elasticity of Demand.