Food Security Governance: Conceptual Framework, Principles, and Directions for Policy Development
Keywords:
Food security governance, Public Policy, Institutional theory, Food security, Institutional governanceAbstract
Food security governance has become a critical issue in public policy studies due to the increasing difficulty of ensuring food security worldwide, as reflected in challenges such as climate change, institutional fragmentation, and unequal access to food. This article aims to examine food security governance as a system that regulates interactions among actors, rules, and resources, while also developing a conceptual framework, identifying key principles, and outlining future directions for sustainable food security policy development. This study employs a qualitative descriptive–interpretative methodology using a multiple case study design. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and policy document analysis, and were analyzed thematically through the lens of institutional theory. The findings indicate that food security governance functions as a public policy arena shaped by institutional design, cross-sectoral coordination mechanisms, and the political dynamics of budget allocation. The results demonstrate that the effectiveness of food security policies depends heavily on the simultaneous application of good governance, adaptive governance, and collaborative governance principles. However, policy implementation continues to face serious challenges, particularly institutional fragmentation, overlapping authorities, and weak integration among food, environmental, and infrastructure policies. In addition, projections of climate change impacts on agricultural productivity underscore the importance of adaptive and evidence-based food governance.The contribution of this study lies in strengthening the institutional perspective in food security research by integrating governance principles and policy outcome indicators into a comprehensive analytical approach. The main limitation of this research is its qualitative design, which constrains the generalizability of the findings. Therefore, future research is encouraged to undertake comparative studies and apply mixed-methods approaches to enhance understanding of food security governance across diverse contexts.
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