Food security is defined as the ability of countries, regions, or households to meet their required levels of food consumption at all times. Food security is an important component of human welfare, and it can act as an indicator of a region's development.
This book addresses the roles of trade, policy development, and economic cooperation in creating sustainable food security in the West African region. The largely micro-level analysis is conducted on empirical data from the household where decisions on production and consumption take place. Food security is discussed in terms of its component parts, namely: availability of food (production and trade), its accessibility (incomes and poverty status), and its utilisation (health and nutrition).