Food Security Sustainability among Urban Low-Income Households in Malaysia: A Systematic Literature Review
Abstract
Food security is a major concern for governments and international organisations around the world. Every country is working to ensure a steady supply of affordable, high-quality meals to meet the needs of all its citizens. This is especially challenging for low-income households. While many studies have been conducted on food security, there has been limited analysis of the sustainability of food security for urban low-income households in Malaysia. The major purpose of this systematic literature review is to look at how urban population increase affects food supply and demand, as well as the consequences of food accessibility, quality, and price inflation on low-income urban families. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed by the review. Twenty-eight (28) papers published between 2012 and 2023 were selected from databases like Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and ScienceDirect. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the review. The Systematic Literature Review (SLR) identified three main themes: availability, accessibility, and quality of food. In conclusion, the review highlighted a few gaps in the sustainability of household food security among low-income urban residents in Malaysia. Thus, it is important to explore and investigate the underlying causes of food availability, accessibility, and quality in urban poor households in Malaysia.
Downloads
References
Ahmad, M. H., Selamat, R., Salleh, R., Majid, N. L., Zainuddin, A. A., Bakar, W. A., & Aris, T. (2020). Food insecurity situation in Malaysia: Findings from the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey (MANS) 2014. Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 20, 167-174.
Alie, S., Sulaiman, N., Nor, F. M., & Mesbah, S. F. (2019). Demographic factors, food security, health-related quality of life, and body weight status of adolescents in a rural area in Mentakab, Pahang, Malaysia. Mal J Nutr., 25(2), 297-307.
Almeida, J. A., Silva Santos, A., Oliveira Nascimento, M. A., Costa Oliveira, J. V., Silva, D. G., & Mendes-Netto, R. S. (2020). Factors associated with food insecurity risk and nutrition in rural settlements of families. Ciencia Saude Coletiva, 22, 479–488
Azizan, N. A., Thangiah, N., Su, T. T., & Majid, H. A. (2018). Does a low-income urban population practice healthy dietary habits? International Health, 10, 108-115.
Bolivar, M. P. R., & Meijer, A. J. (2016). Smart governance: Using a literature review and empirical analysis to build a research model. Social Science Computer Review, 34(6), 673–692.
Chang, A. P. (2020). Does household food insecurity reflect diet quality of children? A study among the B40 families in Pendang, Kedah. UMT Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2, 47-54.
Department of Agriculture Malaysia. (2022). Paddy statistics of Malaysia, 2021. Putrajaya: Department of Agriculture Malaysia.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2020). Household Income & Basic Amenities Survey Report2019. Department of Statistics Malaysia. https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=120&bul_id=TU00TmRhQ1N5TUxHVWN0T2VjbXJYZz09&menu_id=amVoWU54UTl0a21NWmdhMjFMMWcyZz09
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2022). Data asas Malaysia. Department of Statistics Malaysia. Retrieved September 30, 2022, from http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/malaysia/publication/malaysia-economimonitor-december-2021-towards-a-middle-class-society
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2023). 2022 urban population survey report. Putrajaya: Department of Statistics Malaysia.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2024). Inflation report 2024. Department of Statistics Malaysia. Retrieved January, 2024, from https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=120&bul_id=TU00TmRhQ1N5TUxHVWN0T2VjbXJYZz09&menu_id=amVoWU54UTl0a21NWmdhMjFMMWcyZz09.
Drechsler, M., & Rasheed, S. (2019). Economic inequality and food security: A systematic review of the evidence. Food Security, 11(1), 17–31.
Fazle Rabbi, M., Oláh, J., Popp, J., Máté, D., & Kovács, S. (2021). Food security and the COVID-19 crisis from a consumer buying behaviour perspective: The case of Bangladesh. Foods, 10(12), 3073. https://doi.org/10. 3390/foods10123073 PMID: 34945624.
Food and Agricultural Organization. (2006). Food security: Policy brief (Vol. 2, pp. 1–4). FAO.
Food and Agricultural Organization. (2019). FAO framework for the urban food agenda: Leveraging sub-national and local government action to ensure sustainable food systems and improved nutrition. FAO, Rome, Italy.
Food and Agriculture Organization. (2020). The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2020: Transforming food systems for affordable healthy diets. FAO, Rome, Italy. Retrieved December 6, 2020, from http://www.fao.org/publications/card/en/c/CA9692EN
Food and Agriculture Organization. (2022). The state of food insecurity in the world 2001. FAO, Rome.
Frona, D., Szenderák, J., & Harangi-Rákos, M. (2019). The challenge of feeding the world. Sustainability, 11(21), 5816. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11215816
Global Food Security Index. (2022). Global Food Security Index 2022. Retrieved October, 2022, from https://impacts.economic.com/sustainability/projects/food-security-index/
Global Food Security Index. (2024). Global Food Security Index 2024. Retrieved January, 2024, from https://impacts.economic.com/sustainability/projects/food-security-index/explore-countries/malaysia
Grace, K., Brown, M., & McNally, A. (2014). Examining the link between food prices and food insecurity: A multi-level analysis of maize price and birthweight in Kenya. Food Policy, 47, 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.05.005
Huffaker, R., Canavari, M., & Muñoz-Carpena, R. (2018). Distinguishing between endogenous and exogenous price volatility in food security assessment: An empirical nonlinear dynamic approach. Agricultural Systems, 160, 98–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2017.10.001
Ihab, A. N., Rohana, A. J., Manan, W. W., Suriati, W. W., Zalilah, M. S., & Rusli, A. M. (2012). Food expenditure and diet diversity score are predictors of household food insecurity among low-income households in rural districts of Kelantan, Malaysia. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 11(10), 869–875. https://doi.org/10.3923/pjn.2012.869.875
Institute for Public Health. (2017). National health and morbidity survey (NHMS) 2017: Adolescent nutrition survey. Ministry of Health, Putrajaya.
Jat, M. L., et al. (2016). Climate change and agriculture: Adaptation strategies and mitigation opportunities for food security in South Asia and Latin America. Advances in agronomy, 137, 127–235.
Kim, H. J., & Oh, K. (2015). Household food insecurity and dietary intake in Korea: Results from the 2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Public Health Nutrition, 18(18), 3317–3325. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980015001761
Kirkpatrick, S. I., McIntyre, L., & Potestio, M. L. (2012). Child hunger and long-term adverse consequences for health. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 164(8), 754–762. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2012.244
Leng, K. S., Samsurijan, M. S., Gopal, P. S., Malek, N. M., & Hamat, Z. (2018). Urban poverty alleviation strategies from multidimensional and multi-ethnic perspectives: Evidences from Malaysia. Kajian Malaysia, 36(2), 43–68.
Leung, C. W., Epel, E. S., Ritchie, L. D., Crawford, P. B., & Laraia, B. A. (2014). Food insecurity is inversely associated with diet quality of lower-income adults. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 114(12), 1943–1953.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2014.07.003
Maitra, C. (2018). A review of studies examining the link between food insecurity and malnutrition (Technical Paper). Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome.
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. (2022). Agrofood statistics report 2022. Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. https://www.kpkm.gov.my
Mkhawani, K., Motadi, S. A., Mabapa, N. S., Mbhenyane, X. G., & Blaauw, R. (2016). Effects of rising food prices on household food security of female-headed households in Runnymede village, Mopani District, South Africa. South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 29(2), 69–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/16070658.2016.1180727
Moradi, S., Mirzababaei, A., Mohammadi, H., Moosavian, S. P., Arab, A., Jannat, B., & Mirzaei, K. (2019). Food insecurity and the risk of undernutrition complications among children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition, 62, 52–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2018.10.015
Mohd Salleh, A., et al. (2020). Urban food insecurity: The relationship between community resilience and urban agriculture. Asian Journal of Quality of Life (AjQoL), 5(18), 57-73
Nosratabadi, S., Mosavi, A., & Lakner, Z. (2020). Food supply chain and business model innovation. Foods, 9(2), 132. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9020132
Novickýte, L. (2019). Risk in agriculture: An overview of the theoretical insights and recent development trends during the last decade—a review. Agricultural Economics, 65(5), 435–444. https://doi.org/10.17221/243/2018-AGRICECON
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., & et al. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. PLoS Medicine, 18(3), e1003583. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003583
Pei, C. S., Appannah, G., & Sulaiman, N. (2018). Household food insecurity, diet quality, and weight status among indigenous women (Mah Meri) in Peninsular Malaysia. Nutrition Research and Practice, 12(2), 135–142. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2018.12.2.135
Popkin, B. M., & Unsal, S. J. (2020). The sweetening of the world’s diet. Obesity Research, 11(6), 1325–1332. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2020.179
Putra, A. S., Tong, G., & Pribadi, D. O. (2020). Food security challenges in rapidly urbanizing developing countries: Insight from Indonesia. Sustainability, 12(22), 9550. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229550
Rosegrant, M. W., Tokgoz, S., & Bhandary, P. (2013). The new normal? A tighter global agricultural supply and demand relation and its implications for food security. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 95(2), 303–309. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aas041
Rozhan Abu Dardak. (2020). Transformation of agricultural sector in Malaysia through agricultural policy. Serdang: Food and Fertilizer Technology Center Agricultural Policy, UPM.
Samsuddin, S. F., & Ali, Z. (2020). Guidance for conducting systematic scoping reviews. Production, 232, 104–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prod.2020.104117
Savary, S., Waddington, S., Akter, S., Almekinders, C. J. M., Harris, J., Korsten, L., Rötter, R. P., Van den Broeck, G. (2022). Revisiting food security in 2021: An overview of the past year. Food Security. Springer Science and Business Media, 14(1). Available:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571 022-01266-z
Stewart, R., Korth, M., & Langer, L. (2020). What are the impacts of urban agriculture programs on food security in low and middle-income countries? Environmental Evidence, 2(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-020-00208-5
Sundaram, J. K., Rawal, V., & Clark, M. T. (2020). Food supply: From commitment to action. New Delhi: Tulika Books for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
Sundaram, J. K., Tan, Z. G., & Khalidi, J. R. (2019). Achieving food security for all Malaysians. Khazanah Research Institute.
Tarasuk, V., Fafard St-Germain, A. A., & Mitchell, A. (2019). Geographic and socio-demographic predictors of household food insecurity in Canada, 2011–2012. BMC Public Health, 19, 630. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6987-2
Tay, J. E. F., Kaur, S., Tham, W. W., Gan, W. Y., Ya, N. N. C., Tan, C. H., & Tung, S. E. H. (2023). Food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nutrition Research and Practice, 17(2), 269–283. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2023.17.2.269
Trading Economics. (n.d.). Malaysia food inflation. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from https://tradingeconomics.com/malaysia-food-inflation/2022-2024
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (2018). Children without: A study of urban child poverty and deprivation in low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur. Putrajaya: UNICEF.
United Nations. (2022). World urbanization prospects: The 2022 revision, online edition. United Nations. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://population.un.org/wup/Country-Profiles/
Vilar-Compte, M., Burrola-Méndez, S., Lozano-Marrufo, A., Ferré-Eguiluz, I., Flores, D., Gaitán-Rossi, P., Teruel, G., & Pérez-Escamilla, R. (2021). Urban poverty and nutrition challenges associated with accessibility to a healthy diet: A global systematic literature review. International Journal for Equity in Health, 20, 40. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-021-01332-8
World Bank. (2022). The rise of metropolitan regions: Towards inclusive and sustainable regional development. World Bank. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/520931468269430645/Indonesia-The-rise-of-metropolitan-regions-towards-inclusive-and-sustainable-regional-development
World Economic Forum. (2022). The state of food security. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://www.bing.com/WORLD+ECONOMIC+FORUM+2023+FOOD+SECURITYZ
Zakari, S., Ying, L., & Song, B. (2014). Factors influencing household food security in West Africa: The case of Southern Niger. Sustainability, 6(2), 1191–1202. https://doi.org/10.3390/su6021191
Zakariah Abdul Khalid. (2020). Kos sara hidup beban ekonomi utama sepanjang 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from file:///C:/Users/Thunder%20Match/Downloads/Document/DrZakariah%2029022020.pdf
Zezza, A., & Tasciotti, L. (2010). Urban agriculture, poverty, and food security: Empirical evidence from a sample of developing countries. Food Policy, 35(4), 265–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2010.04.007
