The Securitisation of Food Security in Colombia, 1970-2010

Abstract

After the world food crisis of the early 1970s, food policies became a ‘national priority’ for Colombian development. It was the first country to implement the multi-sectoral approach proposed by international organisations. However, in the past thirty years the Colombian governments have presented nutrition as a minor health issue. During the recent world food crisis, the government insisted that Colombia was one of the most food secure countries. In seemingly similar circumstances, why was food policy made a priority in the 1970s and not in the new millennium? We will address this question with the help of securitisation theory. We argue that in the 1970s, the government successfully securitised the food issue in the context of a reduction of external food aid and a failed land reform. Recent national governments (as opposed to some local governments) have had little interest in a securitising move since the related food sovereignty discourses threaten their free market policies.

Keywords: Food security, securitisation, food sovereignty, development, Colombia

JEL Classification: H53, I12, I31, N56, O21, Q15