Assessment framework and operational definitions for long-term scenarios

To navigate among the long-term challenges for global and national food security, policy makers cannot rely on qualitative analysis only. They also need quantitative tools to measure and rank the different issues that they will face and the policy responses that can be designed. FOODSECURE proposes state-of-the art simulation models that will give both researchers and policy makers the capacity to study these issues in a comprehensive framework. This paper is aimed at providing an overview of the different modeling solutions proposed in the FOODSECURE toolbox and defines a strategy for using the different models in a consistent manner. First, the different models are briefly described and compared. Next, we see how these models tackle key food security indicators and drivers and translate different assumptions about the future within their framework. We then discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of the different models to address different policy questions. Finally, we discuss how to combine these models and which optimal level of model integration should be used for analysis.