Food Security and Vocational Education and Training: Exploring the Links in the Egyptian Case

Salma Soliman

Introduction

Of the numerous definitions of food security, the one adopted by the World Food Summit in 1996 offers a comprehensive explanation: it “exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO 1996; World Food Programme 2013). Food security in this sense is a strategic objective which has become more challenging to realise especially for low- income, food-deficit countries such as Egypt. The complexity of the issue makes it unrealistic to be solved in the short run but every measure should be taken to avoid further deterioration of the problem in the long run.

At a time where the problem has reached an alarming level, it is useful to analyse it from new perspectives to attempt to contribute to the

S. Soliman (h)

Department of International Management and Innovation, Middlesex University Business School, London, NW4 4BT, UK e-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

© The Author(s) 2017

G. Mergos, M. Papanastassiou (eds.), Food Security and Sustainability, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40790-6_11

long-term solution of food security. This chapter focuses on the role of education, including vocational education and training (VET) in particular, in reducing the problem of food insecurity in Egypt. The chapter starts with a discussion of the problem of food insecurity in Egypt, followed by an exploration of the links between the problem of food security and education and training. The chapter finally concludes with a discussion of the constraining factors that limit the effectiveness of VET and its potential contribution to the problem of food security.