The purpose of this issues paper (update #3), requested by the Chairperson of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in 2020 and updated further in 2021, is to provide insights in addressing the food and nutrition security implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and to inform the CFS membership in their deliberations, including any follow up activities from the 2021 Food Systems Summit.

In March 2020, the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) published an interim issues paper on the impact of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition, and in June 2020, its 15th report provided an update on the ways in which food security and nutrition are affected by the pandemic.

One of the recommendations suggested by the paper is to ''Support more resilient food production systems based on agroecology and other sustainable forms of food production''.

Strengthening food system resilience is critical for an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As international supply chains are strained by COVID-19, relocalizing food production, or seeking a better balance between imported and locally produced food, is a sound strategy for building robustness and resilience. Agroecology, for example, is the science of leveraging ecological interactions within farm fields to improve crop yields, minimize input costs, and waste. Agroecology provides a strong response to the COVID-19 food security and nutrition crisis because it is a sustainable strategy for boosting food production at home that is accessible to all types of farmers, both rich and poor. There is a strong need for more research and training to support a transition to more agroecological production systems that can build food system resilience.

Specific recommendations include:

• Invest in more agroecological research-action projects and programs for nutrition-sensitive agriculture.
• Support the development of an agroecology curriculum at schools of agriculture in a range of countries.
• Given that the majority of agricultural development assistance projects support conventional or industrial agricultural approaches, work to support more projects that encourage agroecology and other sustainable forms of agriculture.
• Include support for nutrition-oriented individual and community responses, such as home and community gardens.
• Ensure sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, as well as animal production and forestry, are integrated into policy responses to COVID-19 so as to reap their full potential in terms of nutrition and livelihoods.

 ©FAO / C. Marinheiro