Thank you for your invitation to comment on the project documents as guided by you.
Theory of Change:
1.
Do the barriers identified reflect your experience as Community Based Organizations (CBOs) / Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), private sector and local communities (women, men, youth, indigenous peoples)? Are there key barriers that are missing in TOC?
The barriers identified reflect my experience as NGO/ private sector practitioner; however some key barriers could also be considered for example;
Pathway 1 –
- Most FS Initiatives are not compatible with local abilities, resources and cultural practices- while the initiatives could have a noble goal but may not be sustainable
- Lack of support to build strong coalition and self sustaining collaborative actions in FS- you require initial support to build coalitions among the stakeholders so that they develop a common interest in coming up with sustainable solutions to address FS challenges which in most cases is lacking
- Weak enforcement on existing policies and regulations supporting FS initiatives
Pathway 2 barriers on financial services- my experience is that many financial institutions shy away to extend credit to farmers (primary producers) who are the base of the FS which is a key barrier
Secondly if the market is not properly organized most financial institutions will not extend credit especially to farmers.
There is also absence of insurance policies in FS which is also a barrier.
Pathway 3 – For stakeholders to engage meaningfully and sustainably there must be a clear benefits derived from the process which may not be clear in most FS initiatives this is a key barrier
Pathway 4- Most of the innovations on FS remain in research and not with the end user- weak dissemination of innovations on sustainable approaches to FS is a barrier.
2.
Do the first level Outcomes appropriate and adequate for transformation of food systems’ impacts on the environment? Yes they are appropriate and adequate
Draft Results Framework:
3.
Are the Outcomes planned appropriate and adequate for food systems transformation?
Yes the outcomes are adequate and appropriate
4.
What could be examples of types of intervention and outputs that could ensure stronger engagement and ensure capacities of CBOs/ NGOs, the private sector, and communities (including women, men, and youth, indigenous peoples) to continue food systems transformation?
- During the planning stage it would be important for all the stakeholders to clearly identify a common interest and what benefits they are going to accrue from FS transformation- this would give them incentives for stronger engagement
- Also there is need to empower local capacities to design, implement, monitor FS enterprises arising from the transformation process.
- The stakeholders need to develop both short and long term action plans to ensure focus on FS transformation and ensure stronger engagement
- Engaging the media for awareness creation, lobbying, messaging and knowledge sharing- The role of the media is normally forgotten
5.
What might be specific contributions of each stakeholder group to the achievement of the components?
a)
Examples of scaling up approaches, including policies, for more sustainable/ regenerative food systems practices.
b)
Successful examples of multi-stakeholder processes at national level that brings local communities (including indigenous peoples, youth, women and men), the private sector, the civil society and academia and the government to develop policies related to food systems.
An Example of a multi-stakeholder process is SCALE approach (System wide Collaborative Action on Livelihoods and Environment) where I participated as a stakeholder among many others to address the issue of enriched feeds for the dairy sector in Kenya to enhance dairy productivity. We initially held a whole System in a room (WSR) planning workshops where we engaged with stakeholders like Government, Self help groups, CBOs, Farmer Cooperatives, NGOs, Universities, USAID, AED, Media etc to map the context of the issue to addressed, formed partnerships and coalitions to address the issues and developed personal action plans that we used to implement the changes.
c)
Successful examples of public-private partnerships for food systems transformation.
Government of Kenya/ East Africa Grain Council/ Farmers/Financial Institutions PPP- The government leases public warehouses for grain handling to private members of EAGC who work with farmers and Financial institutions to operate warehouse receipt system (WRS).
d)
Research gaps or innovations on food systems transformation for global environmental and climate benefits.
M. Charles Githae