Dear all,
On behalf of CIHEAM-Bari I would like to thank CFS-HLPE for this interesting initiative. The topic of this report is relevant, timely, and of interest to a wide audience. It helps also substantiating goal 2 of the SDGs that’s to say “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture”.
I do believe that it is of paramount importance to highlight linkages between sustainable agriculture and food and nutrition security. That’s particularly important in the Mediterranean, especially in southern and eastern Mediterranean countries, where operates CIHEAM - an intergovernmental Mediterranean organization dealing with agriculture, food, environment and rural development.
I would like to thank the project team for attention that they paid to the Mediterranean (cf. box 4 on evolution of diets in the Mediterranean) as I think that the Mediterranean area represents a good “laboratory” and that the promotion of the Mediterranean diet can contribute to achieving sustainable food and nutrition security in the Mediterranean area.
The report is based on rigorous academic standards and its content is technically accurate and sound. The methodology and conceptual framework are appropriate and applied properly. The results are correctly interpreted and conclusions are sound. As for references, they are also appropriate but more recent references can be used.
In the framework of analysis of the contribution of sustainable agricultural development to ensuring food security and nutrition can be stressed better the multiplier effect of agriculture in rural areas and its contribution to the development of non-farm income generating activities.
As for the social dimension of agriculture, can be added a box about the so-called “social/care farming”.
As for environmental sustainability (cf. heading 3.3) biodiversity (or agro-biodiversity) can be considered as an additional subheading.
In the report should be also better stressed the advantages and benefits of mixed farming systems with both crop and animal production. Improving the sustainability of agricultural systems implies a better integration of crop production and animal production in local and territorial agro-food systems.
In the conceptual framework it is maybe better to first explain linkages and interrelations between sustainable agricultural development and food consumption within food systems/chains then to highlight interconnectedness of these with the four dimensions of food security and nutrition. Anyway, a more detailed description of the conceptual framework should be provided.
All in all, I do thank experts for this interesting and evidence-based piece of report and look forward to its final publication in order to use it as a reference document in our training, research and cooperation activities at CIHEAM-Bari in general and the department of Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Rural Development in particular.
Regards
Roberto Capone
Roberto Capone