Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

The proposed scope broadly addresses issues relevant to urban and peri-urban food systems in achieving food security and nutrition.

An important area that should be addressed, in addition, relates to the tenure of land, fisheries and forests, including in relation to recording legitimate tenure rights, their valuation, taxation and spatial planning. These issues are dealt with in the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the context of National Food Security.

Many countries lack adequate systems for recording legitimate tenure rights; for identifying, analysing and understanding property values; for implementing appropriate equitable systems of property taxation to provide resources for local services, and; for transparent spatial planning systems.

These are important elements in enabling and managing urban and peri-urban agriculture.

Greetings from the University of Manitoba, Canada!

My comment/question is regarding urban and peri-urban food systems. Has there been any research done on the viability of urban community gardens specifically located on car park rooftops (parkades, garage parking lots)? My thinking is that it would make use of urban locations that are often underutilized while creating sites that contribute to a host of community and environmental benefits at a fraction of the cost of traditional green roof tops. Not only would such roof top gardens help reduce food insecurity related to food deserts in urban areas, but they would also create biodiversity within cityscapes, resting spots for pollinators, sequester carbon and filter air pollutants, and reduce the effect of urban heat islands, making them a form of climate resilient agriculture. They would be adaptable and scalable to a wide range of locations and circumstances—as simple as a pot of tomatoes to as elaborate and involved as money and space allow. The sites also have the advantage of being easily accessible to local communities and encouraging the agency of local actors and potentially contributing to community economic development . Existing carparks could be easily retrofitted, and new ones could include purpose-built features. Local governments or city councils could readily support local development of projects one rooftop at a time.

Best regard,

Holly Scotland     

The Great Youth Initiative for Food Security in Sudan.

Please find the contribution with two case studies attached.

Let me take this opportunity to thank you for sharing information on an important project - Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems to achieve food security and nutrition in the context of urbanization and rural transformation. The proposal is well researched and comprehensive. The project team must be congratulated for this excellent work. Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback. The project aims to address the challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition in urban and peri-urban areas resulting from urbanization, rural transformation, and policy neglect. However, it could benefit from additional information on specific interventions, policies, and best practices that have been successful in strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems. Additionally, it would be helpful to discuss the challenges of implementing such interventions and policies in different contexts and the need for a tailored approach to suit different urban and peri-urban areas. There appear to be some potential gaps that could be addressed. Here are a few examples:

1. While the proposal discusses the importance of addressing food security and nutrition in urban and peri-urban areas, it does not provide clear goals or objectives for the project.

2. There is limited discussion of policy solutions to the some of the challenges faced by urban and peri-urban food systems. It does not include a comprehensive discussion of potential policy solutions to these challenges.

3. The consideration given to concerns relating to equity and social justice appears to be inadequate. A detailed analysis of how these inequalities are produced or perpetuated by food systems may be helpful in developing plans for addressing these inequalities.

4. While the proposal notes the lack of city-level data and empirical evidence to inform decision-making on urban and peri-urban food policy, it does not provide a plan for how to address this data gap in the proposed project. Without data and evidence, it may be difficult to make informed decisions and ensure that the project is effectively addressing the identified issues.

5. Inclusion of policy and preparedness provision for ensuring biosecurity of the urban and peri-urban food systems.

6. Emphasis on food education such as implementation of concepts like Shokuiku.

In addition to the above, the project may benefit from further consideration of the following to strengthen urban and peri-urban food systems:

• Technology and innovation: The use of modern technology and innovation can help to increase food production and efficiency in urban and peri-urban areas. This can include initiatives such as hydroponics, precision agriculture, and vertical farming.
• Food policy: Developing policies that promote healthy and sustainable food systems can have a significant impact on food security and nutrition. This can include measures such as promoting locally sourced food, reducing food waste, and supporting small-scale farmers.
• Food education: Educating urban residents about healthy eating and food preparation can help to promote better eating habits and reduce the incidence of malnutrition. This can include initiatives such as cooking classes, nutrition education programs, and community gardens.
• Food waste reduction: Food waste is a major problem in urban areas and reducing it can free up resources and increase food availability. This can be achieved through composting, food banks, and other initiatives that encourage the redistribution of surplus food.
• Urban farming and gardening: Encouraging the cultivation of crops and rearing of livestock within cities and peri-urban areas can provide a source of fresh and nutritious food for residents. It can also create employment opportunities and promote community participation.
• Urban food markets: Establishing food markets in urban areas can help to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas by facilitating the exchange of goods and information. It can also promote healthy eating by providing access to fresh and nutritious food.
• Small-scale food producers: Small-scale farmers and food producers should be supported with access to land, financing, technology, training, and other resources to increase their productivity and profitability.
• Food policies that prioritize equity: Food policies should prioritize equity and social justice, with a focus on promoting local food systems, supporting small-scale farmers, and ensuring that food is accessible and affordable for all.
• Food infrastructure: Food infrastructure such as storage facilities, processing plants, and markets should be built to support local food systems and increase access to fresh and nutritious food.
• Food distribution networks: Food distribution networks should be developed to ensure that fresh and nutritious food is accessible and affordable for all residents, regardless of their income level or location.
• Food literacy: Increasing food literacy among urban residents can help to promote healthy eating habits and reduce food waste.
• Food justice and anti-hunger initiatives: Food justice and anti-hunger initiatives should be supported to ensure that all residents have access to adequate and nutritious food.

The proposed scope of the report is already very comprehensive. However, the report is mainly focusing on the production and marketing side of food systems. These are important aspects, but looking at the consumer side is needed as well. A more holistic view on food security, which is taking into consideration the general living conditions of the urban poor and people living in informal settlements on the outskirts of the city will add value to the report.

1. Food insecurity in urban areas is less a problem of food availability in general but a problem of the lack of spending capacity of low income households. Living costs in cities are extremely high, especially for securing shelter and transport. Rents in the regulated and even more in the unregulated informal rental markets are a heavy burden for poor people but have to be paid, even by households with very low and precarious income. I many cases low-income households are forced to save on food and skip meals to be able to pay their rents and transportation costs to get to work.

2. Due to the high rental costs in well-located city areas people have to share the costs and the space they live in. As a consequence, especially poor households often ive in very dense conditions. In many cases, there is no space for food or water storage and there is also no space for cooking. Food has to be bought in the streets or as mostly imported highly processed and unhealthy products, which are easy to prepare e.g. with hot water only.

3. More and more people in urban or peri-urban areas are living in informal or even illegal housing conditions with very bad or even not existent physical infrastructure. Access to water and electricity in these areas is scarce or not available. Drinking water has to be bought at very high prices. There often is no possibility to install cooling facilities and food gets rotted quickly. These settlements are growing fast and unplanned and therefor there is seldom space for markets with fresh local products and vegetables and people are pushed into consuming imported products, which in most cases are highly processed and unhealthy.

4. People living in informal or illegal housing conditions are in a permanent threat of being resettled or even evicted. This hampers them to start with own food production like urban gardening. It also make it difficult for them to organize themselves in all kinds of social networks especially networks related to food access, e.g. food policy councils or similar platforms. In these areas people generally do not have a formal address and therefore they do not qualify for social protection schemes to improve the family income or to get access to governmental food supply schemes like school meals etc.

Conclusion: the improvement of housing conditions based on the human right to adequate shelter is closely related to the implementation of the right to food and nutrition as well as the right to water. It should be mentioned as a pre-condition to improve food security in urban and peri-urban areas.

1. Natural Resources Institute – University of Greenwich UK
2. World Vegetable Center – Tanzania, Thailand
3. WorldFish - Malaysia

• Ms Lydia O’Meara – PhD Candidate
• Dr Julia de Bruyn
• Dr Kendra Byrd
• Dr Jody Harris
• Assoc Prof Paula Dominguez-Salas

4.            What changes are needed in urban planning to better support all dimensions of food security – including support for human rights, agency and sustainability? Which are some of the measures that can strengthen the agency of local actors in urban and peri-urban food systems?

7.            How can urban and peri-urban food systems ensure that food and nutrition needs of specific groups of people, such as migrants, the internally-displaced, children, adolescent, etc., are met?

Response: This is a timely topic. Please find below examples and references of key leverage points for improving urban food systems, with a focus on increasing access to nutrient-rich foods recommended for both human and planetary health (e.g., fish and aquatic foods) for nutritionally vulnerable groups. Examples are given for both external (built) food environments and personal (individual) environments.

To improve the micronutrient adequacy and diet quality of urban populations, it is important to improve, and scale:

• Safe and affordable food preservation and packaging methods for highly perishable, yet often the most nutritious foods, such as animal source foods (including fish), fruits and vegetables.Examples are given for fish and aquatic foods.
  • Technology for fish smoking in West Africa. Smoked fish is a nutritious and largely safe food (Byrd et al, in preparation) important to diets in Western Africa and the Eastern Africa Great Lakes Region (de Bruyn et al, 2021), but smoke inhalation among the processors and their families can lead to excess morbidity (Weyant et al, 2022). Improved technology for fish smoking that both reduces fish waste and loss and to improve the health of the fish processors is available but has yet to be scaled (Akintola and Fakoya, 2017). The fish processors also need access to financing to purchase new tools (such as improved fish smokers) and to invest in small enterprises, making them resilient to external market forces and securing this aspect of the fisheries value chain for generations to come.
  • Extending the value chains / reach of small, dried fish products within the Eastern African Great Lakes Region could help improve the diet quality of children that live close to urban markets (e.g. those that live far from lakes and rivers) (O’Meara et al., 2021a, Byrd et al, 2021).
  • Ongoing spatial analysis of GIS-tagged nationally representative secondary data (e.g. Demographic and Health Surveys, Global Lakes and Wetlands Database, SWOT — Surface Water and Ocean Topography database, Accessibility to Cities databases) sources could provide affordable methods for monitoring and evaluating supply chain access to nutritious foods such as fish from capture fisheries (O’Meara et al., 2021a).

Physical access to food sources:

• Many urban populations, especially the most marginalised (i.e. poorest living in slums) are often limited to accessing food sources that are within walking distance – due to constraints in the availability, affordability and suitability of public transport, and time and convenience of travel to more distant food sources. These barriers may be exacerbated for older people, those with disability, or those with children. Therefore, urban planning needs to prioritise decentralisation of urban wet markets / farmers markets and improvement of urban walkability (O’Meara et al 2021b; O’Meara(b) et al. in preparation). This would also make food environments more resilient in the face of future health crises such as epidemics.

Delivery of social protection programmes

• Uneven delivery of services / poor implementation (e.g. weaknesses in delivery of existing social protection programmes, logistical barriers for marginalized groups such as elderly, migrants, and those under house quarantine in accessing government cash assistance)  is a strong barrier to achieving food security for marginalised groups, especially during emergency responses; therefore, adequate monitoring and evaluation is critical to inform improvement of policy roll-out to (i) build foundational resilience before emergencies, and (ii) enhance effectiveness of acute responses (O’Meara(b) et al, in preparation).

Regarding the scope – it would be nice to see this report extend beyond the built environment (e.g. availability, development of preservation methods for nutrient-dense foods/extension of supply chains, walkability of cities, proximity of markets) to also many of the personal food environment dimensions that mitigate the ability of individuals to interact with and procure healthy food from the external food environment, such as physical accessibility (transport access, disability, age, caregiving responsibilities, time, housing affordability/residential location), financial accessibility (e.g. women’s financial autonomy, livelihoods for vulnerable groups), and positive resilient community behaviours (e.g. social support/networks)

To make food systems more resilient to shocks – urban planning should also focus on strengthening personal food environment dimensions, alongside improving healthfulness of the external built environment.

Foster social capital / support and networks:

• During Covid-19 mobility restrictions, studies highlight the importance of strong social support / networks for food security, especially for women and other marginalised groups. Therefore, urban planning should prioritise policies that strengthen urban community connections, and development and maintenance of strong social networks such as safe community meeting places and support for self-help groups (O’Meara et al 2021b; O’Meara(b) et al. in preparation).

Enhance personal agency

• Women’s personal agency is a strong determinant of a woman’s ability to procure sufficient healthy food (O’Meara(a) et al, in preparation; Hope et al, in preparation). Constraints on women’s financial autonomy and women’s time use are strong barriers to dietary adequacy. Therefore, it is important that policies: (i) devise equitable strategies to enhance food security for women, including financial empowerment strategies; and (ii) monitor and evaluate short and long-term effects of urban planning on women’s personal agency indicators at multiple levels (e.g. women’s financial autonomy and physical mobility), alongside women’s nutrition and health outcomes.

References:

Akintola, S. L. & Fakoya, K. A. Small-scale fisheries in the context of traditional post-harvest practice

and the quest for food and nutritional security in Nigeria. Agric. Food Secur. 6, 1–17 (2017).

Byrd, K. A., Pincus, L., Pasqualino, M. M., Muzofa, F. & Cole, S. M. Dried small fish provide nutrient

densities important for the first 1000 days. Matern. Child Nutr. e13192 (2021) doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13192.

de Bruyn J, Wesana J, Bunting SW, Thilsted SH, Cohen PJ. Fish Acquisition and Consumption in the African Great Lakes Region through a Food Environment Lens: A Scoping Review. Nutrients. 2021; 13(7):2408. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu1307240

O’Meara, L., Cohen, P.J., Simmance, F., Marinda, P., Nagoli, J., Teoh, S.J., Funge-Smith, S., Mills, D., Thilsted, S., Byrd, K. (2021a) Inland fisheries critical for the diet quality of young children in sub-Saharan Africa, Global Food Security, 28, 100483, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100483.

O’Meara, L., Turner, C., Coitinho, D.C., Oenema, S. (2021b) Consumer experiences of food environments during the Covid-19 pandemic: Global insights from a rapid online survey of individuals from 119 countries, Global Food Security, 100594, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100594.

O’Meara, L., de Bruyn, J., Dominguez-Salas, P., Turner, C., Hope, T., Wellard, K., Stoynova, M., Ferguson, E. (2022) Characteristics of food environments that influence food acquisition and diets of women in low-and middle-income countries: a scoping review protocol (JBI Evidence Synthesis JBIES-21-00482).

Hope, T.; O'Meara, L.; Ohl, M.; O'Mullan, C. (2022) The impact of women's empowerment in food systems on women's dietary diversity in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis (protocol). PROSPERO 2022 CRD42022298612 Available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022298612

Weyant, C. L. et al. Occupational Exposure and Health in the Informal Sector: Fish Smoking in Coastal Ghana. Environ. Health Perspect. 130, (2022).

In preparation:

Byrd, K., Li, H., Fakoya, K. & Fiorella, K. Fresh large fish are commonly consumed among women in

Nigeria, but dried small fish are the richest in iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamin B-12.

O’Meara(a), L.; de Bruyn, J.; Dominguez-Salas, P.; Hope, T.; Fago, M.; Hodge, R.; Turner, C.; Stoynova, M.; Wellard, K.; Ferguson, E. (in preparation). Conceptual framework of food environments for women in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic scoping review.

O’Meara(b), L.; Sison, C; Isarabhakdi, P.; Turner, C.; Harris, J. (in preparation). ‘Whatever we have is what we eat’ the lived experience of the COVID-19 pandemic on food environments and diets of marginalised urban groups in the Philippines and Thailand.

Hope, T.; O'Meara, L.; O'Mullan, C. (in preparation) The impact of women's empowerment in food systems on women's dietary diversity in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Dear HLPE-FSN team,

Thank you for the opportunity to participate at this online consultation on "Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems to achieve food security and nutrition in the context of urbanization and rural transformation“. On behalf of the Brazilian Ministry of Rural Development and Family Farming (MDA), we would like to share the attached document, which has some comments and national experiences on the topic. 

Best regards,

Brazilian Ministry of Rural Development and Family Farming (MDA) - Office for International Affairs

L'alimentation est un élément clé des objectifs de développement durable (ODD) du Programme de développement durable à l’horizon 2030.

L'objectif de développement durable n°2 vise à éliminer la faim, à assurer la sécurité alimentaire, à améliorer la nutrition et à promouvoir l’agriculture durable. Les cibles visées par cet objectifs consistent notamment à :

• Éliminer la faim et faire en sorte que chacun ait accès tout au long de l’année à une alimentation saine, nutritive et suffisante ;
• Mettre fin à toutes les formes de malnutrition ;
• Doubler la productivité agricole et les revenus des petits producteurs alimentaires ;
• Assurer la viabilité des systèmes de production alimentaire ;
• Accroître l’investissement en faveur de l’infrastructure rurale ;
• Corriger et prévenir les restrictions et distorsions commerciales sur les marchés agricoles mondiaux ;
• Adopter des mesures visant à assurer le bon fonctionnement des marchés de denrées alimentaire.

  Les femmes et les enfants restent les plus vulnérables. Le contexte de crise est aggravé par l’immobilisme politique, le ralentissement de la croissance économique et les faiblesses structurelles en matière de développement.  

• la population est en insécurité alimentaire ;
• la population à un accès difficile aux infrastructures et services sociaux de base de qualité ;
• les voies de communications sont délabrées et peu praticables ;
• des ménages ont une faible revenue

A Do you find the proposed scope comprehensive to analyze and discuss the key issues concerning the role of urban and peri-urban food systems in achieving food security and nutrition? Are there any major gaps or omissions?

All dimensions of food security should be addressed. For example, the aspect of food availability could take into account aspects such as physical availability of food considering value chain aspects such as production, processing, reserves, markets as well as transportation (but being mindful of the GHGs), secondly the dimension of utilization (i.e. maximizing nutrients and energy, including preparation, serving, inclusion of various diets and lastly accessibility and stability – by ensuring a better integration of resources between rural and urban areas, procurement policies and accessibility despite physical and economic constraints, exploring opportunities in local food production and shorter supply chains

B Share good practices and successful experiences on strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems in the context of urbanization and rural transformation, including in the case of emergencies or conflicts.

• Use public food procurement (including for school meals) to support shorter food supply chains and small-scale farmers
• Support food sharing practices, which allow to enhance urban-rural linkages through knowledge and skills sharing
• Strengthen fresh food markets (e.g. develop enabling policy environment for local fresh food markets to grow, support smallholder access to markets by providing infrastructure, finance and business assistance, connect market actors with local authorities)
• Create market opportunities for small-scale producers and facilitate direct relationships between producers and consumers.
• Facilitate access to land for farmers, including in peri-urban areas (local authorities have a key role to play as they can act on land they own, regulate the way others act, and convene and facilitate connections)

C Share recent literature, case studies and data that could help answer the following questions:

1. What are the main bottlenecks hampering the contribution of urban and peri-urban food systems to food security and nutrition?

• Lack of collaboration between local government, local farmers, local consumers and local non-government organizations

2.  How can urban and peri-urban food systems be transformed and made more equitable and accessible both for food system actors and in terms of food security and nutrition outcomes?

• Equitability and accessibility are at the core of AfriFOODLinks   and FEAST

3. How can urban food supply chains, formal and informal, local and global, be made more resilient to ensure food security and nutrition within urban settings?

Resilient food supply chains require short distances, support to small-scale farmers and diversification of food production to build more self-sufficiency in the territory. Example of key projects are COACH and SchoolFood4Change 

4. What changes are needed in urban planning to better support all dimensions of food security – including support for human rights, agency, and sustainability? Which are some of the measures that can strengthen the agency of local actors in urban and peri-urban food systems?

• Involving local authorities in urban planning could enable various communities to gain legal access to land and influence the way land is used and shared for food production purposes. (Access to land) 
• Building Capacities of stakeholders on inclusive and sustainable food systems in rebuilding economies.https://cityfood-program.org/activities/supporting-inclusive-and-sustainable-food-systems-rebuilding-economies-kwazulu-natal-kzn

• Develop a set of resilience indicators to support countries on a local and national level in developing more Resilient food systems

5. How can national and municipal governments strengthen the potential for low-carbon, inclusive, relatively self-sufficient and resilient cities and towns to drive improved food security and nutrition in the wake of climate change and other crises?

• Building circular food systems in cities 
• Developing integrated food policies and strategies as key tools in the fight against climate change, ensuring that these instruments adopt food systems approach that involves actors across all parts of value chains; including metrics to assess GHG emissions reduction targets from food systems, as well as opportiúnities for cooperation and best practice sharing between subnational governments (Glasgow Declaration)
• Strengthening Multi-level food governance – the 16 urban food systems dialogues, urban food systems coalition  , Investing in urban African food systems, Multi stakeholder food dialogues

6.  What are the most appropriate policies (and gaps in existing policies) along the rural-urban continuum to address issues of land tenure, urban expansion into farmland and the growing competition for natural resources?

COACH aims to facilitate collaboration between farmers, consumers, local governments and other actors to scale up short agri-food chains which rebalance farmers’ position, create win-wins for producers and consumers and drive innovation in territorial food systems

7.  How can urban and peri-urban food systems ensure that food and nutrition needs of specific groups of people, such as migrants, the internally-displaced, children, adolescent, etc., are met?

Identify the barriers and factors that influence dietary behaviors of different groups, taking into account geographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, gender, and cultural differences. The project places particular emphasis on a multi-stakeholder approach, always prioritizing the needs and interests of vulnerable groups and ensuring that no one is left behind (FEAST)

8.  What are the potential benefits and challenges of territorial markets for strengthening food security and nutrition for urban populations?

• Extended food value chains and power imbalances make it difficult for farmers to access markets and earn a decent income.
• COACH facilitates collaboration between farmers, consumers and local governments to scale up short agri-food value chains to create a favorable conditions for both producers and consumers

 9. In what ways can the incorporation of climate resilient agricultural and circular economy practices in urban and peri-urban agriculture provide climate co-benefits for all and enhance climate resilience?

The framework of circular food systems offers actionable steps to decrease overall waste production and resource consumption. It also offers various co-benefits:

• Climate action: Circular food systems decrease need for new production, protect carbon sinks and create new sources of sustainable energy (e.g. from waste heat, anaerobic digestion of organic waste).
• Resilience: Circular food systems reduce reliance on scarce resources, support resource efficient infrastructure and diversify the sources of key resource flows such as energy and water.
• Biodiversity protection: Circular food systems reduce waste production and pollution as well as pressure on natural resources.
• Inclusion: Circular food systems  increase access to products and services through the promotion of waste prevention and resource sharing.
• Innovation: Circular food systems create opportunities for local innovations and business opportunities.

Adopting a systemic innovation approach, implementing diverse innovation actions across nine real-life food chains, called Systemic Innovation Living Labs (ZeroW)

10. How can citizens be engaged and empowered to drive inclusive, transparent, participatory processes for urban transformations, ensuring synergies and complementarity with city councils?

• Fostering experimentation and learning
• Food Policy Councils can also be used in participatory processes  
• Inclusive food systems

11.  Which experiences of urban communities to increase access to fresh food and healthy diets can inspire broader public policies?

Develop the Food Sharing Compass, a social innovation support platform for policy makers, food supply actors, researchers, and citizens and help these stakeholders to navigate food sharing landscapes and cultures to understand, develop, replicate, scale out and strengthen food sharing (Cultivate project)

The proposed scope is adequate especially in addressing  the impact of urban and peri-urban agriculture on food system.  

1). Butungo, S. (2013). Effects of Urban and Peri Urban Land Use Changes on Forest Ecosystem Services: The Case of Pugu and Kazimzumbwi Forest Reserves in Dar es Salaam and Kisarawe. Tanzania. Unpublished Masters Dissertation. Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Ardhi University. Dar es Salaam. Tanzania.

2).  Lupala, J. M. (2016). The effects of peri-urbanization on Pugu and Kazimzumbwi forest reserves, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Int. J. Phys. Hum. Geo, 3(2), 49-92.

 3). de Bruin, S. P., & Dengerink, J. (2020). The impact of urbanisation on food systems in west and East Africa: Opportunities to improve rural livelihoods. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.

4).  Toku, A., Osumanu, I. K., Owusu-Sekyere, E., & Amoah, S. T. (2021). Conflicting urban land uses at the fringes: issues and experiences of peri-urban farmers in an urbanizing city in Ghana. SN Social Sciences, 1, 1-23.