As members of the SDC supported Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE) project that works in secondary cities in Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda, we have prepared our inputs to the this consultation. We acknowledge the need for a report on strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems to achieve food security and nutrition. We agree on the importance of policies that address poverty and inequality, build resilience and social inclusion and foster sustainable livelihoods. Thorough discussion of the different types of urban areas (e.g. megacities, towns in largely rural areas) and the linkages between them are key, as is the role of secondary cities, where the majority of urbanization is taking place. Many thanks for the chance to contribute and best of luck for developing the report!
Share your comments on the objectives and proposed content of this report:
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?
We acknowledge the need for a report on strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems to achieve food security and nutrition. We agree on the importance of policies that address poverty and inequality, build resilience and social inclusion and foster sustainable livelihoods. Thorough discussion of the different types of urban areas (e.g. megacities, towns in largely rural areas) and the linkages between them are key, as is the role of secondary cities, where the majority of urbanization is taking place. We do ask that secondary cities, characterized by rural as well as urban components, should be given attention in this report. See also this publication: Secondary Cities as Catalysts for Nutritious Diets in Low- and Middle-Income Countries | SpringerLink
Additionally to the outline presented, we would like to emphasize on the importance to also take the following topics into consideration:
- To address not only the production/distribution side of food security and nutrition, but also the consumer perspective. Moving out of a farming household and into an urban area often results in a pronounced shift away from traditional staples such as rice, millet or pulses towards more convenient and often high-processed foods such as pasta, bread, or high-sugar foods. This is the result of a combination of factors including changes in lifestyles (see Cockx L, Colen L, De Weerdt J. From corn to popcorn? Urbanization and dietary change: Evidence from rural-urban migrants in Tanzania. World Development. 2018; 110:140-59), and changing perceptions of typical, and locally grown food.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has had much success with the Nutrition for All project, and the concept of “triggering”. Indeed, Social Behavior Change Communications that are prepared with city leadership and pay attention to gender and age differentials, are a profane means to raise awareness on the nutritional and environmental benefits of many different foods typical for rural areas as well as for food typically seen as upper-class food e.g. eggs. Food and nutrition literacy emphasizing the ability of individuals to learn adequate food use, still seem to be insufficient to overcome these socio-economic obstacles.
- In many secondary cities, most citizens are still having access to farmland (even if only a few acres) and are still partly self-sustaining. There is scope to further reflect on the links between nutrition and agroecology. See the following Commentary: Nutrition as a driver and outcome of agroecology | Nature Food
- A One-Health component would enhance the report emphasizing the interconnectedness of production, consumption, health, environment etc.
- Attention is needed to actively strengthen the multisectoral organizational, managerial, technical, and networking capacities of all food system stakeholders, and make the transition of food systems more inclusive. The prioritization of women and youth as important actors in the transformation of food systems is essential e.g. as mostly responsible for child nutrition although often not actively involved in cultivation decisions, while also facing challenges in current power imbalances and inequities in access to resources and decision-making. There is also a body of evidence on how women’s participation in agroecological networks (especially in short supply chains) helped them to lift themselves out of violent situations of isolation and to affirm their own identity and knowledge (e.g. Galvão Freire A. Women in Brazil build Autonomy with Agroecology. Farming Matters. 2018;34 (1):22-5 or Van der Ploeg J. The New Peasantries: Rural Development in Times of Globalization. Earthscan Food and Agriculture. 2018.
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
We recommend considering recent policy developments as for example Nairobi’s County Food System Strategy and Policy into consideration. Multisectoral Nutrition or Food Systems Coordination committees or respective Policy Councils are in place in many cities. The Rikolto project has an insightful tool on how to set-up multisectoral nutrition or food systems platforms and the advocacy needs for such platforms (“Rikolto Multistakeholer Process Facilitation Toolkit”). Interesting work is also being done in the Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE) project: Frontiers | Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE): Protocol of a multi-sectoral development project to improve food and nutrition security of secondary city populations in Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda (frontiersin.org)
Share recent literature, case studies and data that could help answer the following questions:
- What are the main bottlenecks hampering the contribution of urban and peri-urban food systems to food security and nutrition?
The lack of overview about how produce flows and changes hands to reach city markets, including considerations of the food environment and what is competing with the fresh produce (with an understanding of prices), and considerations of the state as a consumer (public procurement etc.)
- 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?
City consumers with some means can be targeted by SBCC and a market systems approach, but attention also needs to be given to vulnerable city populations that lack the means to buy nutritious food and time for cooking and preparation.
- 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?
Charles Chigemezu Nwokoro, Sophie van den Berg, Aleksandra Wybieralska, Elizabeth Imbo, Marnie Pannatier, Jimena Monroy, Cornelia Speich, Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen, Tanja Barth-Jaeggi, Dominique Barjolle. (2023). Farm resilience assessment using FAO’s adapted SHARP+ tool in Busia County, Kenya. [under review].
Valarezo D, Barjolle D, Habumugisha S, Agroecological inherence of coffee agro-systems and their impact on sustainable production [under review].
- 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?
Important to raise awareness and increase capacity in foods systems, with, for example, local government health and agriculture officials familiar with the situation of local farmers, producers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and vice versa
- 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?
- 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?
- 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?
Targeted approaches are needed to work with city education, health and social welfare departments, as well as with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that have the trust and unique access to the more vulnerable members of these groups. Channeling nutritious foods into the public procurement system including school feeding programmes, social protection initiatives, hospitals and prisons can make an important difference.
- What are the potential benefits and challenges of territorial markets for strengthening food security and nutrition for urban populations?
- 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?
- How can citizens be engaged and empowered to drive inclusive, transparent, participatory processes for urban transformations, ensuring synergies and complementarity with city councils?
In the NICE project civil society organisations (women’s associations, youth groups), consumer associations as well as farmers and local businesses are engaging in multisectoral platforms as well as different government line ministries
- Which experiences of urban communities to increase access to fresh food and healthy diets can inspire broader public policies?
We recommend to also consider kitchen garden initiatives promoting original, well adapted food, such as described by Wasike et al., 2018 Linking Farmers, Indigenous Vegetables and Schools to Improve Diets and Nutrition in Busia County, Kenya
Д-р. Helen PRYTHERCH