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Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems to achieve food security and nutrition in the context of urbanization and rural transformation

The High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) produces the report “Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems to achieve food security and nutrition in the context of urbanization and rural transformation”, at the request of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS). The HLPE-FSN report will be presented at the 52nd plenary session of the CFS in October 2024.

With this e-consultation, the HLPE-FSN is seeking your feedback on the proposed scope of this report and the guiding questions below.

SCOPE AND RATIONALE

Almost sixty percent of the global population is currently living in urban centres (UNDESA, 2018; Acharya et al., 2020). These centres are widely seen as engines of growth and employment, producing over 80 percent of the global GDP, but also facing huge challenges in guaranteeing access for all residents to essential services such as health, education, transportation and food (Ibid.). Urban populations are rapidly increasing, with a growth curve particularly sharp in Africa and Asia. The fifteen fastest-growing cities in the world, for example, are in Africa. Alongside urbanization, there has been a “geographical decoupling” (Langemeyer et al., 2021) of cities from sources of food supply, with urban and peri-urban land use being reoriented for “more profitable” uses. As such, cities and towns are fast losing peri-urban agricultural lands, which have historically provided them with fresh and healthy food. Urban areas are also experiencing higher rates of extreme weather events that affect people’s livelihoods and incomes, while inequalities among urban populations are growing (Pelling et al., 2021). These trends mean that urban and peri-urban areas also concentrate risks for food insecurity and malnutrition, which became clear during the COVID-19 pandemic (see for example Rede PENSSAN, 2021), exacerbated by natural disasters and conflicts. At the same time, urban and peri-urban areas are resourceful, serving as hubs for education, technology and innovation, health and social services as well as for food production, processing and distribution, all roles that could be enhanced.

Often, in impoverished urban areas, informal economic and market relationships in food systems can be critical for food security, but suffer from policy and regulatory neglect. Informal food systems comprise a complex network of suppliers, transporters, hawkers, retailers and street and market food vendors, in addition to farmers, and contribute to making food more accessible and affordable to urban consumers. Yet, these informal sector actors mainly rely on their own resources and capital and have very little policy support for strengthening their enterprises and ensuring quality, such as support for access to market intelligence, transport and logistics, cold chains or waste reuse facilities (Tefft et al., 2017). In fact, in the absence of specific food system planning, the sale and consumption of highly processed foods is growing in most urban centres, while local commerce offering healthy, fresh food at affordable prices, and often in smaller quantities, is neglected, contributing to the so-called “food deserts”. These trends typically have negative impacts on food security and nutrition (Peyton, Moseley and Battersby, 2015; Battersby, 2017; Acharya et al., 2020).

This policy incoherence insists on a general lack of coordination between policies and actors concerned with food security, agriculture, environment, etc., and urban planning, and it is exacerbated by the general dearth of city-level data, analyses and empirical evidence to inform decision-making on urban and peri-urban food policy. As such, it is difficult for policymakers to plan, prioritize, design and track urban and peri-urban food system interventions and ensure coherence across policies and sectors. Furthermore, governments and other organs like famine early warning systems (FEWS) have also not been as good at monitoring food insecurity in urban areas as they have been in rural areas, beyond very basic indicators such as food prices (Moseley, 2001; Krishnamurthy, Choularton and Kareiva, 2020).

Cities can play a vital role in shaping food system policies to bolster their resilience in several ways. They can source locally or regeneratively grown food where appropriate, facilitate sustainable urban and peri-urban production of nutritious food, avoid food waste by strengthening investments in circular bio-economy (broadly defined as an economy based on the sustainable use, re-use and regeneration of natural resources), build inclusive food markets by investing in infrastructure for smaller scale traders and retailers to market healthier food products. They can also play a role in promoting resilience by mitigating and adapting against the adverse impacts of climate change (HLPE, 2020; Heck and Alonso, 2021).

Urban and peri-urban agriculture is an important option with potentially positive impacts on dietary diversity, the quality of city spaces, and community action and empowerment. Yet, in most cities, especially in the Global South, there is little state support for urban and peri-urban agriculture. Instead, current regulations in cities and the rising market value of peri-urban land limit opportunities for local production. A recent FAO survey indicates that municipal governments play an enormous role in identifying and connecting food system actors to foster innovative community-based initiatives to support food security and nutrition (FAO, 2020). In the face of the dramatic consequences of the pandemic, for example, home gardens provided nutritious and healthy food supplements and ecosystem services (Lal, 2020). Local markets multiplied, as did initiatives by family producers for home delivery of baskets of fresh food and initiatives for food donations to low-income communities. Many people in urban areas, especially new migrants, undocumented people and informal workers, were forced to go to food banks and charities, with great harm to their dignity and agency (Rao et al., 2020). These experiences point to the importance and potential of the territorial dimension of food systems for the realization of the human right to food (Recine et al., 2021).

Given the social and economic significance of urban areas, it is imperative to address the challenges of urbanization in relation to rural transformation to “build back better” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and disruptions to supply chains caused by the war in Ukraine, internal conflicts and natural disasters. It is vital that policies address poverty and inequality, build resilience and social inclusion and foster sustainable livelihoods. The specific needs of diverse rural and urban contexts, the difference between different types of urban areas (e.g. megacities and towns in largely rural areas) and the linkages between them in the rural-urban continuum, should be considered in formulating food policies. The New Urban Agenda, for example, calls for the integration of food and nutrition security into urban and territorial planning (UN Habitat, 2016). The report could also explore the specific issues concerning food security and nutrition that cities face in situations of conflicts, natural disasters and other crises, especially where there is dependence on imported food and vulnerability to price volatility.

A more in-depth analysis of food systems is needed in the context of urbanization and rural transformation to ensure that the right to food and nutrition security, in all its six dimensions (HLPE, 2020), are met. In particular, the report could investigate the potential of territorial and informal markets, the circular economy, and shorter supply chains to strengthen the linkages between urban and peri-urban food production and consumption. The role of food environments in urban areas is particularly important, considering the coexistence of organized distribution (supermarkets) with territorial and informal markets, and the adverse impacts of supermarketization pushing out small and/or informal food retail outlets (Peyton et al. 2015). As such, parts of cities, often the poorest, have become ‘food deserts’ for fresh and healthy produce, thus affecting city diets, which are already characterised by increasing prioritization of processed and convenience food. In addition, urban centres, and especially informal settlement areas, are often characterized by lack of basic infrastructure such as access to potable water and sewages.  Specific attention to water and sanitation needs is thus required in relation to food utilization in urban and peri-urban areas.

At the same time, urban and peri-urban areas are home to interesting innovations for food production, processing and distribution, such as vertical gardens, ethical purchasing groups and marketing innovations, which could be replicated in other contexts. To strengthen the role of urban and peri-urban food systems, it is essential to reflect on the architecture of food security and nutrition governance, and especially on how city councils, urban planning experts and other partners can engage with actors that are traditionally involved in food systems and food security and nutrition policies to enhance synergies. Some of the policy measures that have been recommended in recent years to enhance the role of urban and peri-urban food systems concern the promotion of equitable access to land and productive agricultural resources for small-scale producers. They also include investment in rural and urban infrastructure, the development of territorial markets and short supply chains, prioritizing people living in poverty in cities and rural areas to access nutritious food and healthier living conditions, and anticipating the inter-connected future of urbanization and rural transformation (HLPE, 2020; Heck and Alonso, 2021).

Building on the outcomes of the CFS Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Urbanization, rural transformation and implications for food security and nutrition (CFS 2017/44/6 and CFS 2016/43/11), recent literature and policy debates, the report will explore these issues and formulate policy recommendations to the attention of the CFS.

QUESTIONS TO GUIDE THE E-CONSULTATION ON THE SCOPE OF THE HLPE-FSN REPORT

The HLPE-FSN is seeking your feedback on the proposed scope of the report “Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems to achieve food security and nutrition in the context of urbanization and rural transformation”, in particular, you are invited to:

A

Share your comments on the objectives and proposed content of this report as outlined above.

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?

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.

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?

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?

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?

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? 

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?

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?

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?

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

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?

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

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

 

The results of this consultation will be used by the HLPE-FSN to elaborate the report, which will then be made public in its V0 draft for e-consultation, and later submitted to peer review, before finalization and approval by the HLPE-FSN drafting team and the Steering Committee.

We thank in advance all the contributors for reading, commenting and providing inputs on the scope of this HLPE-FSN report. The comments are accepted in English, French and Spanish languages.

The HLPE-FSN looks forward to a rich consultation!

Évariste Nicolétis, HLPE-FSN Coordinator

Paola Termine, HLPE-FSN Programme Officer

References

Acharya, G. Cassou, E. Jaffee, S., Ludher, E.K. 2020. RICH Food, Smart City: How Building Reliable, Inclusive, Competitive, and Healthy Food Systems is Smart Policy for Urban Asia. Washington, DC, World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35137   

Battersby, J. 2017. Food system transformation in the absence of food system planning: the case of supermarket and shopping mall retail expansion in Cape Town, South Africa. Built Environment, 43(3): 417-430.

FAO. 2020. Cities and local governments at the forefront in building inclusive and resilient food systems: Key results from the FAO Survey “Urban Food Systems and COVID-19”, Revised version. Rome.

Heck, S. & Alonso, S. 2021. Resilient Cities Through Sustainable Urban and Peri-Urban Agrifood Systems. Montpellier, France, CGIAR. Resilient-Cities.pdf (storage.googleapis.com)

HLPE. 2020. Food security and nutrition: building a global narrative towards 2030. A report by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security. Rome. http://www.fao.org/3/ca9731en/ca9731en.pdf

Krishnamurthy, P. K., Choularton, R. J., & Kareiva, P. 2020. Dealing with uncertainty in famine predictions: How complex events affect food security early warning skill in the Greater Horn of Africa. Global Food Security, 26: 100374.

Lal, R. 2020. Home gardening and urban agriculture for advancing food and nutritional security in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Food Security, 12: 871-876. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12571-020-01058-3

Langemeyer, J., Madrid-López, C., Mendoza Beltrán, A. & Villalba Mendez, G. 2021. Urban agriculture — A necessary pathway towards urban resilience and global sustainability? Landscape and Urban Planning, 210: 104055. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204621000189

Moseley, W. G. 2001. Monitoring urban food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. African Geographical Review, 21(1): 81-90.

Pelling, M., Chow, W. T. L., Chu, E., Dawson, R., Dodman, D., Fraser, A., Hayward, B. et al. 2021. A climate resilience research renewal agenda: learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic for urban climate resilience. Climate and Development, 0(0): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2021.1956411

Peyton, S., Moseley, W. & Battersby, J. 2015. Implications of supermarket expansion on urban food security in Cape Town, South Africa. African Geographical Review, 34(1): 36-54.

Rao, N., Narain, N., Chakraborty, S., Bhanjdeo, A. & Pattnaik, A. 2020. Destinations Matter: Social Policy and Migrant Workers in the Times of Covid. The European Journal of Development Research, 32(5): 1639–1661. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7590571/

Recine, E., Preiss, P.V., Valencia, M. et al. 2021. The Indispensable Territorial Dimension of Food Supply: A View from Brazil During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Development, 64: 282–287. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41301-021-00308-x    

Rede Brasileira de Pesquisa em Soberania e Segurança Alimentar (Rede PENSSAN). 2021. VIGISAN National Survey of Food Insecurity in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Brazil https://olheparaafome.com.br/VIGISAN_AF_National_Survey_of_Food_Insecurity.pdf

Tefft, J., Jonasova, M., Adjao, R. & Morgan, A. 2017. Food systems for an urbanizing world. Washington DC, World Bank and Rome, FAO.

UNDESA (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs). 2018. 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects. New York. Cited June 2022. https://desapublications.un.org/file/615/download

UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme). 2016. The New Urban Agenda. Nairobi. https://habitat3.org/wp-content/uploads/NUA-English.pdf

专题

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A.

  • The proposed scope is quite comprehensive but it lacks focus on women's empowerment in addressing food and nutrition security in the context of urbanization and rural transformation.
  •  Emphasis on food safety, food wastage and food & nutrition loss in the food production and food supply chain is also required. 
  • An inclusive urban design can play a key role in fostering food security in the urban and peri urban areas.  

B. Successful experiences on strengthening urban and peri urban food systems

Farmers' collectives with the help of private partners/ startups have helped maintaining the food supply chains during Covid-19 in India. Few of the examples are 

  • Agrify Organic Solutions, 

It is a Mumbai-based startup had volunteered to home deliver fresh vegetables and fruits during the Covid-19 lockdown and had worked with 500 farmers in Nashik district of India. The procedure followed was 

All the farmers engaged with the startup pack the vegetables and store in clean warehouses from where it goes to Mumbai.

A 6-tonne capacity truck traveled to the metro city every day carrying 2500 boxes from where it is distributed to the housing societies.

All the payments were made via digital modes and a customer was expected to pay only after the delivery.

The boxes were delivered at one point of contact in the society, and every customer was expected to open the box in their house for hygiene purposes.

  • Sahyadri Farms

Sahyadri Farms via its unique inclusive partnership with farmers has built a strong capability over the years in areas of primary processing of food and vegetables, semi-processed products like frozen & aseptic; processed products like fruit jams; tomato ketchup; fruit beverages and food and vegetables waste processing under an integrated zero discharge processing facility.

‍

Sahyadri Farms began with the mission to ensure that the small-landholding farmers of India are given fair compensation for their produce and labour. This was achieved by adhering to global standards of agricultural practices, world-class infrastructure, international food safety standards, and the will to deliver safe, hygienic, and healthy food to the consumers.

During Covid-19 Sahyadri Farms (A Farmers’ Producers collective), was delivering assorted fresh vegetable boxes in Mumbai, Nasik and Pune.

Consumers were able to choose from separate fruits and vegetables boxes and also  with all the staples that they might need.

They were also delivering to housing societies with bulk orders.  

  • These successful example can guide us in designing a sustainable food supply chain that can ensure food and nutrition security even during the emergency conditions.

Aplaudo esta iniciativa. Muchas gracias.

A) En primer lugar creo que objetivo del informe es el adecuado. Lo único que puede inquietarme es la gran diversidad del componente "urbano", ya que hay distintos tipos y morfologías de ciudades, no es igual una ciudad centroeuropea ni cumple las mismas dinámicas sobre su zona "periurbana", de tal forma la expansión de la agricultura urbana depende de la morfología urbana en sí.

B) Hay muchos casos reseñables, sin embargo querría promocionar a los colegas del VAAM- HUNAM. Es un visualizador de ambiente alimentario y gracias a el se pueden establecen puntos de distribución de alimentos. Es una herramienta muy sencilla de trasladar a otros países.

Ortega-Avila, A.G. (2022), Visualizador de Ambiente Alimentario de México (VAAM).Link de acceso: https://vaam.shinyapps.io/vaam/

The observations and comments therein are based on my experience with a hope they will of some use.

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?

Not many. Gaps will surface during Pragmatization.

1.Food loss and waste prevention to a larger extent is important for betterment of urban and per-urban food systems.

2. MNCs and other foundations can divert their funds intended for charity to purchase foods that go waste

3. In view of the space constraint Vertical Expansion of Food Production is more feasible to meet location specific demands.

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?

The White Spot Disease in Tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) resulted in devastating losses to the aquaculture industry. All the aquaculturists switched on to Pacific White Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Details of highly successful case study provided below.   

Introduction of new shrimp species Litopenaeus vannamei has brought a sea change in Indian shrimp production and processing industry. Andhra Pradesh is a leading state in cultured shrimp production and the present study investigates the changing trends in cultured shrimp production and its impact on seafood processing of the State. Results of the study showed that 83.6% of the cultured shrimp production in Andhra Pradesh was attributed to L. vannamei. With the increase in production, structural changes became pre-requisite for seafood processing firms and they have incorporated changes such as establishment of additional plants, increasing the capacity utilization of existing plants and installation of more efficient equipment. There was an increase of 37.12% in installed capacity and 53.1% increase in capacity utilization of shrimp processing plants due to increased shrimp production. Spill-over effects were visible; employment opportunities and income of the employees increased. Strict implementation of scientific farming techniques and quality management are vital to sustain growth of the industry (Ashok, A.,  et al, 2015)

Ref: Arathy Ashok, L. N. Murthy, B. Madhusudana Rao, Jesmi Debbarma, M. M. Prasad1, V. Geetha Lakshmi and Nikita Gopal (2015). Impact of Pacific White Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) on Shrimp Production and Seafood Processing in Andhra Pradesh. Fishery Technology 52: 53 – 57.

Based on the experience in-puts were provided for each query

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

i. Continuous increase in urban population.

ii. Migratory nature of population of intra-country and inter-country

  1. 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?

1. Better transportation, especially for perishable food produce

2. Development of innovative value added products from glut produce. This caters to the urban nutritive requirements and also improvement in socio-economic conditions of the primary producers.

  1. 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?

1. Incentvize all the players to ensure quality from farm to fork

2. Development quality guidelines for all miscellaneous products.

  1. 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? 

1. Provide sufficient space for sale of produce

2. Hand holding of Small players  in Business, Planning and Development

3. Making all transactions virtual. 

 

  1. 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?

1. Enhancement in application of solar energy

2. Transportation  by electrical vehicles

  1. 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?

1. Absence of guidelines.

2. Implementation of existing policies.

  1. 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?

This is very good question. All the times world over efforts are centered on enhanced level of food production and nutritive values of the same but not satiates of ethnic or migrant populations. This is not a major problem for South Asia that harbors one fifth of world population as food habits of habitants are more or less same. However, satiety needs can be met with imitation products.

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

1. Over all development in economy, GDP are immediate benefits

2.If we concentrate on population per se big players get benefit and if it is territorial markets small scale businesses develop.

  1. 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?

1. Reduction in poverty levels.

2. Generation of sustainable income.

3. Enhancement in wellbeing of humans. This in turn better health and lessening of DALY, improved QALY and ILY. Enhanced levels of productivity. Less burden on exchequer of respective nations in managing infections

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

As mentioned earlier making everything, virtual with simplest possible local language .   

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

1. Reduction in lifestyle diseases.

 

Didem Mahsunlar

Turkey

Dear leaders - I received and would like to contribute to the scope of Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems to achieve food security and nutrition in the context of urbanization and rural transformation

I find the proposed scope comprehensive  but potential 2 directions would add more relevant depth to cover some gaps and omissions:

-Scope within boundaries: Provisioning and evaluating resources of cities and supporting gaps as per urban boundaries and mapping of current state vs future state would create a measure for self sufficiency and a road to transformation. This analysis and language especially in state of emergency like earthquakes, famines, wars.. are lacking this clarity of preparedness ,mitigation and recovery stages.



Especially water- food and energy logistics would be key pillars to strengthen in the food security context. A similar study is prepared for Istanbul city with the context of emergency preparedness especially for risks as earthquakes and other potential climate related risks.



-Virtual trade of resources and impact within boundaries: Impact of food miles and embedded resources at the point of consumption ( or waste at that matter) is not immediately referred to and acted against. CREATE project ( Cross-Border Climate Vulnerabilities and Remote Impacts of Food Systems of the EU, Turkey and Africa is investigating Trade, Climate Risk and Adaptation across trade routes and products with the aim to address remote climate risks and impacts related to food systems, Cross Border Vulnerabilities of food also applies to city boundaries and able to develop a novel cross-border climate risk/impact assessment methodology for food value chains based on embedded resource use (e.g. water, land, carbon) trade concept . See more in Create4climate.com “Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems to achieve food security and nutrition in the context of urbanization and rural transformation”,

Looking fwd to further collaboration and input. Kind regards

 
Didem Mahsunlar
Sn R&D Consultant - Food Chain

I. Talk of urban food systems, and rooftop vegetable and fruit gardens for regular supply of fresh fruits and vegetables is an immediate thought. With growth of gated communities and urban apartment complexes in cities, this can be a viable proposition, where producers themselves are consumers and creating employment for gardeners. There should also be a mechanism of waste recycling by production of vermicompost to enhance soil fertility and even biogas production if feasible. Likewise, common area in urban slums can be managed by self help groups of women to grow and sell vegetables. 

II. Reducing food loss and waste should be a major initiative in all urban areas, as part of food systems transformation:  

i. City corporations need to have initiatives for collection of waste from wet markets and its processing. The private sector can be encouraged to partner in this.  Energy generation from food waste can be explored. 

ii. Initiatives for collection of unused food from restaurants and eateries and its redistribution to the needy will help reduce food loss.  

III. Fruit trees should be planted in parks and open spaces, with an eye on nutrition. An example is the number of jackfruit (national fruit of Bangladesh) trees along the streets and in parks in Dhaka

IV. Cities such as Kolkata and Dhaka with abundant freshwater bodies can promote freshwater aquaculture; fish processing enterprises can be promoted.

V. The Covid-19 pandemic clearly brought home the relevance of shorter, local value chains. An urban-peri urban connect of producers and consumers may be created for sourcing of vegetables, fruits, milk, and the like.

VI. The poor, destitute, and aged, should be covered by Social Protection schemes, for food security. Urban Employment Guarantee initiative for creation of public works can provide employment and create purchasing power.

VII. Access to safe drinking water, Rainwater harvesting and recycling of waste water have to be part of the urban food system transformation agenda. 

  

Visakha Tillekeratne

FAO
Sri Lanka
  1.  One of the most important pre-requisites in starting this line of change is to convince people about the issue. The gravity of not strengthening systems in the urban and peri urban arena should be communicated in simple and elegant language. Communities should change their behavior about the importance of local food security through facts and figures.
  2. The burden of doing extra work in the midst of sometimes hectic urban schedules should be given high consideration, especially women who are most often tending the household, to caring for children, dealing with violence and also working in the garden. Careful assessments should be made of the number of hours of ALL work by both males and females. Based on this agriculture should be made convenient, with starter packs, easy grow methods and also information on quantification of the optimum number of plants required according to number of family members and how much produce would be yielded. When this info is put out there, it is very convincing.
  3. The impact of urban produce on local markets and also rural produce marketing in urban centres is another aspect
  4. Hygiene and sanitation implications of disposal of plant matter is another consideration as post harvest losses as well as discarded elements could increase the garbage load in urban centres if not carefully managed.
  5. GAP will be important if not there is a danger of chemicals lying around and being a hazard to the households.
  6. The nutrition mainstreaming and landscaping of home gardens are two important elements. Therefore households should for example be convinced to have 7 different vegetables, 7 types of greens and different types of fruit for diversity of the diet throughout the week. This requires training their minds for planning the garden as well as planning their menu.

Hope this will be helpful

Visakha Tillekeratne

Consultant FAO Sri Lanka

Yes, the report provides a clear picture on how food systems can be transformed for the benefit of the cities/town population. There is a need to trade-off between agriculture production and agro-processing in the context of urban vs rural setting, due to the fact that there is inadequate land in the towns/cities. The issue of land has been covered well, but it needs more emphasis regarding putting policies on availability and affordable land for food and agriculture production in the town planning processes. By the way, I am not sure if is there any country with a policy on urban and peri-urban food systems?

If possible, the government may look at resettlement initiatives as many cities and towns are unplanned (squatters). And also, link the urban food systems with youth and women in terms of accessing technologies, knowledge and farming skills – how the R&D institutions can target urban food production.

The most critical aspect from food production right to consumption is food waste among urban populations – thus the need to devise technologies and supportive measures targeting the households. This also can go in tandem with mindset change in terms of food habits and culture.

The report is silent on indigenous food, as this is critical for food diversification and nutrition in urban population. Currently, many of the urban populations are the ones who suffer a lot in non-communicable diseases as opposed to the rural populations, implying that consumption of local food has led to healthier being. It is also imperative to emphasize food safety as most of the water sources in our cities/towns, particularly in the Global South are more polluted

How can we make the food supply chains more efficient and economical, something which will attract bankable investments and lure more entrepreneurs. In this regard, there is a need to raise educational campaign for any urban farming to apply highly adaptable and resilient technologies and innovations.

The need to devise urban food security platforms for sharing the practices and issues among proponents of the urban food systems, and also most importantly, particularly at the Municipal/City Councils to assign a desk or focal point responsible for overseeing urban food systems. The said platforms can also organize annual conferences for sharing information. But at the entry point, we need to develop a baseline data, and subsequent time series dataset against which, the performance/ achievement and impact can be derived – a strong M&E systems. I want also to emphasize here that the report should state for sound and coherent data and information which can be input a e-database/platform – this can also assist in conducting urban and peri-urban food system simulation and prediction.

先生 Ahmed Sourani

Gaza Urban & Peri-urban Agriculture Platform (GUPAP)
巴勒斯坦被占领土

Urban and peri-urban agriculture is a key strategy to enhance resilience of local food system notably in protracted crisis conditions, GUPAP is facilitating and supporting 2 relevant community-led spaces; Urban Women Agripreneurs Forum (UWAF) and City Food System Actors Network (CFSAN). Please see attached informative files and GUPAP website gupap.org  

See the attachments:

Dear CFS/HLPE-FSN Team,

Thank you for the opportunity given to me to provide feedback. Kindly see our contributions and case study below.

I’m sharing the following contributions from my experience as a Farmer and Commodity trader:

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

One of the bottlenecks hampering the contribution of urban and peri-urban food security and nutrition is high cost of labor and unqualified human capital caused by urban-rural migration. Most city dwellers today are migrants and internally displaced persons who use to be smallholder farmers in the rural areas in times past. The youth have abandoned the farms and sojourned for white collar jobs and greener pastures leaving behind the old and aged adults and women as food producers.  Those who were forcefully displaced by climate events such as floods and insecurity challenges also migrated and added to the population number of urban dwellers resulting in too many mouths to feed, but less human and natural resources to produce enough food in abundance.

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?

Urban and peri-urban food systems can be transformed with the elevation and promotion of indigenous food systems which are mostly staple foods in an average home in low-income countries. Increasing the production capacity of smallholder farmers and women to grow more indigenous food crops will make urban and peri-urban food systems to become more equitable, available, accessible and affordable all year round.

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?

Urban food supply chains, formal and informal, local and global can be made more resilient to ensure food security and nutrition with urban settings through favorable agricultural policy and regulatory frameworks, sufficient finance schemes, strong domestic research and innovations, strong government investments in agriculture.

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?

The changes that are needed in urban planning to better support all dimensions of food security – including support for human rights, agency and sustainability increased access to land, establishment of food producers and market clusters, enforcement of price control and volatility regulations. The above mentioned measures if implemented that can strengthen the agency of local actors in urban and peri-urban 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?

Women are catalysts and agents of change, to drive inclusive self-sufficient and resilient cities and towns to drive improved food security and nutrition in the wake of climate change and insecurity threats; national and municipal governments strengthen the potential and production capacity of women small-scale food processors to curb food loss and waste.

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?

Establishment of home-grown gardens in the urban settings and agricultural clusters in the rural areas especially in communities that have comparative advantage to most sought-after staple and indigenous food crops to address issues of land tenure, urban expansion into farm lands and the growing competition for natural resources.

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

From my experience as a farmer and commodity trader, I observed that most staple foods even when they are in season are not available, accessible and affordable. The daily food and nutrition need of the vulnerable population such as migrants, the internally displaced, pregnant women, children and adolescents dwelling in the urban areas are never met as a result of this. The interference of middlemen who manipulate and extort the farmers to sell at lower prices with small profit, still make it impossible in such a way that is even when they are available, most times not too fresh or too expensive and out of reach for the common man on the street. This is where price regulations from market forces such as commodity boards should come into play to enforce price control and volatility regulations. Unfortunately, there’s an insignificant existence of this price regulation bodies in low-income countries, rather what we have is intermittent artificial scarcity of food created most times by traders and commodity associations especially when they are in high demand. I’m suggesting that in the absence of existing commodity boards in the meantime, policy makers and Regional Trade Areas (RTAs), farmers traders, distributors. Processors, transporters and all actors in the food value chain should come to a roundtable dialogue and find a lasting solution to all this unnecessary spike in food prices in urban and peri-urban areas.

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

The potential benefits of having territorial markets for strengthening food security and nutrition for urban population is increased profit and production capacity of farmers and other actors in the value chain. But there’s also the danger of monoculture cultivation of crops that are in high demand by city dwellers to the neglect of most nutritious and more affordable indigenous food crops. 

Another major challenge is the infiltration of territorial markets with imported processed exotic foods. This discourages city dwellers and consumers from patronizing local farmers and other food value chain actors, after laboring for so much with little or nothing to show or have adequate return on their investments.

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?

Development of farm markets in the cities and urban centers for easy market access to farmers to avoid food loss, middlemen exploitation and also help them sell their farm produce at a good price to earn more profit.

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

More provision of finance schemes and increased access to public procurement, standard conformity and certification of products for safe consumption.

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

Provision of necessary infrastructures in the rural areas such as roads, water, irrigation facilities and power supply can catalyze increase access to fresh food and healthy diets that is also affordable and accessible all year round.

Asikaralu Okafor, Executive Director

Village Farmers Initiative (VFI) Nigeria.