The Way Forward: Food Systems for Enabling Rural Prosperity and Nutrition Security

Globally, gender inequalities constrain food security, with women often disproportionately affected. Women play a fundamental role in household food and nutrition security. The multiple roles women play in various areas of the food system are not always recognised. This oversight emerges from an overemphasis on one aspect of the food system, without considering how this area might affect or be affected by another aspect. This study aimed to draw on international commitments and treaties using content analysis to enhance the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Security food systems framework by integrating a gender perspective. The study found that generally, there is a consensus on specific actions that can be taken to advance gender equality at specific stages of the food system. However, governance and social systems constraints that are not necessarily part of the food system, but have a significant bearing on men and women’s capacity to effectively participate in the food system, need to be addressed. While the proposed conceptual framework has some limitations, it offers a foundation on which researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders can begin conceptualising the interconnectedness of gender barriers in the food system.

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Assessing Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security of the EU Food System—An Integrated Approach

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10114271 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 4271 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Monika Zurek ◽

Aniek Hebinck ◽

Adrian Leip ◽

Joost Vervoort ◽

Marijke Kuiper ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Science Communication ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Food And Nutrition Security ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

Systems Research ◽

Nutrition And Diet ◽

Food And Nutrition ◽

The Eu

Steering the EU food system towards a sustainability transformation requires a vast and actionable knowledge base available to a range of public and private actors. Few have captured this complexity by assessing food systems from a multi-dimensional and multi-level perspective, which would include (1) nutrition and diet, environmental and economic outcomes together with social equity dimensions and (2) system interactions across country, EU and global scales. This paper addresses this gap in food systems research and science communication by providing an integrated analytical approach and new ways to communicate this complexity outside science. Based on a transdisciplinary science approach with continuous stakeholder input, the EU Horizon2020 project ‘Metrics, Models and Foresight for European SUStainable Food And Nutrition Security’ (SUSFANS) developed a five-step process: Creating a participatory space; designing a conceptual framework of the EU food system; developing food system performance metrics; designing a modelling toolbox and developing a visualization tool. The Sustainable Food and Nutrition-Visualizer, designed to communicate complex policy change-impacts and trade-off questions, enables an informed debate about trade-offs associated with options for change among food system actors as well as in the policy making arena. The discussion highlights points for further research related to indicator development, reach of assessment models, participatory processes and obstacles in science communication.

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Healthy Diets and Reduced Land Pressure: Towards a Double Gain for Future Food Systems in Nigeria

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11030835 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 835 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zuzana Smeets-Kristkova ◽

Thom Achterbosch ◽

Marijke Kuiper

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Global Economy ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Production Systems ◽

Leverage Points ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Healthy Diets ◽

The Impact

Nigeria is one of the most dynamic economies in Africa. Strong GDP and population growth coupled with urbanization trends place tremendous pressures on natural resources and the food systems that are dependent on them. Understanding the impact of these “mega trends” is important to identify key leverage points for navigating towards improved nutrition and food security in Nigeria. This paper contributes to the Foresight Project of the Food Systems for Healthier Diets which aims to analyse how the food system in Nigeria is expected to transform in the next decades, and to identify the leverage points for making sure that the transformation contributes to balanced consumer diets. For the food systems foresight, a well-established global economy-wide model, MAGNET, is applied that enables to capture the interlinkages among different food industry players in one consistent framework. By linking MAGNET to the GENUS nutritional database, it is further possible to relate the developments occurring on a macro-level with detailed macro and micronutrient consumption. Model projections suggest that a process of intensification of agriculture in combination with land substitution appears critical for the evolution of food and nutrition security, and for shifts towards healthy diets for the population. Intensification results in greater diversity of the production systems, which in turn cascades into positive effects on the diversity in the food supply and better food security outcomes.

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A Food Systems Perspective on Food and Nutrition Security in Australia, Indonesia, and Vanuatu

Advances in Food Security and Sustainability ◽

10.1016/bs.af2s.2018.10.001 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 1-51 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

William Bellotti ◽

Esta Lestari ◽

Karen Fukofuka

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Food And Nutrition Security ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

Systems Perspective ◽

Food And Nutrition

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Unlocking Uncultivated Food for Mountain Livelihood: Case from Hindu Kush Himalayas

Journal of Agriculture and Environment ◽

10.3126/aej.v14i0.19796 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 160-170 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kamal Aryal ◽

Rajan Kotru ◽

Karma Phuntsho

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Food Systems ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Essential Elements ◽

Income Generation ◽

Household Level ◽

Food And Nutrition Security ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

Food And Nutrition ◽

Hindu Kush

Throughout the Hindu Kush Himalayas, uncultivated plants provide a green social and cultural security to millions of people supporting their livelihood. Review on evaluating the multifunctional role of uncultivated plants in perspective of livelihood support finds that plants add diversity to local food systems, reinforce local culture and contribute diversity to farming systems, and finally are important for household food and nutrition security, social security, income generation and health care. Further, this paper clarifies that local people maintain and conserve diversity for the sake of use. The wise conservation and use of uncultivated plants are essential elements for increasing food security, eliminating poverty, and maintaining the environment. However, the value and potential of uncultivated plants for food and nutrition security, household level health care, income generation opportunity are not yet realized. Fast changing climate and early projections on its impacts suggest that such programmes must increasingly consider the sustenance of ecosystem that promotes uncultivated plants as basis for the welfare of millions.

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Are Local Food Systems Vectors of Sustainable Choices?

Economic Insights – Trends and Challenges ◽

10.51865/eitc.2021.03.07 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 (3) ◽

pp. 73-82

Author(s):

Corina Ene ◽

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Systems Approach ◽

Local Food ◽

Special Kind ◽

Local Food Systems ◽

Determining Factors ◽

Nutritional Needs ◽

Global And Local ◽

The Way

In the last few years, but even more so given the context the COVID-19 pandemic, a large series of global and local changes have occurred in all areas of life, including the way food is perceived and procured. The orientation towards local food as a preferred choice has gained more followers which are interested in economic, social and environmental effects of the way the world uses all kinds of resources to meet its nutritional needs. Local food involves a special kind of food systems approach in terms of determining factors and resulting implications for all actors involved. The paper deals with emphasizing different aspects of local food systems, including both agri-food producers and consumer’s drivers together with the effects of rethinking the way people choose to procure their food. The link to sustainable development is clearly highlighted using the multiple implications of this agri-food system upon different sectors and dimensions.

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Food Systems After Covid-19

IDS Bulletin ◽

10.19088/1968-2021.107 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 52 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ayako Ebata ◽

Nicholas Nisbett ◽

Stuart Gillespie

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Food Systems ◽

Small And Medium Enterprises ◽

Food Supply Chain ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

Food And Nutrition ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

Local Innovation Systems

Measures to slow down the spread of Covid-19 have had profound effects on the food and nutrition security of poor and marginalised households and communities. This article provides an overview of the effects of Covid-19 on food systems across low- and middle-income countries using resilience and political economy lenses, before proposing approaches to build back resilient and equitable food systems. First, future interventions need to target structural issues that limit people’s agency in accessing nutritious and diverse food and production capital. Second, local innovation systems and institutions require investment to create a market environment that benefits domestic (small and medium) enterprises and agri‑food supply chain workers without jeopardising the environment. Third, interventions need to be informed by a diverse set of opinions that include the voices of the most marginalised.

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Impact of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Fogera Plain, Ethiopia – Round 1 Report

10.19088/apra.2020.002 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Dawit Alemu ◽

Abebaw Assaye

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

Household Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

Early Assessment ◽

Plain Area ◽

Rural Ethiopia ◽

Rice Farmers ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

Food And Nutrition

This report presents an early assessment of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural commercialisation, food and nutrition security, labour and employment, and poverty and well-being in rural Ethiopia. Data was collected from a stratified random sample of 107 households (23 female- and 84 male-headed). Respondents were drawn from a subset of households interviewed in a 2018 APRA survey of smallholder rice farmers in five kebeles (villages) in the Fogera Plain area of Amhara Region. The COVID-19 household survey data is complemented by data from 23 key informant interviews conducted in the kebeles. The data collection for this COVID-19 study will be carried out over three rounds. This report presents insights obtained from the first round conducted during late June/early July 2020.

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