Building Nature Positive Food Systems to Combat Poverty

The Izmir Metropolitan Municipality has recently launched a new agriculture and food program for the city. By applying biogeography-based product planning, Izmir Agriculture identifies and promotes selected products, which meet both of the two criteria below:

(i) Products with high market demand and economic value

(ii) Products with high drought resilience propagated through biodiversity friendly methods.

Product planning is carried out taking into account biogeographical conditions and the market potential in a holistic manner. This helps the producers to have sales guarantee before the cultivation of their products, ultimately reducing poverty.

This dialogue is prepared to foster know-how exchange among similar food programs around the world. We are aiming to open a forum for innovative agricultural programs that will help us to shift to sustainable consumption patterns and boost nature-positive production methods. These methods could be innovations of today but also may be inspired by traditional methods, such as the GIAHS (Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems).

Issues and processes to be discussed in this dialogue include environment, climate crises, indigenous knowledge, innovation, procurement, marketing, certification, innovation and empowerment of women and small producers.

Program:

11.00 Presentations by invited speakers

Moderated by Yunus Arıkan, Director of Global Advocacy, ICLEI

1. Tunç Soyer – Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality
2. Pier Giorgio Oliveti – Secretary General, CittaSlow International
3. Erinch Sahan – CEO, World Fair Trade Organisation
4. Neptün Soyer – President, Izmir Producer Cooperatives Union
5. Steven Schonberger – Regional Director, World Bank
6. Peter Defranceschi – Head of Brussels Office, ICLEI
7. Makiko Yanagiya – Programme Coordinator, Satoyama Initiative
8. Michele Rumiz – Program Coordinator, Slow Food International

12.30 Break-out sessions
Session 1: Fair food systems with nature based solutions
Session 2: Innovative peri-urban food systems

13.30 Discussion and Closing

Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in two languages (English and Turkish).

Interested Participants can join BUT registration is REQUIRED:  REGISTER