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Advancing Equitable livelihoods to proffer economic recovery and growth solutions for the vulnerable within the context of subsisting challenges is further hampered by lean access to agricultural inputs, distribution, transportation and value addition opportunities to uplift vulnerable people and communities in Nigeria. Non-compliance with (and lack of application of) digital and financial technologies solutions by farmers and other supply chain players deprives actors from the pull-and-push activities benefits. The Dialogue called for concerted efforts by the Government and other stakeholders... قراءة المزيد to catalyze agro- zones, reactivate localized investments and upgrade smallholder farmers (especially women, youth, the disabled) to become investable through adequate training and support, advisory services and access to research opportunities. قراءة القليل

The evolving nature of our environmental and social systems has rendered obsolete the traditional measures of preparedness for shocks and stress and even ways we built resilience to vulnerabilities. Farmers and indeed everyone become too vulnerable to undue environmental, health and economic shocks and inequalities. Rarely do farmers have reliable data on product, financial status and access to efficient commodity exchanges. Smallholder farmers lack the capacity to conduct proper monitoring and evaluation. The services of experts and/or Extension workers to train and retrain farmers on contemp... قراءة المزيدorary acceptable vulnerability and shocks preventive measures is in extinction. It was strongly recommended creating access to finance and insurance for smallholder farmers, SMEs and agricultural value chain clusters/cooperatives (e.g. Nigerian Stock Exchange growth board) as a means to spur rural transformation and investment in food systems. Additionally, training these actors to adopt regenerative and circular practices as economic, social and environmental preparedness to future shocks and vulnerabilities. قراءة القليل

Insurance for farmers has not been widely discussed while bureaucratic bottlenecks continue to become a persistence barrier to turning policies to actions for short and long-term social good. Farming is unattractive to young people, who, for lack of participation, also lost out from the enormous benefits in the enlarged Agricultural value chain. Categorically, all stakeholders (research institutes, CSOs, government, private sector) are called to collaboratively design and adopt peer-to-peer national campaigns to educate and mentor youth as active agriprenuers -introducing agrictech (such as hy... قراءة المزيدdroponic farming, digital procurement, e- commerce, smart farming, weather & climate services, digital finance). قراءة القليل

The alarming spate of insecurity across several States in Nigeria, which has led to killings and clashes between crop farmers and herders creates a siege psyche. Under this circumstance, shortage of food produce is imminent. Workable synergies be activated between responsible public and private sectors to galvanize already made efforts to eradicate insurgency and banditry, give confidence to farmers and other sectoral players to contribute towards attaining sustainable food systems in Nigeria.

Agro input challenges as faced by farmers ; Mr Chukwuemeka Ogbuagu opined that the lack of farm machineries (as agro inputs) which makes farming easier and faster can be addressed by possibly finding or establishing functional farming equipment hiring services where these equipment can be leased and hired. Such hiring services can be conducted online with the use of ICT for efficiency and ease of access. He further suggested that there is need for advisory services to go virtual. A good example is virtual adverts on sourcing farm input materials. Role of Agro input Dealers Associations/ Cooper... قراءة المزيدatives in improving the use of ICT in Food system value chain; Mr Edoja John, CEO of FarmerShop, an agro-commerce platform that creates a link and connects farmers to agro-inputs dealers and farm-produce buyers, suggested that farmers should take advantage of agro- commerce platforms to sell their products where they decide the price they sell their produce to avoid unnecessary losses. Platforms like this helps farmers to list their farm outputs and connect directly with their consumers to sell their products faster. Application of ICT in Farming systems; Mr Iheanacho Patrick MD of Zardalic Consults listed the tools in ICT that can be used to facilitate different processes in Farming systems. Tools like Telephones for interactive voice response, Computers and websites for agricultural information and markets, Broadcasting for expertise sharing, advisory and information dissemination in communities, Satellite for weather, universal accessibility and remote sensing, Internet and broadband for knowledge sharing, social media, e-community, market platform, trading and so on. Sensor networks for real time information, better data quantity and quality, decision making. Data storage and analysis for precision agriculture and actionable knowledge. How ICT can help close up emerging gaps in Food systems in event of a disease outbreak; Engineer Chikelue Nwabuike an artificial intelligence engineer and also the Technical state head at Globacom Nigeria suggested that artificial intelligence can be useful for farmers whereby images captured by drones and satellites could be modelled to predict weather conditions, analyze crops and evaluate farms for the presence of diseases. He further said that this can be used to advice farmers and serve as a guide to farmers. How ICT Can work for farmers, Agro dealers and produce Collectors; Mr Buchi Ikeh an IT consultant, CEO Broad Digital Nig Ltd said that ICT can work for farmers and produce collectors by the use of cheaper digital platforms (Web, Mobile App, USSD, SMS) in accessing, sharing and exchange of agricultural knowledge, price info and sale of produce. He further state that this will help to strategize market activities as it is very useful in solving issues such as traceability, process control, transparency in market information, reduction in transaction costs, and identification as well as tracking of consumer needs. قراءة القليل

There was an opinion of some participants putting the blames on government for the low level of adoption of ICT in the farming system. They strongly believe that government should show high level of commitment in handling issues associated with food systems. While others argue that farmer should not depend on the Government for everything and that the Government has little or nothing to do with a farmer not making use of a smartphone and not having access to agro information already available on the internet.

The major focus of this Dialogue is to know how seasonal supply of agro inputs and taking off of farm produce can be monitored and timed with the use of ICT. When farmers are given the right farming inputs, their yield gets improved and when the yield is counted into productivity by being collected / off-taken regularly and on time with proper information management system, Farmers become encouraged to learn more effective ways in order to produce more! Many farmers in Africa need a digital platform where their voices can be heard. They suffer losses due to produce boom or glut and are left to... قراءة المزيد tackle the challenges that comes with it on their own. Sometimes, government aids may take too long to come and when it arrives, it becomes irrelevant because farmers who needed such aids have moved on in life even to the point of quitting farming. There is an urgent need to use Information Communication Technology as never before in salvaging the needs of farmers, input distributors, and farm produce off-takers for an effective service delivery towards more farm yields. The use of mobile applications, Social media, Web 2.0 and the ordinary GSM technology are tools already running in most country of Africa. This dialogue helped to answer questions on • How we can utilize these digital tools as building blocks for a smooth running food system value chain. • How to know when a farmer in ‘Town A’ is waiting for an off –taker in ‘Town Y’ who will definitely come despite another being on stand-by. There is no better period than this digital age. Also, the use of information and communications technologies in farming systems will also promote smart farming and make it attractive for youths who easily deviate from farming because of the traditional method adopted by most local farmers in the remote places. Some of the objective of this dialogue are • To identify challenges farmers encounter in receiving farm inputs, • To identify challenges farmers and produce collectors encounter in off-taking farm produces and proffer solutions that will bridge the gaps identified towards giving farmers direct access to verified input distributors and produce collectors / off-takers. • To create a road map for digitalizing information dissemination to farmers accessibility to inputs and off-taking. قراءة القليل

• It was discovered that most farmers experience huge losses during the sale of farm produce while the middlemen who buy these farm produce below cost price makes the profit. This is more evident with farmers who produce perishable products with low durability. They don’t always have better option than to sell off quickly to available middlemen who price down their products. This occurs due to the big gap existing between farmers and direct consumers. There is great need to promote the use of internet based applications or platforms where farmers can showcase their products directly to the... قراءة المزيد consumers or connect with them in other to sell at a good price and attain high productivity. • It was also revealed that farmers incur much expenses in purchasing basic agro inputs like seeds, feeds and fertilizer. Some of the middle scale and commercial farmers in West Africa spend so much money importing seeds from abroad because it is not easy to source it in their location, where as it exists in large quantity somewhere in their home country but because they have no knowledge of it, it becomes expensive to buy from far away countries who leverage on online technologies to sell their products. There is urgent need to raise the awareness of using affordable agro-commerce platforms or social media handles among farmers locally to trace where agro inputs are available and cheaper in their locality. • Most farmers lack machineries for effective farming and this accounts for low productivity and high cost of labor. There is great need to establish functional farming equipment hiring services where these equipment can be leased and hired by the government or organizations whose duty is to assist marginalized farmers. • Lastly, it was made known that there is weak marketing linkage and poor information management in the farming system. Therefore, there is need for actors and stakeholders like farmers, extension agents to frequently consult ICT experts to eliminate this challenge. قراءة القليل

There was universal support from all panelists and attendees that work is needed to create a more food secure campus for students.

The main focus of our dialogue was to highlight the the importance of food security for students and discuss the problems associated along with solutions. Students have a reputation for struggling to afford nutritious food but through initiatives there has been small progress. We wanted to begin an open discussion between students who are working on grassroots initiatives and leaders and decision makers in the field of global food security to create a food security environment for university students.

- Empowering youth and including young voices of people who are working in grassroots projects is so important to get different perspectives on student food insecurity and of students who have suffered from food insecurity. - Hunger will only be solved through the collective action of students form all backgrounds, there needs to be a collective engagement between all members of the university community to create student food security. - There is a lack of affordable nutritious food available on campus for students and action needs to be take on this matter. - The point was reiterated that stu... قراءة المزيدdents should not have to make trade-offs between food and education. The responsibility of a student’s next meal should not be put on the shoulders of another student. - Food security should not be viewed as an individual issue, there is ripple effect that comes with a continues lack of nutritious food including mental health, physical health, university grades etc. - There are a number of initiatives on UCC campus helping students struggling with food, including food banks and now with covid, food vouchers, but when working on solutions we must ensure that not only are gaps plugged but that there is not a need for these food banks or initiatives in the first hand. - Food security needs a holistic food perspective with bottom-up and top-down action. Macro-economic policies need to be created at a university and national level to support the most vulnerable on campus. قراءة القليل

Our first three Bites of Transfoodmation workshops showed us the need for a change of narrative, with a greater emphasis on espousing diversity, whilst nurturing a culture of empowerment, reconsidering our habitats and reassessing the value of food through the lens of a true cost approach. We acknowledged that shifting the status of food from a commodity to a public good can help in contemplating its true cost and value and we recognized that a new perspective in the way to produce, process and distribute food, orientated towards achieving healthy and sustainable diets for all, will lead to pr... قراءة المزيدofound systemic changes. Existing inequalities both in terms of access to knowledge and income often result in affordability and accessibility issues. During this Independent Dialogue, zoomed in on the points of difference within our social fabric. We embraced three cases of what we could define as extreme habitats (refugee camps, the realities of oncology, and high performing sports) that allowed us to dive deeper into the topics of inequality and accessibility and therefore to have an inclusive conversation, truly embracing diversity. The discussion was focused around three main questions/discussion topics: a) How could food systems and health systems be brought together to reduce the social and economic cost of illness? Should health and food be conceived as public goods? If yes, how? b) How can we get to a point in which everyone has access to a diet tailored to his/her specific needs as some athletes currently do? c) In a context of increasing migration flows due to climate change and political instability, how can we ensure healthy and sustainable food systems that allow for nutritious food and a thriving social fabric? قراءة القليل

By pushing a bit further the margins of non-mainstreamed food systems, we noticed that what emerged quite strongly was a divisive tendency with a focus on what divides rather than what unifies us as a group. It is clear, that in order to embrace the unifying power of food, we need to spell out the granularity of the unifying message of potentially divisive concepts. From the discussion, it came out clearly that diversity, which is perceived as a positive element, is countered by confusion. How can we make a choice that is sustainable both in economic and environmental terms in such a diversifi... قراءة المزيدed context? This confusion leads to another potential opposition between personal responsibility and collectivity rights related to food habits in the future. This contrast can be linked to the dichotomy between the narratives (perceived as the truth) versus the trends (perceived as something of the moment). The example of the refugee camp in Jordan, revealed the power of traditions and the fear of losing identities. Traditions, and food traditions in particular, were perceived as nourishing a sense of belonging, as one of the only things that make you feel like a human being anchored in a societal environment. On the contrary, innovation and personalized diets were considered as a mere response to health necessities, somehow taking away the human and social part of nutrition, and therefore the pleasure and celebration of food. Within the group, we felt a feeling of opposition between the social and health elements of food. Potentially we can overcome it and have both. We need to dismantle these dichotomies to build our Manifesto as diversity does not imply confusion and fear, but rather the opposite. When exploited in a positive way, food has a unifying power that works as a vector enacting a virtuous cycle of who we are, what we do and our sense of belonging. This implies new traditions, a new concept of sustainability and affordability (in its broad definition) and social proximity. The day that we will be collectively able to bring diversity as a fundamental aspect of belonging will imply the creation of a new narrative in the shape of a clepsydra. Diversity will be the unifying factor and the narrative won’t imply a homogenization of diversity but will rather embrace it as a source of richness. This will imply the establishment of trust through an empowering culture. In this narrative, we want new traditions that allow the creation a new sense of belonging. How can we get there? By embedding the issue of personalized diets and food in its broad definition encompassing social and health dimensions. The outcome will be a narrative that embraces, learns, joins, celebrates diverse new food traditions for cohesive, healthy, sustainable habitats where we all live and thrive. قراءة القليل

We all know that food is crucial to perform at our best in certain activities, such as sports. As, in this case, the main objective is to get to the best possible result, the customization of the diet is at the basis. But what if all of us followed a personalized diet with the goal of living a healthy life, without nutrient deficiencies and the risk of running out of food? Surely it would work at the health level, but there are still questions that need to be looked into at the applicability level. In fact, we are not only talking about health but also about wellness, as a personalized diet wo... قراءة المزيدuld have to be at the same time healthy and appetizing. Following this reasoning, how would a family with different diets manage the time and would it be sustainable in terms of waste? Who should tell us what our specific needs are? How could governments help in promoting the consumption of healthy products? A possible way would be to implement specific subsides both for consumers and producers and build up specific healthcare institutions. Healthy food should become a matter of public interest in order to make it work economically and start to have an influence on the whole food system. قراءة القليل

Food is closely related to health and in some cases it turns out to be the only cure. Very often this characteristic is not considered and food is taken for granted, undermining the fundamental role it plays for our health. This has led to an increase in the costs of health related to the consumption of cheap processed food, which is not good for human health. Knowledge and education are needed in all sectors to make food become a public and social good, thus giving back its true value. However, it has emerged that in the context of the current food systems it is still too complex to take a ho... قراءة المزيدlistic approach permitting this new vision of food. In addition, an important role is also played by the image attributed to food: It would be suitable to present a positive image, leading to a shared awareness and, above all, to both an individual and a collective responsibility. We should also try to see food as a nourishment of the mind and be able to make free personal choices based on awareness and knowledge, without getting overwhelmed by the confusion due to the huge offer of choices which characterizes the current world narratives. قراءة القليل

Food is an important part of people's lives, cultures and traditions and can be seen as a powerful unifying force helping to create a sense of belonging within communities. This is also the case in refugee camps and more generally amongst people on the move, for that context food plays a central role in bringing people together and maintaining traditions alive. It is often, however, the case that food aid and assistance in these contexts privileges food quantity over food quality, and that the food delivered does not take into account cultural sensitivities. This could be due to the fact that ... قراءة المزيدrefugee camps are seen as temporary solutions, although in reality these situations are increasingly spanning over a longer period of time. One solution could be to start projects which create urban food systems, through techniques such as vertical farming and hydroponics, within the contexts of refugee camps. In this way, migrants and refugees would have access to job opportunities as well as quality food, re-gaining agency and independence over their food choices as well as having the possibility to share their own knowledge and help to create a thriving social fabric. Food can, in fact, be a powerful linking factor between local communities and migrants, creating a new food culture bringing together different, multicultural communities and traditions. Food has both social and health elements and both are important; food can be seen as necessary for human nutrition but also as a celebration. In the context of migration, both elements should be taken into account to ensure that migrants and refugees have access to a healthy and nutritious diet, whilst at the same time being able to celebrate food traditions and to create new ones. قراءة القليل

Compared to the previous Bites of Transfoodmation workshops, during this Independent Dialogue, some stronger areas of divergence came out within and amongst the discussion groups. Particularly, participants highlighted some critical areas of divergence that involve difficult trade-offs for the following aspects: a) The question of how we could attribute the true value of food including people's perception and public subsidies. b) A tension in the definition of the terms: "healthy diets" and "personalized diets", how they should be determined and by whom. Participants had different understandin... قراءة المزيدgs on the definition of these two expressions with stricter interpretations implying new technologies and DNA editing on the one side, and much larger interpretations implying eating what makes you feel good on the other. c) The trade-off between tailored diets and its implication or interference with the personalized diets of others and the costs both in economic and environmental terms that such diets could have. d) Within the group, we felt a feeling of opposition between the social and health elements of food. Innovation and personalized diets were considered by some participants as a mere response to health necessities, somehow taking away the human and social part of nutrition, and therefore the celebration of food and its anchorage to cultural narratives and traditions. e) The risk of over-romanticize the "celebrative power" of food, as for participants food - in some some circumstances -can be a source of conflicts (when it is limited) and of mental stress with a particular focus on eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. f) When talking about the social and health aspects of food, and the prospect of moving towards more personalized diets in the future, the topic of pills (i.e. vitamins, supplements, etc.) came up. Some of the participants highlighted that pills were not the solution nor were desirable, as food is strongly linked to culture and traditions. Other participants, however, stressed that this is fast becoming a reality for industries and companies are investing in it. g) Some participants suggested the idea to associate strict personalized diets (as the one adopted by professional athletes for example) with some sorts of rewards in the form of "cheat meals". However, others stressed out the idea that "cheat meals" can be perceived as a punishment and could therefore increase some negative consequences for mental and physical health (feelings of guilt). Furthermore, many pointed out that a "cheat meal" should not be necessary, as we should be eating food we like every day in a balanced way. No clear answers have been identified to address these challenges, however there has been consensus that we, as a group, have the power to overcome these dichotomies between the social and health elements of food, between personal choices and sense of collectivity and between personalized diets and environmentally and economically sustainable diets. We need to dismantle these dicothomies to build our Bites of Transfoodmation Manifesto as diversity does not imply confusion and fear, but rather the opposite. قراءة القليل

Multiple trends and the global pandemic powerfully influence the food services industry as people seek out prepared foods that are safe, convenient, healthy, delicious and sustainable. Over the years the food services industry has helped influence and enable shifts in the global food system given its buying power, scale of infrastructure and user reach. Today, the business and institutional food services industry (tech, financial services, academia, entertainment, etc) has a sizable opportunity to positively advance the global narrative as well as consequent actions on sustainability, social e... قراءة المزيدquality and access to healthy, nutritious food. قراءة القليل

Please see FSD Summary Report attachment.

Please see FSD Summary Report attachment.