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4. Access to technologies, including digital technologies There are gaps in access to technologies and this leads to productivity and profitability gaps between male and female owned and managed firms, as well as male and female owned food businesses. Closing this technology gap is critical for making food systems inclusive and equitable. Digital technologies, Artificial Intelligence and other disruptive technologies are expected to play a key role in driving the transformation of food systems. Whether it is accessing information, making payments, accessing markets, or getting insurance for th... Leer máseir farms, farmers are relying more and more on technologies. • There is a need to promote technologies which are user friendly to both men and women. For example, some Treadle Pumps are not user friendly to women. Other technologies such as solar are very expensive and not easily accessed by women. • Increase coordination and partnership between service providers and end users, especially women, so that technologies are designed in a way that will work for women. Existing coordination platforms should be used to facilitate this. • Women economic empowerment for accessing the agricultural technologies is important. • There is a need to make better use of existing Research Institutes to design food system technologies that respond to the needs of women. • Support for agriculture research and development should be strengthened by viable public-private partnerships, where both sides see the value in the partnership, indeed there is a lack of research on this viability. At present, within the government’s agriculture budget research is least funded budget line. Funding for research should be increased as this will bring about improvements in food systems. • There is a need for more civic education on the importance of information technologies in order to close the technology gap. Information on technologies which are currently easily accessible should also be made available to women. • Social norms also impact women’s access to and use of technology and need to be addressed, for example, in some communities, a radio is seen as men’s property. • Successful business models can be supported by engaging banks, and other financial service providers. Advocacy for more access to loans, and to strengthen the capacity of women in financial literacy is also important. Leer menos

There was some debate also on why are we not seeing more gains for women in the southern and central regions where women have more access to productive assets, like land, due to matrilineal systems? It was found that land is just one factor in production. You might have access to land through the matrilineal system, but the final decision maker is still a man, in most cases their uncle. So, women may have access to land but there are other factors which they lack access to such as inputs, labour etc., and together this will produce food system inequalities. Once the food is produced, there are... Leer más also other challenges at the market like gender inequalities so there is need to look into all the factors of food production and not only land. One group discussion considered whether Conservation Agriculture can reduce women’s work burden? For example, farmers who are using the Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) / drip kit irrigation method spend less time irrigating their crops. In addition, soil fertility improves, and they have a better yield which reduces the lean season, all contributing to reduce burden on women. However, some conservation techniques like potholing is labor intensive and may increase women’s work burden. Another question raised was on the risks of women empowerment and whether women’s empowerment would increase GBV in the household. Here the importance of ensuring that all programme fully integrate issues of gender and that men are actively engaged in programme delivery were identified as potential ways of addressing these concerns. Leer menos

The dialogue was convened under the Malawi Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence (MICGBV) and the Irish Forum on International Agricultural Development (IFIAD) with the aim of integrating issues of gender equality into the dialogues on the food systems sector. The aim of the Independent Dialogue session was to discuss ‘’how to achieve gender equality for healthy and sustainable food systems”. Through the dialogue the conveners sought too: 1. Develop a set of recommendations for gender equality in food systems in Malawi 2. Establish the position of the MICGBV as to what they believe a... Leer másre the commitments needed to achieve gender equality in food systems for Malawi. These recommendations will be in support of the work of the Government of Malawi and in line with Malawi’s vision 2063, pillar one in particular on, “enjoying food security and sustainable agricultural growth by having an optimally productive and commercialised agricultural sector”. Leer menos

Key Messages: • While rural women play a major role in in productive activities, gender inequality in agriculture is stifling productivity. • Food insecurity and hunger are well known in Malawi and throughout much of the developing world. Women and girls represent 60% of undernourished people in the world. • Investing in women farmers is one of the most effective strategies for reducing extreme poverty and hunger, yet women, are seldom targeted effectively or reached by agricultural investments. Therefore, many Consortium member organisations in collaboration with Government and Developm... Leer másent Partners work on food and agriculture with a focus on women and youth. • There is need to target both men and women within the household and community when seeking to achieve gender equality in food systems transformation. As we empower women, there is need for interventions that involve men as well. If everyone takes part, this will lead to transformation in our food systems. Inclusion of Chiefs, religious and local leaders is also critical. • All programming focusing on agriculture and women needs to be context specific. Research on sustainable agriculture diversification from Malawi indicates that it is not effective to take recommendations wholesale using a one size fits all approach as this will not be successful. For instance, research has shown that even within districts there is a need to have different approaches for effective agriculture programming. All programming must be context specific. • To overcome barriers which constrain women’s access to land and other assets, behaviour change initiatives and mind-set change are key. This is not an option; it is a must. • There is a need for strong gender analyses to inform all activities conducted within food systems programming. GBV is real in agriculture – we must be conscious of it in interventions and ensure that we are addressing this within our programmes. • Promoting joint advocacy: There is a need for stakeholders to work together on one common agenda and common purpose to advocate for women’s rights. Leer menos

Guaranteeing women’s rights to land Women’s access to, use of and control over land and other productive resources are essential to ensuring their right to equality and to an adequate standard of living. Throughout the world, gender inequality when it comes to land and other productive resources is related to women’s poverty and exclusion. • There is a need for better reinforcement/implementation of existing laws and policies by the police and judiciary, to protect women. • Women often don’t know their rights. Creating awareness among women on their rights to land and the specific ... Leer máslaws that exist can help them to take action when their rights are violated. • Advocate for men’s involvement in gender activities • Access to land is not just about discrimination but is also about money, women’s economic empowerment through Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) activities can help them to purchase land. • To overcome barriers to women’s access to land and other assets, behaviour change initiatives and mind-set change are key. This is not an option; it is a must. • Involvement of local and religious leaders in advocating for land rights is key. For example, Chiefs in Malawi are the custodians of much of the land. Chiefs are a key stakeholder when it comes to shifting mind-sets, as they are custodians of social and cultural values. The church also has a big role to play in sensitising their followers. • The economic empowerment of women is a critical enabling factor which supports women to be more involved in decision making at the household and community level. Examples of economic empowerment activities that have been success include IGAs, diversification, irrigation and providing capital for small businesses. • Promoting joint advocacy: There is a need for stakeholders to work together on one common agenda and common purpose to advocate for women’s rights. • Households should be encouraged to own land as a family, for example, the land ownership model in Southern Malawi is joint ownership. • Agriculture policies should respond to gender issues including land ownership. For example, government policies should be able to respond to different contexts such as where land is owned by women or owned by men. Leer menos

2. Economic empowerment of women in food systems and addressing women’s unpaid care and agricultural labor burden Women play multiple roles in the food system, as producers, traders, processors, wage workers, consumers and researchers. Pathways to their economic empowerment are going to be different depending on where they are in food systems. New ways of thinking are needed to ensure women’s economic empowerment at scale. • Financial institutions should work with women as individuals in their own right to support them to access loans, and not defer to husbands for permission. • Centra... Leer másl banks (Reserve Bank of Malawi) should monitor the percentage of loans accessed directly by women • There is a need for stronger monitoring and enforcement of gender policies such as The Prevention of Domestic Violence Act • Work on behaviour change on social cultural norms is critical. However, there is need to start this work much earlier when children are young, as mindsets once ingrained are difficult to change. • For effective programming, it is important to use the District Based Agricultural Extension Services (DAESS) system for coordination at district level. • The quantity and coverage of extension services was identified as an issue and there is a need to reduce the ratio of farmers to extension workers, as at present this is much too high. The group also observed that there are very few women extension workers. Therefore, many of the extension workers do not fully understand the specific challenges facing women farmers and adapt their support to take account of this. Power relation issues in households also negatively impact women’s ability to access to extension services, as in many instances women are denied access to training because their husbands won’t allow them attend. This results in less agricultural knowledge being passed on to women. • Evidence form Malawi shows that women’s household workload is 7.7 hours compared to 1.2 for men. The group considered the impacts of this and how this time poverty impedes the ability of women to engage in more diverse livelihood and agriculture activities. It also noted how it is social cultural norms that bring about this situation and that these practices start at a very young age. The key to addressing this issue is social behavioural change programming. However, with current social change programming the focus tends to be on adults, not children. Therefore, there is a need to engage with people while they are still young. Possible entry points include schools, churches, and local leaders who can act as agents of change. • There is often a concept of “women’s crops” and “men’s crops” which acts as a barrier to women’s full participation in the value chain. For example, legumes are regarded as women crops but when a market appears for legumes men jump in. Addressing this social practice requires engaging with households as a whole and not just with the head of a household. Support should focus on creating more harmony in the home and getting men to see that women in value chains can have benefits. One approach cited was the “Family Life Approach” which can support families to create a shared vision for the management of households and farms. This approach uses Gender Champions who go to families and work with them on visioning. However, this approach is challenging, resource intensive and relies on the goodwill and personal commitment of champions (lack of incentives for champions). There needs to be more social workers / extension workers who can support gender programming and work with families on gender equity issues. • In general, women are active in the lower parts of the agri-food value chain and have no control over higher value crops. We need to support women to move to the next stage in the value chain so that they move beyond household level and link with markets for high value crops. All work on gender in agriculture needs to make business sense. Leer menos

3. Women’s voice, leadership and decision making in food systems: how to create gender transformative agriculture and food systems policies while addressing institutional barriers and systemic GBV Women are actively involved in food systems in many roles, but their contributions often go unrecognized and they face many inequities. Part of the problem is that women’s voices are often missing from decision making processes in the food system. Women’s leadership is central to ensuring that women’s needs are well articulated and addressed. • For women’s social movements to be effective... Leer más it is important to understand the dynamics in the different districts of Malawi and to not take a homogenous approach. In particular, social norms must be addressed. • There is need for a strong gender analysis before engaging in any programming involving women and food systems. This will help programmes to better understand the barriers that are there for women’s movements and the involvement of women in decision making. • It was recommended that public procurements should set aside a proportion of funding to be allocated towards purchasing from women only co-operatives, this will help support the capacity of these cooperatives and help them grow to the next level. • Government programmes such as the Access to Mechanisation programme needs to be looked at with a gender perspective. This will help ensure that the government better understands the barriers that women face in accessing these programmes. • There is a need to monitor expenditure of the national budget with regards to gender. Leer menos

Regional Development Australia ACT called together agrifood industry representatives from across Canberra and the surrounding regions to conduct a Food Summit Dialogue. The aim of the dialogue was to discuss the importance of creating a sustainable food solution for the region and report the findings to the Summit. It was agreed unanimously that the approach required inclusion and consideration of the complete city region food system process. The FAO defines city region food systems (CRFS) as “all the actors, processes and relationships that are involved in food production, processing, distr... Leer másibution and consumption in a given city region that includes a more or less concentrated urban center and its surrounding peri-urban and rural hinterland”. Concern has been voiced within the consultation group hosted by RDA ACT that the importance of this system is being overlooked by the UN food Summit dialogue and, as a consequence, missing important opportunities to achieve sustainable food security goals. Truly inclusive initiatives, that equally include all stakeholders, and include a focus on the development of city-region food systems, are far more likely to achieve the UN objective that called on all cities that have the capability, to create local food buffers. The State of Food in the ACT and Regions: Food is a necessity, a fundamental human right and one of life's great pleasures. Food shapes cultures, tradition, customs and beliefs. It brings people together and is essential to personal wellbeing, community, cultural expression and health. The delivery of fresher, cheaper, local, and more nutritious food supports all domains in the ACT Wellbeing Framework, with an essential premise being the continued availability of food, which food insecurity undermines. Yet food availability is being increasingly tested by climate change, COVID-19 and international disputes; illustrating how vulnerable our food supply chains are. The ACT and the immediate region grow very little of their own food, with 90% coming through Sydney and much further afield. There are at least 400 individual enterprises in the ACT involved in production, manufacture & sales; a further 500 individual enterprises in Canberra Region; 100 community groups and NFPs with an interest or existing involvement with food; 40 ACT restaurants engaged in and deliberately sourcing local food; several hundred institutional settings including schools and care settings; 8 transport companies; and the growing presence of dozens of community gardens, small urban farms and food producers in our immediate region. There are 160 farms in the ACT and a further 7,500 in southern NSW. Despite the food potential of the region, over 25,000 people in the ACT are experiencing some form of food stress. At the same time, while healthy eating is featuring more strongly in preventive health policy, levels of obesity and diet-related diseases remain stubbornly high. The ACT community in common with cities around the world needs to be able to: • guarantee access to healthy, affordable, locally grown & sustainably produced food. • ensure that Canberrans have access to and more say over the food they eat, with confidence that it is healthy, environmentally sustainable and ethically produced. Stepping Forward: A whole of system approach to nurturing a sustainable urban and regional food system is vital to addressing the future food challenges, with all stakeholders in the food system being brought together to co-designing and build a city-region food system. City Region Food Systems (CRFS) have proven the most successful and durable forms of their kind, and include facilitation of food hubs, food cooperatives, innovation, and new food business models. Initial investment into the development of city region food systems is essential to support growth and ensure long-term sustainability. Many of the ACT and region enterprises have reported that they would expand their local food production and purchasing if provided with assistance. There is evidence of strong latent demand for more accessible, abundant and local food; with the region having, on average, high disposable income and very strong levels of motivation to support sustainability. There is significant inward investment interest in the food sector here, as well as new start-ups, which require food knowledge and specialist facilitation. This will also better establish our region’s competitive advantage in food production, sales and hospitality. World impact investment flows are looking for opportunity in the sustainable food space, including CRFS – not only large-scale food production and processing. Economic impact analysis of such initiatives across the world such as Vermont USA demonstrate strongly positive returns on government investment – in market growth, jobs and community outcomes. A widely recognised study shows a gross output multiplier of 1.75 (every dollar invested produces $1.75 dollars in additional output) and an employment multiplier of 2.14 (for every food job created a further 2 jobs are created). This is sorely needed as the world seeks to exit covid and build economic recovery. Conclusion: With adequate investment, intense consultation and collaboration, and a focused strategic planning, the Canberra Region and similar areas around Australia would be able to successfully meet the UN SDGs and its objective of a local food buffer. This would ensure food security, support economic growth, and positively impact on the physical and mental health of the communities involved. Leer menos

With adequate investment, intense consultation and collaboration, and a focused strategic planning, the Canberra Region and similar areas around Australia would be able to successfully meet the UN SDGs and its objective of a local food buffer. This would ensure food security, support economic growth, and positively impact on the physical and mental health of the communities involved.

The aim of the dialogue was to discuss the importance of creating a sustainable food solution for the region and report the findings to the Summit.

The major focus of the dialogue was on youth and their potential to transform food systems. In Liberia, over 65 percent of the population falls in the youth bracket. We see this as an opportunity for the food system. The potential of the youth lies in their population, capacity to innovate, young energy and their admiration and likeness of new technologies. Looking at these factors, the discussion was centered on how the food chain actors can leverage their potential so as to realize zero hunger. The dialogue was interactive where panelists and participants advanced ideas and ways to make the ... Leer másyouth major actor in the food system and how to inspire them to taking actions necessary for food systems transformation. The focus was captured under tract 4, that talks about advancing equitable livelihoods. This is about including youth in the process of food system transformation by empowering and making them unleash their potentials. Leer menos

 For youth to fully be involved in the food systems and be active players, they must be provided with finance (seed fund, grants and business incubation support) so as to make them resilient and sustainable players in the food sector. Lack of access to finance which remains a major challenge for Africa’s food systems is a clumping block to youth active involvement in national and regional food systems transformation. The participants and panelists call on policy makers and major food actors( UN, FAO, UNDP) to provide access to finance programs for youth who are thriving to make impact in ... Leer másthe agriculture sector which will serve as motivation for other young people who see agriculture as a underprivileged and less fortunate family ventures. This can be carried out by policy makers through the allotment in the national budget funds for grants and seed funds to youth agri enterprises and young farmers who are striving to make agriculture their livelihood.  A network of youth in agriculture need to be formed which will connect youth involves and aspiring to do business or farming to policy makers and donor for support that can enhance the operations in the agriculture sector. There is a disconnect with youth in agriculture and stakeholders which has created less attractive situation for youth. Participants and panelists intimated that only when you are empowered, then we can assure that the future of food lies in their hands. Participants and panelists call for young people participation in the planning and decision making of the food systems transformation processes.  Technology integration and innovation Technology integration is key in advancing and transforming the food systems. The discussion highlighted the need to put technology innovation on the forefront as a factor to transform the food system for people and planet. The use and promotion of technology can drive youth participant and full involvement in feeding the world. Participants, especially, youth pointed out the need to provide information communication technology solutions and the provision of machineries for on farm and off farm production activities. Leer menos

 Future of food system depends on the investment in today youth. Participants highlighted that for a better food system, the youth must be at the core of global investments, food systems transformation conversations, decision making processes. The investment in youth through the provision of access to finance, technical capacity, market linkage and infrastructure. A panelist stressed the need to create awareness among youth for the change of mindset that agriculture is dirty job or not decent for youth involvement.  Youth need to invest energy in the agriculture value chain. The potentia... Leer másl of the agriculture value chain in Liberia is untapped. Youth must take advantage to innovate where they can bring solutions on the table for the food systems transformation. Discussion around youth cultivating the mind of entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector was raise by few panelists and youth are encouraged to look around to pick up a problem in the agriculture sector where they can turn it to opportunity. In order to reduce the youth unemployment situation of Liberia and Africa, youth must start to think about agriculture differently as oppose the long held perception of it being for uneducated and old age.  Transition from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture with the promotion of technology. Discussion on the importance of modern agriculture that requires new approach and method of farming and food production. Panelists and participants expressed their views and call for innovation that promote the use of technology in agriculture which will lure youth to agriculture investment and operations. Participants highlighted that government and food security stakeholders can lead this and will help in attracting the young labor force to the sector.  Access to finance for youth in agriculture. The topic, youth access to finance which is considered as a challenge was discussed. Several suggestions made: allot money in the national budget to provide grants and seed fund to youth enterprises by national government, provide programs that give seed fund and innovation challenge by agriculture development partners. Leer menos

Quick income: some panelists and participants noted that youth nowadays, go for quick income activities such as motorcycle riding and political affairs/white collar jobs. This discourages them since they can get fast income from such activities than agriculture. Generally, the area of divergence is youth of this generation are less interested in agriculture because they always looking out for quick/fast income. Other participants held the view that that is not the case but it is mainly due to lack of support and finance. Another area of divergence is that opportunities are out there but youth ... Leer másare not making use of them. A Panelist highlighted that opportunities for youth are available but many of the youth are not going for it. Other participants refute the view and expressed that the systems and processes out there are not inclusive and hidden from general public. Leer menos

Incorporate social inclusion and equity criteria in public policies related to food systems to reduce poverty, gender and territorial gaps, and ethnic inequalities. Access to productive resources for women, including access to land, and respect for the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples must be guaranteed. It is necessary to invest in the development of capacities in young people, women, indigenous peoples, and Afro-descendants, and in lagging territories and give them voice and representation in the management of policies for their development.

Addressing climate action in agriculture with a focus on adaptation aimed at building resilience and promoting synergies between adaptation and mitigation actions. The relationship between agriculture and climate change is complex; on the one hand, agriculture is one of the sectors most negatively affected by climate change; on the other, it generates significant greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, agriculture is the only productive sector capable of capturing its emissions and those of other sectors. Climate action in agriculture must consider this complexity, adequately balancing mitigati... Leer máson and adaptation activities, as well as carbon-sink services. Leer menos

Improve the quality and impact of investments, including those in science, technology, and innovation. Investment in these areas is required to encourage creativity and the development of new and innovative ideas to improve the production, transformation, and preservation of food and its nutritional attributes. New target areas for investment include the bioeconomy and nature-based solutions, which foster value addition, diversification, and sustainability. For this, it will be necessary to promote public-private alliances and value the knowledge and resources of local communities.

Guarantee family farm access to new technologies. This implies encouraging a holistic technological improvement process, which integrates the adoption of digital and information and communication technologies (DTs/ICTs), technologies derived from the revolution in biological sciences, nature-based solutions and agroecological practices, as well as the creation of synergies and complementarities amongst them. DTs / ICTs improve agricultural practices and environmental performance, improve market access, and bring producers closer to consumers. Biotechnology applications —along with nature-bas... Leer másed solutions— increase resilience, improve soil health, and restore poor soils, and allow the development of biological alternatives to reduce dependence on fossil-based agricultural inputs. Leer menos

Promote circularity through circular bioeconomy processes to increase resilience and sustainability, make more efficient use of resources, diversify development options, and increase value addition.

Promote healthier eating patterns, to reduce the double burden of malnutrition and the economic costs of associated health problems. The transformation requires policies and regulations to encourage the consumption of healthy foods, and restrict the consumption of ultra-processed products, especially by children and adolescents.