Explore Official Dialogue Feedback

One solution provided for youth and women to better engage in the food system was the lowering of standards or the contextualization of standards for food products / agricultural produce. Some felt this would limit the ability of agribusinesses from the country to effectively engage in regional and global food systems that have set standards that all must adhere to in order to have their goods enter those markets.

We discussed problems and solutions specifically grassroots solutions and what support is needed for these solutions to scale up.

- There's a huge issue with expired food being sold to young people in school canteens across the US this has caused a distrust of young people towards people supplying food to them. They don't believe some organisations have their best interests at heart. - Refrigerators have been set up where community members can stock food and people who need the food can take it but how can these be scaled up globally? For this to work it needs to be backed by the community. - Food needs to be linked more widely to health and wellness - Community gardens are a great solution to food insecurity and e... Read moreducation around food. This gave the community a voice in what they wanted on their plates during the week and it gave them more choices for meals as they didn't have to pay for the food. - When food banks had to close due to under funding the community ensured that the gardens stayed open. This also allowed for inter generational learning, the longer the garden stayed open. - Indigenous participants talked about the community not having access to shops as they are just too far away so they have no choice but to eat food that lasts the longest which are the unhealthy foods. - A lot of young people only get their food meals from school so not having access to school has hindered their food security. - Some students still maintain their school garden as it give them an income as locals can buy from them. - The need for community initiatives to be supported but not to be scaled up too much as they have to stay local and not be taken over. - A lot of school feeding programmes are run t a federal level which results in a lot of food going to waste we need to make federal guidelines more flexible to local situations. - In schools before covid there were sharing tables set up so any student who had food they didn't want put it on this table and anyone could take it, this decreased food waste dramatically in canteens. Read less

- There's a huge issue with expired food being sold to young people in school canteens across the US this has caused a distrust of young people towards people supplying food to them. They don't believe some organisations have their best interests at heart. - Refrigerators have been set up where community members can stock food and people who need the food can take it but how can these be scaled up globally? For this to work it needs to be backed by the community. - Food needs to be linked more widely to health and wellness - Community gardens are a great solution to food insecurity and e... Read moreducation around food. This gave the community a voice in what they wanted on their plates during the week and it gave them more choices for meals as they didn't have to pay for the food. - When food banks had to close due to under funding the community ensured that the gardens stayed open. This also allowed for inter generational learning, the longer the garden stayed open. - Indigenous participants talked about the community not having access to shops as they are just too far away so they have no choice but to eat food that lasts the longest which are the unhealthy foods. - A lot of young people only get their food meals from school so not having access to school has hindered their food security. - Some students still maintain their school garden as it give them an income as locals can buy from them. - The need for community initiatives to be supported but not to be scaled up too much as they have to stay local and not be taken over. - A lot of school feeding programmes are run t a federal level which results in a lot of food going to waste we need to make federal guidelines more flexible to local situations. - In schools before covid there were sharing tables set up so any student who had food they didn't want put it on this table and anyone could take it, this decreased food waste dramatically in canteens. Read less

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In the discussion on “Building effective advocacy youth in agriculture movement for sustainable and equitable food system development in Nigeria”, the following are some of the outcomes;Youth inclusion and intervention in the food systems will bring about a change in the trajectory because of their creativity.Collections and implementation of individual solutions from the youths will help meet our food sufficiency and sustainability needs.Youths were implored to connect and engage with Agriculture Movements to explore the possibilities of adaptive Food Systems in Nigeria.

All voices of participating stakeholders were heard and there was an open space for everyone to make a contribution. There were no points of divergence but some points were felt as very strong to those who brought them up.

In the discussion on “Adaptive Measures for Food System sustainability in Nigeria”, the following are some of the outcomes;Governance and sustainability are major issues concerning food system in Nigeria. It was said that an appropriate government intervention and adoption of sustainable measures will enhance the productivity of the Food Systems in Nigeria.The degree of food wastage negatively affects Food Security. Many food losses which debase the Food Security status of the nation results from not only pre-harvest practices but majorly post-harvest. However, value addition to fo... Read moreod crops will reduce the degree of food wastage.It was concluded that adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture, Geographic Information System, Technology, Crop selection etc will enhance an adaptive and sustainable Food System in Nigeria. Read less

In the discussion on “Covid-19 – Exposing the fragility of our food system”, the following are some of the outcomes;A post-pandemic survey was carried out and it was discovered that there are more male farmers in the North and most farmers in Lagos State are female. This is to keep one abreast the participation of the two sexes in farming and to help during decision making on interventions.Farmers in Lagos and Benue States received supportive interventions from private sectors. It depicts that it is not the governments work alone to make the food system better, every unit, sector... Read more, party, local, zonal or national body has roles to play.Pests & Diseases, drought and flooding are pressing challenges affecting farmers and need urgent attention.Among the challenges farmers encounter after harvest is bribery to Forces for transportation of their produce to the market. This has been recurrent and even is discouraging to farmers to transport their harvest to where they can be highly valued. It was concluded that swift actions should be taken to address this act. Read less

In the discussion on ‘’Role of policy towards achieving small scale farming sustainability: future outlook’’, the following are some of the outcomes;Policies should be adaptive and inclusive and specific to suit different communities and regions across the country.Policies should help to address issues around our local food security sustainability before exporting to the international market.Intentional promotion of framework around agro ecology as the help to preserve the soil.Creation of more sustainable engagements with small scale farmers for a swift paradigm shift ... Read moreas the population grows.Urgent attention by the policy makers around policy that drives small scale farmers’ productivity.There should be a strong linkage and interaction between all actors across the entire value chain for a sustainable food system using the top bottom approach. Read less

The major focus of the dialogue was to deliberate on the measures that are needed to be implemented to make Nigeria a food sufficient country. It is lucid that there are lapses in the functionality of the food systems in Nigeria due to the food security status as caused by many factors. The dialogue was aimed to focus on the factors affecting food systems, what adaptive approaches can be done to mitigate their effects and how. The summit addressed the importance of a sustainable Food System, the implications from an erred system, the precautionary and correctional measures, and the roles of t... Read morehe youths to the development of sustainable Food System in Nigeria. Sustainable Food Systems The discussants were able to make clear the need for a functional and quite sustainable food system in Nigeria. The rationale for a food security was stressed given the implication on citizens and the socio-economic effects in the country. Food Systems was defined to be a complex web of different food section components and not same as Food Supply Chain. Fragility of non-functional Food System The fragility in the food system and the underlying factors were discussed. The resultant effects of the factors were practically analyzed with possible adaptive measures. Adaptive approaches and youth inclusion The factors affecting food sustainability are ever-available so, adaptive measures to respond to their incidence must be adopted. Climate Smart Agriculture, incorporation of Geographic Information System and other technologies into the Food System etc have been said to be adaptive. Purposeful collaborations with the government on approaches advancement will help better the Food System. Active participation of the youths was said will proffer solutions to the developing constraints in the food system and encourage innovation in the Food Systems. Read less

For Food System Sustainability:Pests and Diseases effects should be adequately controlled; There should be collaboration between Food Systems Stakeholders including youths and the government; There should be sufficient investment into Food Systems Research and Developments; Training on sustainable practices be given to farmers to make the Food System in Nigeria better; There should be capacity building for Agricultural Extension services; There should be adoptable policies and planning for sustainable Food Systems.

Eradicating hunger and achieving food security remain major challenges to humanity and to sustainability. At the global level, hunger and food insecurity were on the rise in 2019. An estimated 25.9 per cent of the global population – 2 billion people – were affected by moderate or severe food insecurity in 2019, an increase from 22.4 per cent in 2014, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that there are nearly 690 million people in the world who are hungry, or 8.9 per cent of the world population – up... Read more 10 million people in one year and nearly 60 million in five years. and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the problem. At the same time, food systems in their current form contribute considerably to green-house gas emissions, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. Today, food production accounts for about a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. Half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture and about a quarter of the world’s productive lands are degraded.These challenges to securing adequate nutrition to all of the world’s people, generating equitable livelihoods and adapting to, as well as mitigating climate change stand to become even more daunting. Building sustainable food systems and healthy nutrition patterns have been identified by the Global Sustainable Development Report 2019 , as one of six entry points to achieve transformational change toward sustainable development in ways that capitalize on synergies while minimizing trade-offs. On the global stage, 2021 will be a year with food security at its core. In early 2021, the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on Population and Development will take on the theme of “Population, food security, nutrition and sustainable development.” In July, the annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development will review Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 aiming to zero hunger, along with other closely associated SDGs such as those targeting poverty eradication and climate action. Finally, the Secretary-General will convene the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit in September.To support the UN system’s efforts towards eliminating hunger, and to underscore the interlinkages between SDG 2 and the rest of the goals, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is holding a global policy dialogue in December 2020 with partners on food security in the context of demographic change and rural development. Internationally renowned experts and professionals on food systems, population trends and rural development will be invited to join as panelists to discuss this urgent and multidimensional issue. The event also will serve as a Food Systems Summit Dialogue aligned with Action Track 4—Advance Equitable Livelihoods and Value Distribution, giving participants an opportunity to contribute to designing the food systems of the future by informing the Summit process. Read less

Overall, panelists stressed the importance of access to food as a fundamental right for all people and an inextricable part of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Both food producers and consumers carry responsibility to create a more equitable food system and further noted that food producers also suffer from poverty and hunger, arising from inequalities and injustices.In order for food systems to be more inclusive, sustainable and healthy, further efforts are needed to 1) create jobs, 2) raise incomes across food value chains, 3) reduce risks for those most marginalized within ... Read morethe system, and 4) increase value distribution. Additionally, there must be special attention paid to gender equality in food systems, including the need to provide more opportunities for women in agricultural value chains, such as access to land, markets and decisions.Furthermore, panelists highlighted how the three components of the “livelihood-nutrition-environment triangle” are key to eradicating both hunger and poverty and said that moving agricultural production from input-intensive to knowledge-intensive systems and expanding employment efficiency and diversity into value chains are the two priority actions to ensure a positive and harmonious triangle. With regard to the upcoming Food Systems Summit, the stakeholders look forward to working together to transform a wealth of ideas, evidences and recommendations into concrete and practical solutions to advance equitable livelihoods in the food system. Read less

Key takeaways from Panel 1: The impact of COVID-19 and population movement on food system livelihoods The first panel discussed recent trends and challenges for ensuring sustainable food system livelihoods from a macro-perspective, in particular the impact of population movement and the COVID-19 pandemic on food systems in developing countries.With regard to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food system livelihoods in developing countries, several panelists noted that digital tools and people’s solidarity were key to remain resilient during the pandemic. In Indonesia, Ms. En... Read moredah Murniningtyas, the former Deputy Minister for National Resources and Environment at the Ministry of National Development Planning of the Republic of Indonesia, and co-chair of the Independent Group of Scientists that produced the 2019 Global Sustainable Development Report, noted that the immediate impact of the pandemic was felt through the weakening of national food demands and the closure of many businesses such as caterers and hotels, which led to excess of food production by local farmers. However, people remained resilient by utilizing IT tools to enable “direct selling” by small agricultural producers to local consumers, which ensured many women farmers to continue their businesses and promoted youth participation as digital mediators of food value chains. Digital platforms were also utilized to donate excess food from producers to those most in need, and she cited one recent study which found about a 72 per cent increase in food donation during the pandemic.Similarly, Ms. Izabella Teixeira, former Minister of Environment of Brazil and member of the UN High-level Advisory Board for Economic and Social Affairs, noted that in Brazil, digital tools and e-commerce were utilized as part of national food value chains to connect small and organic farmers with consumers across the country. In this regard, she noted that digital platforms have a bigger role to play beyond providing supply chains and traceability of products. She suggested that e-tools could help optimize production to minimize food waste.On the impact of population movement on livelihood and food systems, Mr. John Wilmoth, Director of the UN DESA Population Division, highlighted that urbanization, which is particularly significant in Africa and Asia, has caused shifts in people’s diets from agricultural staples to more animal-based food and processed food, which requires adjustments in agricultural production patterns. Growth of urban populations is further advanced by the fact that, overall, farms are becoming larger in scale and more mechanized, which is causing declines in demand for agricultural labor and is pressuring many rural farm workers to find alternative labor opportunities in urban areas.In response to a question by the audience regarding the vulnerability of export-based food systems—an element exposed during the pandemic—panelists stressed that countries must ensure more inclusive, transparent, resilient and environmentally friendly agricultural supply chains, both at global and local levels. Furthermore, one panelist noted that producers must cater to more diversified food demands by consumers Read less

Key takeaways from Panel 2: Sustainable rural development to ensure better food livelihoodsThe second panel consisted of local agricultural practitioners and researchers and a technical specialist from IFAD. The discussions focused on sustainable rural development as a pathway to ensuring better food system livelihoods, by citing practical examples and solutions from country experiences.Panelists agreed that inclusivity and equity, based on a people-centered approach, is key to ensuring better food livelihoods in rural areas for vulnerable groups including women, youth, indigenous p... Read moreeoples and other communities with distinct livelihood systems. Several panelists noted that skill development, including digital skills related to drones and satellite data, as well as access to finance, are important enablers for transforming farmers into competitive entrepreneurs. This would ensure better economic empowerment of women and attract more younger workers. One panelist also stressed the importance for countries to better target government subsidies to the most vulnerable to maximize inclusion and ensure equitable livelihoods.The importance of partnerships was also underscored, which would enable multidisciplinary collaboration among farmers, NGOs, governments and international organizations to design projects that can connect small farmers with international markets. Panelists noted that better coordination among government ministries is crucial because support for food systems requires the support of multiple ministries. Read less

The two youth panelists strongly emphasized that more training is needed for their generation, to keep up with changing digital technologies and not miss opportunities because of lack of finance or because class is canceled because of the pandemic.

l'un des points abordé était l'offre des produits issus du maraicher. Les participants sont unanimes que pour l’offre des produit vivriers, il est insuffisant au regard de la demande locale. Ces produits sont le manioc, la banane, l’aubergine, le piment, la tomate, le gombo l’arachide et le maïs. Les cultures se font généralement dans les basfonds afin de profiter de l’humidité. Les jours de marché sont prévus tous les mercredis et permettent aux habitants de commercialiser leur production et d’acheter ce qui leur manque. Les terres dédiées à la culture maraichère sont ... Read moreinsuffisantes. Les terres cultivables sont utilisées pour les produits de rente (Hévéa, palmier à huile, etc.) ; La période favorable aux cultures s’étend de juin au mois de janvier suivant, et celle défavorable, s’étend de février à mai. Le changement climatique perturbe également ce calendrier ; La rentabilité des cultures est faible par manque de produits d’entretien et d’engrais, Il se pose un problème de conservation des produits car il n’y a pas d’électricité et le village n’est pas desservie en eau potable ; Les parcelles de culture ne sont pas sécurisées et souffrent de vol récurrent de quidam. Les participants ont recommandé que des terres soient réservées exclusivement à la culture maraichère et que les produits d’entretien des plantations soient subventionnés pour réduire leur coût (engrais, herbicide, fongicide, etc.). Les agriculteurs ont également besoin de formation sur l’itinéraire technique des cultures afin de mieux produire, Que des systèmes de canalisation soient encouragé pour la maitrise de l’eau afin de produire en contre-saison. Read less

Pour les participants, les produits commercialisés en général à GBOYO sont l’arachide, Le manioc et l’attieké qui provient de la transformation du manioc. Pour les participants, l’attieke qui est le l’aliment de base connait des difficultés de vente. Les femmes sont nombreuses à commercialiser l’attiéké et il n’y a pas de clients en dehors des villageois. Celles qui ont pu se réunir en coopérative arrivent à écouler leur marchandise à des clients venant de la ville. Les produits sont souvent vendus au prix proposé par le client et donc entraine une mévente. Les part... Read moreicipants souhaitent s’organiser en coopérative ou association pour commercialiser rapidement leur production à des personnes venant des villes et même d’autres pays et aussi acquérir des matériels de transformation pour produire l’attieké en grande quantité. Read less

Sur le sujet des terres cultivables, le village étant à la limite d’un parc national et de la lagune, il est ressorti des discussions que la disponibilité des terres cultivables reste problématique surtout pour ce qui concerne l’alimentation de base qui est l’attieke transformé à partir du manioc. Les femmes sont obligées d’aller très loin acheter le manioc. C’est une zone à grande production de culture de rente tel que le palmier à huile, le cacao et l’Hévéa et donc limite la production de produits vivriers. C’est pourquoi dans les échanges certains participants o... Read morent proposé comme solutions de trouver des techniques culturales qui pourraient augmenter la production des produits locaux sur le peu d’espace cultivable et également dans les espaces des cultures de rente comme l’hévéa. Cependant d’autres participants sont restés sceptiques sur la question de production massive sur le peu d’espace cultivable car pour eux ils n’ont pas encore été confrontés à ces techniques innovantes qui respectent l’environnement. Read less