Explore Official Dialogue Feedback

One of the key areas of discussion of the Dialogue was the possible interventions that could be adopted to progress towards sustainable food system transformation in Ethiopia. One of the major issues that arose out of the Dialogue as hindering Ethiopians from having a healthy and nutritious diet was the affordability and accessibility of food items, with fruit and vegetables tending to be more costly than other food items. In consideration of this issue, two potential areas of intervention were raised; market development and integration so that production and seasonality are separate from cons... Read moreumption, and exploration into Public-Private-Partnerships, particularly as they relate to the growing and selling of nutrition food, which was deemed to be particularly relevant for Ethiopia as a net importer of food. However, in part this challenge is linked to issues of seasonality with certain types of foods, particularly fruits, only being available in certain time periods leading to variation in consumption. This is particularly an issue in rural areas where there is a lower prevalence of imported goods. Therefore, it was highlighted that alongside market development and integration, there is a need for supply-side interventions which boost the production of nutritious and diverse foods. In particular, interventions which scale up the production of wild fruits and plants such as spirulina, moringa and wild berries were mentioned due to their high nutritional value and contribution. Finally, linked to this is overarching need of rural development with many communities, especially in rural areas, lacking water sources, not only to grow the vegetables but also to cook the vegetables, and lack of sources of cooking energy. This elucidated how sustainable food systems transformation cannot occur by working in silos, or merely focusing on food security interventions, but must incorporate cross-cutting policies and adopt a multi-sector approach. Another major area of challenge and potential intervention that was raised by participants was the role of nutrition education as an entry point to try to address some of the key issues facing the Ethiopian food system. Here, it was noted that a key difficulty is ensuring that nutrition education is cost effective and is communicated to people in an easily comprehendible manner. Several policy interventions were raised as potential game-changing solutions to this problem. Many participants vocalised the possibility of increasing the number of educated nutrition professionals and targeting adolescents to maximise the likelihood of triggering behaviour change. This would overcome one of the key challenges in Ethiopia of the lack of skills to process, cook and preserve food. Alternatively, it was suggested that nutrition education should be more closely linked with the school feeding programs and university feeding programs, as in Ethiopia there is a large public university system which is boarding and so provides food. This offers a potential platform to provide healthier foods and increase nutritional awareness which can affect future consumption patterns and ultimately affect crop choices. A further proposed platform for nutrition education was linked to the Orthodox Christian beliefs and fasting periods. Currently, the fasting period is seen as a constraint to healthier diets, however Dialogue participants raised the possibility of using it is a platform to promote healthier diets. However, one of the key challenges identified in nutrition education campaigns is that implementation of development programs, especially those concerning nutrition, is often not as good as design. Participants used the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) to illustrate this as despite consciously trying to be nutrition sensitive, it often does not have any significant effect on nutrition outcomes. It was noted that often there is impact in terms of caloric availability and consumption, especially at the household level in terms of quality and diversity, but due to inadequate contact between mothers and health extension workers, there is limited impact on children’s diet and nutrition indicators. Read less

Dietary frameworks and policies A further discussion topic focussed on the application and relevance of dietary policy frameworks in Ethiopia, especially in light of the development of Ethiopia’s Food and Nutrition Strategy 2030 which contains a number of policy actions to consider in order to transition towards a more sustainable food system. Here, there were two important outcome points. The first point regarded a need to identify a method to observe and measure the implementation and adoption of these guidelines. For example, the Strategy proposes to ban the advertising of 'unhealthy' foo... Read moreds, which is a problem in the country at the moment, however it is unclear how this would be implemented and what kind of institutional changes would be needed to meet the requirements of this guideline. The second outcome of this discussion was an identification that a one size fits all conception of healthy diets is not applicable in Ethiopia. The actual diets of Ethiopians is both affected by culture, for example affected by Orthodox Christian beliefs and fasting periods, and highly resource-driven. It is one thing to recommend policies and interventions for food system transformation, but it is another whether it is feasible and plausible to achieve them. Therefore, there is a need to study communities individually and propose realistic, evidence-based solutions for them. This was further explored in the Dialogue with reference to the Ethiopian value chain; in particular, that the price of vegetables or fruits varies massively depending on the region and season in question which poses a significant accessibility limitation on healthy diets and the applicability of broad policy frameworks. Read less

There were no major areas of divergence in this Dialogue. A small area of divergence emerged with regard to the increasing proportion of Ethiopians who are consuming street food or food not produced at home. Whilst some stakeholders proposed this to be an important issue that needed attention, others held that eating out is still not a common feature of consumption for the majority of people and was instead linked to higher income, urban groups. It was agreed that this should be considered as an area of concern, but should not be prioritised compared to other food system challenges and interve... Read morentions. Read less

The Dialogue was an exploration of the nexus of food security, nutrition and climate change in Ethiopia with a specific view to receiving inputs on reasonable steps towards a food system transition pathway to healthier diets in Ethiopia. Specifically, the focus of the Dialogue was to receive inputs and feedback from stakeholders on proposed context-sensitive healthy diets, what they view to be the criteria and consideration for healthier diets and food system transformation, and the possible interventions and policies to achieve this based on their prior experience and opinion on potential opp... Read moreortunities. Read less

No areas of divergence

The reduction of agri-food losses, the recovery of surpluses for a better availability of food, the prevention of waste at home and outside the home, the adoption of a healthy diet, sustainable and accessible to all, represent a challenge for our country and for the whole world, made particularly urgent by the pandemic crisis. With this in mind, the principles of the Mediterranean Diet as a model for promoting the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, with its added value linked to the number of epidemiological studies supported by solid scientific data, the enhancement... Read more of the person and recovery food education linked to the history of the territory and the preservation of biodiversity, represent essential values ​​for stimulating the adoption of models of responsible production and consumption, also and above all with respect to the strong increase in the difficulty of accessing food with a consequent increase in food poverty during the Covid 19 pandemic. The Mediterranean Diet proposed as a sustainable nutritional strategy to reduce waste and better distribute resources by enhancing the link with history and the territory with solid scientific bases, also as a necessary element to change eating habits, reduce the environmental impact of food and link human health to that of the planet. Read less

The main findings of the dialogue have been discussed for each session by developing actions and commitments for each of the described area. For the section “Reducing agri-food losses in the steps from agricultural production to distribution” the following actions have been proposed: Identification of the agri-food sectors with major waste, mapping the critical points and the cause-effect links that contribute to the losses, implementing actions and monitoring their effect; Reduction of the production variability and precision agriculture; Reduction of losses from pathogens and parasites a... Read morend applications of agricultural practices that favor the achievement of productions close to the productive potential of crops, in particular by promoting soil health and the use of slow-release fertilizers; Reduce rigidity to commercial aesthetic standards and offer the consumer non-standard products, but with sufficient organoleptic quality, at a lower price. More efficient and sustainable production and collection systems; Improve the conditions of transport, processing and storage of agricultural products. Agri-food education and continuous training of the supply chain operators; Guidelines, certification and branding; Supply chain and exchange between companies; research and technology transfer. For the section ”Increasing the recovery of agri-food surpluses in order to improve the distribution and access to food by all” the following actions have been proposed: communication and training; sales at discounted prices, donations for social purposes and / or for animal feed; Innovation. For the section “promoting the prevention of food waste at home and outside” the following actions have been proposed: promoting greater knowledge of food by encouraging correct eating habits and promoting major home economics; collecting real qualitative-quantitative data on the situation of food waste in catering and at home with targeted monitoring, trying to go beyond the mere measurement and taking into account also the behaviours, Awareness and education of the population towards the problem of food waste, participatory school lunch service, and anti-waste collective catering; establishment of a stricter regulatory framework with increased taxation on waste creation, and creation of information systems on existing regulations, encourage the discovery of new technological solutions, system vision of the entire agri-food chain, Innovative marketing systems and application of more sustainable sales and consumption practices, sustainable conversion of domestic waste with circular economy principles, use of technological and non-technological supports for the distribution of food surpluses. , For the section “ promoting the adoption of a healthy and sustainable diet, such as the Mediterranean Diet, accessible to all, in particular to sections of the population depleted by the pandemic” the following actions have been proposed: Re-launch the Mediterranean Diet as a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, Supporting and innovating local and quality agri-food production, Communicating, translating and adapting the Mediterranean Diet to other cultures, Promoting scientific and technical comparison on the Mediterranean Diet at an international level. Read less

See above

L’axe majeur traité lors de cette concertation est la valorisation des aliments locaux transformés pour des systèmes alimentaires durables et équitables à travers deux thématiques de discussion. La première thématique, « la valorisation des productions agro-sylvo-pastorales par la transformation, la conservation, le stockage et la commercialisation », a été centrée sur les politiques nationales, la définition des concepts système alimentaire et chaines de valeurs ainsi que les leviers à activer pour la durabilité des systèmes alimentaires. La deuxième conférence a porté ... Read moresur « la valorisation des produits locaux transformés par l’emballage, l’étiquetage et la présentation des valeurs nutritives associées » a porté sur l’importance de l’emballage dans la valorisation des produits aussi bien sur les plans sanitaire et que de la mise à disposition des informations pour les consommateurs. Les deux thèmes ont été traités plus en profondeur en travaux de groupes pour ressortir les difficultés, les solutions, les actions, les acteurs de changement et les recommandations fortes à prendre pour lever ces obstacles dans une vision de systèmes durables. Les enjeux qui ont été discutés lors de cette concertation sont le système de stockage et la disponibilité des matières premières, la transformation des produits, la conservation, l’emballage et la commercialisation dans une approche chaine de valeur ou tous acteurs jouent leurs rôles et contribuent au développement économique autour de la chaine. En effet malgré le potentiel et la diversité des produits locaux transformés, ils restent méconnus et sous exploités dans le dispositif d’approvisionnement de l’état et font face à une concurrence déloyale des produits importés. De ce fait les produits locaux ont du mal à se positionner sur le marché national, encore moins le marché régional. Pourtant la valorisation des produits offre le double avantage de positionner les produits locaux mais aussi de renforcer la position des jeunes et femmes, qui sont les acteurs les plus importants dans ce maillon. La valorisation des produits permet de créer de l’emploi et de générer des ressources. Malgré les efforts de production, de transformation et de promotion (marketing, promotion), la commercialisation reste encore un défi. Au niveau de la production, les unités de transformation sont soumises à une fluctuation importante du prix, une disponibilité non constante et une qualité des matières premières à désirer. Le problème de qualité est d’autant plus important que la traçabilité des matières premières est inexistante de même que la centralisation et la collecte organisée. L’approvisionnement des unités de production auprès des organisations paysannes est donc difficile en raison d’un manque d’organisation et d’anticipation entre les deux acteurs des maillons de la production et de la transformation. Le lien entre qualité et traçabilité des matières premières et des produits finis est plein d’enjeux avec le respect des normes nationales et internationales, la stabilité des prix, la sécurisation de l’approvisionnement et le développement solidaire et social des paysans et des groupements féminins producteurs. La prise en compte de la qualité des matières premières dans la question de la nutrition constitue un espoir, au sein de la plateforme nigérienne des organisations paysannes, de visibilité et de communication autour des problématiques agricoles. Le renforcement des liens entre les unités de production et les organisations paysannes permettra d’améliorer l’organisation de ces filières, des chaines de valeur et des marchés.La promotion de l’agriculture axée sur les chaines de valeur et sensible à la nutrition pourrait permettre aux producteurs (matières premières) et aux transformateurs d’être considérés davantage par les pouvoirs politiques, les partenaires techniques et financiers pour mieux appréhender les besoins et apporter les réponses les mieux adaptées, surtout dans un contexte de changement climatique et de fragilisation des systèmes de production. Cette fragilité est encore renforcée par la forte pression démographique, les chocs sanitaires et les crises alimentaires. Read less

Les perturbations des systèmes alimentaires et des moyens d’existence des populations pourraient affecter leur accès à une alimentation saine. Il est important donc de protéger les chaînes d’approvisionnement alimentaires pour assurer l’alimentation adéquate des populations en particulier pour les plus vulnérables. Des réflexions sur les transformations et actions prioritaires pouvant aider à rendre les systèmes alimentaires plus durables, résilients et sensibles à la nutrition sont nécessaires pour garantir la saine alimentation et contribuer à améliorer la nutrition et l... Read morea santé des populations et la réalisation des cibles des ODD d’ici 2030. Le couplage de la rue marchande aux conférence-ateliers a permis de réunir les vrais acteurs et de ressortir les contraintes réelles. Ainsi, les conclusions générales liées aux pistes d’action sont les suivantes : 1. Prendre en compte la question de l’assurance agricole dans les politiques gouvernementales 2. Protéger les produits locaux transformés qui font face à une réelle concurrence avec les produits importés 3. Reconnaitre la qualité, la place et le rôle des transformateurs dans les systèmes alimentaires 4. Cartographier la transformation agroalimentaire en termes d’acteurs et de gamme de produits agro sylvo pastoraux transformés 5. Promouvoir l’éducation nutritionnelle, basée sur les connaissances, attitudes et pratiques locales existantes. 6. Faciliter l’accès au crédit, pour permettre à l’entreprise d’assainir sa situation financière et de faire face aux pics de production liés à la saisonnalité de l’activité afin d’attirer les investissements extérieurs. 7. Redynamiser/ créer des laboratoires accrédités pour assurer la qualité des analyses 8. Développer, moderniser et améliorer les infrastructures logistiques : transport, stockage, conditionnement et manutention 9. Créer un environnement favorable à l’entreprise (allégement des formalités administratives, cadre juridique et fiscal attrayant, qualité de la main d’œuvre…). 10. Rendre effective la Stratégie nationale d’achat d’aliments auprès des petits producteurs 11. Institutionnaliser/Faciliter l’accès des TPE et PMEs locales à la commande locale avec des quotas d’achats en faveur des produits locaux 12. Créer des unités de production d’emballages de qualité, adaptés et disponibles localement 13. Elaborer une table de composition alimentaire officielle, même basique 14. Subventionner les équipements et l’accès à l’énergie pour les transformateurs-tries 15. Diversifier et adapter les produits et services financiers au contexte des PMEs Read less

La valorisation des produits agro syslvo pastoraux pour contribuer à la sécurité alimentaires et notionnelle au Niger est au cœur des politiques nationales. Il a été recommandé de travailler avec les pouvoirs politiques et toutes parties prenantes (ONG, Recherche, Institutions de financement, secteur privé, OP) pour coordonner les interventions dans le secteur de la transformation des produits locaux et pour créer un environnement favorable au développement des PMEs agroalimentaires (allégement des formalités administratives, cadre juridique et fiscal attrayant, qualité de la main... Read more d’œuvre…) et rendre effective la Stratégie nationale d’achat d’aliments auprès des petits producteurs. Il faudra investir dans les techniques de transformation, stockage et conservation mais aussi dans les équipements pour augmenter la durabilité des aliments tout en préservant leur valeur nutritive et la sécurité sanitaire alimentaire. Il fut reconnaitre et ce, à un grand niveau, la qualité, la place et le rôle des transformateurs-trices dans les systèmes alimentaires. C’est cette reconnaissance qui servira de base pour renforcer les appuis existants, évoluer vers la professionnalisation et assurer des revenus durables. La disponibilité des matières premières pour les unités de transformation est également un point crucial qui passe nécessaire par une meilleure organisation au niveau des organisations paysannes et par l’augmentation les volumes de production. Cette recommandation est soutenu par le renforcement des capacités organisationnelles, institutionnelles et techniques des organisations de paysannes, des transformateurs-trices et des unités de production. Le renforcement des capacités passe par l’amélioration des techniques de transformation, stockage et conservation mais également l’amélioration de la qualité (hygiène sanitaire) tout en préservant leur valeur nutritive et la sécurité sanitaire alimentaire. L’accompagnement et l’encadrement des organisations paysannes (producteurs et transformateurs-trices) doivent continuer tout en intégrant le la jeunesse aux problématiques liées au système alimentaire et à la production agricole, afin qu’ils puissent appuyer et accompagner les organisations paysannes. Les débats de la concertation ont également permis de relever l’importance des normes pour assurer l’assurance qualité des produits mais aussi protéger les consommateurs sur les risques alimentaires. La promouvoir la mise à niveau des unités de production-transformation sur les plans des équipements, des ressources humaines, du contrôle de la qualité et de l’allocation des ressources publiques pour la recherche des données statistiques dans le secteur des produits transformés a été discuté et recommandée. Enfin la question de l’éducation nutritionnelle, basée sur les connaissances, attitudes et pratiques locales existantes a été recommandée comme action à promouvoir. Enfin, il est important, comme le prévoit ces concertations, que tous les acteurs, transformateurs, organisations paysannes, secteur public, secteur privé, universités, organisations internationales travaillent en synergie en fonction de leur expertise et expérience respectives Read less

Les différents acteurs ont une vision commune sur la valorisation des produits des produits et sa contribution des systèmes alimentaires durables au Niger. Cependant quelques points de divergence et d’éclaircissement ont été discutés. Production : la production a été traitée en tant que système de production alors qu’il était question de la traiter comme source d’approvisionnement des unités de transformation. Chaine de valeur : désigne l’ensemble des acteurs et des activités qui font passer un produit agricole de base du stade de la production dans les champs à sa conso... Read moremmation finale, processus dont chaque stade voit de la valeur ajoutée au produit. Filière : Une filière agricole comprend une chaîne d'acteurs (producteurs, transformateurs, distributeurs) engagés autour d'une même matière première agricole et ayant un projet commun de développement à moyen ou à long terme. Les interdépendances entre ces acteurs peuvent être de natures financières, économiques, réglementaires, techniques, sociales et environnementales. Industrialisation : l’industrialisation aura pour impact la disparition des petites entreprises et la réduction des emplois. Elevage : l’élevage pastoralisme a été complétement omis dans les travaux de groupe. Ce n’est que lors de la restitution que ce gap a été relevé et complété. Valeur notionnelle : la valeur nutritionnelle a été traitée en termes d’exigence à atteindre et de dispositions à prendre pour répondre à cette exigence. Ainsi le travail de groupe a été axé sur les mécanismes à mettre en place pour que la valeur nutritionnelle des produits locaux du Niger soit connue, évaluée et présentée sur l’étiquette. Read less

Key challenges faced in the food systems of Mongolia in ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all, especially youth, and improving the health, nutrition, and well-being of the population: -In every stage of the value-added chain, starting from the farmers/herders, the standards tend to be overlooked. Enforcement of standards is weak, and stakeholders’ knowledge is low. Some standards are also outdated and not in line with the international benchmark. -Due to limited types and choices of food products in rural areas, malnutrition is commonly encountered. -Child obesity under five ye... Read morears old is becoming common in Mongolia. Children consume unhealthy food at schools. Primary reasons for excessive food consumption (food waste) and unhealthy food consumption habits: - Large quantity of animal intestines and byproducts; Large volume of food packaging; Although waste is sorted, there are no recycling facilities in the rural areas; Although animal intestines are processed, production capacities are insufficient; Large quantity of post-harvest vegetable waste. How to transfer knowledge, understanding, and habit to reduce food waste and introduce healthy and sustainable food consumption: - Sort food waste; - Disseminate information and knowledge on sorting waste to citizens and organizations; - Increase waste recycling capacity in the rural areas; - Enhance animal intestines and byproduct processing capacities in the rural areas; - Prolong vegetable shelf-life; - Establish a food waste recycle system for restaurants; - Define standards on sugar contents of the food products and increase requirements on imported products; - Transparently inform the public of the results of the inspections conducted by the professional inspection agencies (eg. conclusions on the use of food coloring in whole grain bread); - Enlarge the packaging size of the milk and dairy products (e.g. enlarging the package contribute to reducing the waste quantity); -Significantly increase the food sector production. Establish new start-ups in the agricultural sector and provide support. -Establish a logistics network for the food sector; -Improve knowledge among the entities/individuals involved of the value-added chains, and organize trainings; -Necessary to establish “Organic markets” in rural areas (increase nutrition-rich products) and disseminate knowledge and information on healthy food and meals to the rural population; -Essential to promote healthy and proper food habits by conducting promotion and research in this field -Assist youth in engaging in organic agricultural production. Organize trainings among youth on transferring knowledge and skills to operate production facilities. What must be done in the next 10 years to ensure food safety and security: -Amend the food and nutrition recommendations of Mongolia; -Transform the food system of Mongolia with the assistance of professionals; -Increase taxes on unhealthy food; -Enforce standards on all entities/individuals involved in the value chains; -Increase use of fortified consumer food products; -Strengthen the quality control over imported products; -Reduce pastureland overgrazing; -Improve training quality of the professionals of the processing industry; -Disseminate information on reading and using the product labels to the public; -Establish fair and transparent information flow for the consumer; -Educate the public on food and nutrition. To achieve the above goal, which stakeholders of the food system must establish mutually beneficial partnerships and how to cooperate: -Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Ministry of Food Agriculture and Light Industry, Ministry of Environment, National Development Agency, General Agency for Specialised Investigation, Customs organization; Government organizations and research institutions; Logistics companies; Processing factories; Consumers; Local administration; Herders/farmers; Education institutions at all levels (schools, colleges, universities, institutes, TVET); -Ensure feedback and cooperation among stakeholders; -All stakeholders must monitor the enforcement of specialised inspection agencies Read less

Key challenges: -Most of the initial investments for the food factory, processing, and value creation are spent on the infrastructure, limiting the potential of focusing on product quality. Most of the capital is spent on fixed assets and infrastructure. -There is an increased dependency by producers and newcomers in the sector on politics as a means to overcome certain challenges. -Domestic production is dependent on the mining sector. There is no clusterization of the food processing sector and there is lack of human resources. -There are strong doubts concerning the quality of local food pr... Read moreoduction. -Insufficient production of nutritious and safe food products. Reasons behind youth migration from the rural areas? Why youth uninterested in the agricultural sector? -The agricultural sector is principally dependent on the environment; -Low capital capacity and high requirements on financing; -Irregular production revenue due to the short production cycle of the agricultural sector; -Rural politicization; -Youth misperception of the easy urban life; -Quality of life and living standards (eg infrastructure challenges, such as sanitary systems) are inadequate in the rural areas, and self-sufficient living conditions in the rural areas are not enabled also due to low incomes; -Low interest to work in the agricultural sector due to the lack of professional recognition; -The sector is principally dependent on the environment, weather and climate, which are subject to high risks; thus, youth are less motivated to invest and be engaged in the sector; -Lack of knowledge on the projects and programs amongst the small enterprises to obtain financial support; -Lack of knowledge and experience of agricultural production and technology; -Domestic products are mostly overpriced. Limited channels/points of sale for agricultural products, and no other options other than selling underpriced or to speculators. How to ensure the participation of youth, women, and vulnerable groups? -Provide incentives on start-up investment for youth in the food production sector; -Provide government support in the production sector; -Necessary to implement 5G technology in the countryside to enable self-development opportunities; -Disseminate knowledge and information on agricultural production; -It is important to develop various types of cooperatives; -Establish new sales channels, focus on establishing an integrated sales network; -Most importantly, the farmers must unite, creating an advantage of clustered business, e.g, some focus on warehouse services and the others produce products; -NGOs disseminate information and organize training on creating the clustered business structure; -Create food production infrastructure to produce products that preserve nutrition, in the well-ventilated environments and clusters, by establishing business incubators and industrial parks; -Promote and introduce the importance of cooperatives and joint efforts for youth; -Increase opportunities to participate in projects and programs; -It is recommended to focus on the agricultural sector as one of the economically significant industries and establish a favorable environment to improve the sectoral image; -Support domestic production by establishing an export and import control system; -Focusing on food safety means protecting national security. What do you expect in 10 years concerning the poverty level, job creation, and food safety of Mongolia? -Successfully implement middle, short and long term national goals; -Focus on creating hygienic food production in the agricultural sector and small and medium-sized enterprises; -Offer business loans dedicated to specific production; -Develop non-traditional industrial technologies in the production sector; -Reduce deficiencies in the healthy food supply in the remote area. To ensure the above goals, what must be done by the stakeholder to ensure a mutually beneficial partnership, and how to cooperate? -Give preference to public interest over personal gains; -Establish a professional ethical council; -Develop food production franchising. Read less

Is the current practice of food and agricultural production environmentally friendly? How the climate change and environmental transportation are impacting populations and producers? How are the present level and use of natural resources? What are the challenges faced in the development of domestic food production? -People produce a large amount of food waste; -Weak policy support on food quality; -Weak implementation of food law, policy, and resolutions; -Low rate of using food waste for fertilization; -Low rate of domestic and local vegetable production; -Plant growth has deteriorated due to... Read more climate change; -Environmental pollution due to waste; -Youth refrain from food production due to the lack of support programs and financial support; -Weak infrastructure development in 21 aimags; -Bank loan interest rates are high; -Youth knowledge on food production is insufficient; -Water consumption demand is high in farming; -No waste recycling plants; -Although organic food law has been adopted, its enforcement is unsatisfactory. The cost of organic food is high. What are the reasons for the lack of local food production development? Why youth refrain from food production? -The great hindrance for SMEs is the same standard imposed on large and SME producers; -Low vegetable consumption amongst the population; -No government support on vegetable procurement; -People tend to procure cheap vegetables from other countries; -Uncontrolled use of pesticide; -Extensive government benefits influence the lack of human resources for operating production -Support to SMEs is not always channeled to the right sector, and the businesses in need. What recommendations, initiatives, and actions are implemented to support domestic food production? What solutions can you propose for Mongolian food producers to build capabilities to overcome climate change, shock, and stress? -Provide government support in vegetable procurement; -Separate requirements set for SMEs and large producers; -It is essential to adjust the pesticide use; -Reduce waste and use environmentally friendly packaging; -Focus on youth participation and contribution in food production; What measures shall be implemented by the Government of Mongolia in the next 10 years to support nature-positive local and domestic production?/concentrate on solutions that do not require financial sources/. -Implement a summer internship program for high school students to practice in the food production sector -Cooperate with the science institutions, supporting and implementing the outcomes of scientific research and advanced technologies; -Sort waste and establish recycling factories; -Enable meat and dairy product sales opportunities to reduce the speculators' involvement; -Address issues of substandard food matters in food laws and regulations; -Establish a factory to produce compost food waste; -Train citizens the culture to reduce and sort waste and disseminate relevant information; -Government shall support youth willing to operate domestic food production by developing infrastructure in 21 aimags; -Get accustomed to using cloth bags. What activities shall be implemented and mutually beneficial partnership established between the stakeholders of the food system to achieve the above goals? -Government entities; -High schools; -Science institutions; -Private sector; -Civil Society Organizations’ -Citizens. Youth desire. What is the youth expectation of the food system's future? -Develop a comprehensive food system; -Produce dairy products, meat produces, and vegetables domestically; -Develop a cluster of the food production system; -Grow fruits and berries domestically and supply local demand; -Improve enforcement of government policy and resolutions, and ensure correlation; -Prevent the production of genetically modified food products and have the possibility to identify them; -Advance the development of biotechnology in the food sector. Read less

In all the three thematic discussions there was not really areas of divergence. Participants were aligning their views and concerns in relation to the key challenges, triggers, suggested solution and recommendations for the way forward.

The Dialogue focused on 3 main areas: 1) Ensuring access to safe and nutritious food 2) Advancing equitable livelihoods and value distribution 3) Boosting nature-positive food production In each of these thematic areas/sessions, the youth audience was invited to express their views on the key challenges faced in the food systems in Mongolia, the primary reasons for those challenges, and solutions that could have a transformative impact including also active youth involvement, as well as what must be done in the next 10 years for the food systems sustainability and transformation and the stakeh... Read moreolders to be involved and engage into this. In more details the questions discussed in the 3 thematic sessions: Thematic session 1: -What are the key challenges faced in the food system of Mongolia in ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all, especially youth, and improving the health, nutrition, and well-being of the population? -What are the primary reasons for excessive food consumption (food waste) and unhealthy food consumption habits? What shall be done to transfer knowledge, understanding, and habit to reduce wood waste and introduce healthy and sustainable food consumption? What solutions can you propose? -What must be done in the next 10 years to ensure food safety and security? To achieve the above goal, which stakeholders of the food system must establish mutually beneficial partnerships and how to cooperate? Thematic session 2: -What are the obstacles in increasing the youth involvement in business revenue generation and job creation within the food and agricultural product value-added network of Mongolia?Are youth interested in working food and agricultural sector? What are the main challenges faced by young entrepreneurs within the food value chain? (value chain means: food production, processing, sales, and consumption) -What are the reasons behind youth migration from the rural areas? Why youth uninterested in the agricultural sector? How to ensure the participation of youth, women, and vulnerable groups? What are your solutions? -What do you expect in 10 years concerning the poverty level, job creation, and food safety of Mongolia? To ensure the above goals, what must be done by the stakeholder to ensure a mutually beneficial partnership, and how to cooperate? -Youth expectations. What does the youth expect from the food system in the future? Thematic session 3: -Is the current practice of food and agricultural production environmentally friendly? How the climate change and environmental transportation are impacting populations and producers? How are the present level and use of natural resources? What are the challenges faced in the development of domestic food production? -What are the reasons for the lack of local food production development? Why youth refrain from food production? What recommendations, initiatives, and actions are implemented to support domestic food production? What solutions can you propose for Mongolian food producers to build capabilities to overcome climate change, shock, and stress? -What measures shall be implemented by the Government of Mongolia in the next 10 years to support nature-positive local and domestic production?/concentrate on solutions that do not require financial sources/. What activities shall be implemented and mutually beneficial partnership established between the stakeholders of the food system to achieve the above goals? -Youth desire. What is the youth expectation of the food system's future? Read less

Participants in the Youth dialogues expressed that there are the following pressing problems regarding the main three areas of discussion: - Due to the underdevelopment of the logistics network for food value addition chains intermediate traders, referred to as "change", make more profit than producers. - Following and applying standard requirements is not enough at all stages of food value addition chains. - Due to malnutrition issues among young people, obesity and excess weight are observed, which negatively affects their health. - Children accept insecure and unhealthy food in schools and ... Read morekindergartens. - By-products of animal origin are thrown away without use and a lot of waste is generated during harvesting and from packaging, which has a negative impact on the environment. - Due to the lack of a standard of quality of life in rural areas, young people have a meager opportunity to live there quietly and satisfied and run a food business. - When running a start-up food business to create value, young people spend most of the money on building infrastructure and therefore face financial hardship. - Young people who want to do business in the food industry face political obstacles from government agencies. -Start-up business face difficulties with entering the market along with big, already well established competitors and the business opportunities are not supported by the government. The government policies treat equally the start-ups and the big businesses which result in failure of the start-ups. To tackle the mentioned issues in the food sector youth proposed the following actions:  Expansion of production and consumption of such foodstuffs of general consumption as flour and flour products;  Opening in rural areas of the specialized market “Market for organic food products” and creating the possibility of expanding the consumption of organic food;  Increasing the knowledge of stakeholders at all stages of the food chains about the standard requirements of food production and consumption, food security and nutritional value and proper nutrition, and intensification of work to convey information and agitation and training to them, using modern marketing methods;  To instill in the population the habits of sorting waste and garbage from food and food packaging and create appropriate conditions for this;  Ensuring investment support for the creation of enterprises for processing livestock by-products and enterprises for processing food waste in rural areas;  Improving the results of organizations for professional control over the quality of food products and transparent information about this to the public;  Formation of a favorable environment and infrastructure for the life and work of young people in rural areas, the use of incentive levers such as providing them with housing benefits and the issuance of a wage supplement;  Supporting start-up investments of young people who run agricultural, food production and business and expanding work on the dissemination of production, technological and innovative knowledge;  Supporting the initiatives of youth involved in food production and business, on cooperation and to accustom them to the culture of creating collective value; Read less

The key focus of The Nepal Food System Dialogue was on the sustainability of the food and agriculture system by the utilization of local products so that SDG- 2030 could be met on a national level. The respondents participating in the dialogue discussed their idea on the improvement of the food system through the active participation of youth and women on a larger scale. They argued the key factor which provoked the failing agriculture system in the country. Some said that the major factor was Foreign Employment while other groups discussed the lack of government policy. For the discussion of ... Read morefragility within the food system almost all the participants pointed out the lack of proper policy by the government and interference by the middlemen which are causing loss to both farmers and consumers and its result could easily be detected as the problems related to Food Security is constantly rising in major parts of Nepal. While discussing the key drivers for unsustainable food system participants pointed out that: lack of involvement of youth, lack of technologies and proper understanding of agriculture and lack of proper processing facilities within the food system along with copying of the western food habits and continuous practice of traditional farming methods has driven unsustainability within the food system. For the unsustainability in the farming system in the country, other stakeholders pointed out on excessive use of insecticides and pesticides which has harmed both food and the environment. The brief discussion on the impact of COVID in the food and agriculture system resulted in that majority of the problems during this was faced by farmers and to eradicate this government needs to keep a strict eye on the concerned parties by providing them with enough support and resources so that problems related to Food Security would be eradicated in the days to come. One group compared the situation of the food system in Nepal and India during COVID where Local markets took over the market during the COVID-19 crisis and the prevalence of home deliveries was done by small farmers and individuals, there even were innovations in the case of the food distribution system in India, while that in Nepal farmers were the one who suffered the most as the harvested crops could not be delivered to the authorities because of constant lockdown. In regards to minimization of impact on climate change on the food and agriculture system, the majority of the party suggested strict government policy and others suggested the role of youth in these sectors and also added that proper knowledge, guidance and support to the farmers is essential. Read less

Nepal Food Systems Discourse (NFSD) was one of the dialogues organized by Thought For Food Nepal (TFF) focused on transforming the local food systems for national development through an immense discussion with multi-stakeholders and youth participants in a common platform. To hear the voice of every actor of the local and national food systems, The dialogue was carried out by involving many farmers, scientists, Individual persons, youth, private sectors, civil societies, national governments and a few representatives from global bodies. It was an important avenue for people engagement and a ke... Read morey part of the UN Food System Summit process. Locally based, locally-led and fully adaptable to different contexts, this dialogue had crowdsourced the distinct solutions to strengthen local and national food systems for sustainable development. Nepal Food System Discourse was totally focused on reinforcing all 4 concerns of Nepal Food Systems by uprooting the status quo. It has been able to explore key drivers, existing challenges and barriers, solutions and ways forward of the food systems. The dialogue was revolved on all 5 action tracks. The Summit’s Action Tracks offer stakeholders from a wide range of backgrounds a space to share and learn, foster new actions and partnerships and amplify existing initiatives. Importantly, the Action Tracks are not separate, nor do they sit in siloes. Each Action Track has been designed to address possible trade-offs with other tracks and to identify solutions that can deliver wide-reaching benefits. based on these 5 tracks mapped down by the UN, the dialogue was taken place on the 5 related themes. These themes were drawn on the expertise of actors from across the nation’s food systems. Together, all the participating stakeholders explored how key cross-cutting levers of change such as human rights, finance, innovation, and the empowerment of women and young people can be mobilized to not only meet the Summit’s objectives, but also the sustainable, resilient equitable development of the country. In a nut shell, Nepal Food Systems Discourse aimed to connect a diverse range of stakeholders—including youth activists and Indigenous leaders, smallholder farmers, fishers, scientists and business leaders to identify the most powerful ways to make food systems more sustainable and equitable for all. Most importantly, the dialogue offered youth and experts everywhere the opportunity to contribute directly to the Summit’s ambitious vision and objectives. Read less