Explore Official Dialogue Feedback

Reactions by panel What are the most significant challenges entrepreneurs struggle with and how can the FSIH help lift across the hurdle? There are several hurdles faced by entrepreneurs these are: 1. Lack of resources to trial new ideas the Food System Innovation Hub (FSIH) can help surmount this hurdle. 2. Inconsistencies in energy supply render most small-scale enterprises not able to deliver goods and services on time. The FSIH can help by clustering entrepreneurs. 3. Good quality raw materials. It has to do with economies of scale as they cannot buy in bulk, again through clustering on en... Read moretrepreneurs this can be solved 4. Cash flow constraints might hinder sustainable businesses, small companies will lose out on orders after their first or second deliveries if payments are delayed. 5. The FSIH must link entrepreneurs to dietary guidelines to help improve the quality of diets being produced by SMEs as they produce new foods. Read less

Reactions by panel What resources are most important for entrepreneurs to produce nutritious foods? 1.Infrastructure for post-harvest activities for example in storage and processing 2.Transportation is also another key area 3.There is the need for laboratories to test the nutrition of the foods being processed Entrepreneurs are creative but without the help of nutritionists and laboratories, it will be difficult to produce good food. Premixes are also needed and SMEs look up to the private sector to supply premixes and other specialized processing inputs. Advice for entrepreneurs: 1. Entrepre... Read moreneurs are advised to reach out to the academic institutions for help 2. Collaborate with researchers and innovators and also engage with farmers 3. Graduate training at factories will go a long way to help them gain knowledge to produce nutritious foods. Read less

Advocacy and Policy Youth represent the backbone of the country. new policies should provide them with access to finance and training, as well as build capacity to engage youth in agriculture sectors. Young agro entrepreneurs should be given grants and training by FSIH. As the Rwanda government is willing to provide funding to youth, these strategies should be reviewed. The findings should be more accessible for youth, otherwise, money will not be used.

The Dialogue Building Healthy, Nutrition and Affordable food systems in Rwanda through innovations was divided into four breakout sessions: innovation, food safety, creating demand for nutritious food and advocacy and policy. The"Innovation" session aimed to answer two main two questions: what innovations are needed for smallholder farmers and small and medium enterprises to sustainably nourish Rwanda now and in the future? Aggregation is the answer identified for small-scale farmers and SMEs. Individual small food system actors confront far too many challenges, such as financial access and in... Read moresurance. These issues can be mitigated when individual SMEs or farmers are brought together. Indeed, policymakers will be more aware of cooperation, and banks will be more willing to invest in innovative ventures. The second question was, what innovations make nutritious food accessible, affordable and desirable to all Rwandans? The answer to the second question focuses on the necessity to find out an innovation that makes healthy and nutritious food aspirational for consumers. This will lead to opportunities to market healthy food and guide consumers towards healthy foods. Overall, the FSIH will play a critical role in addressing all of these issues. The ‘Food Safety’ breakout group aimed to answer the following question “How do we address the issue of aflatoxins and its effect, mitigation options, and traceability”? The participants raised identified few key areas of interest which serve as a starting point to answer the problem statement, namely technology transfer and knowledge dissemination. In terms of technology and transfer, although it was mentioned that the Rwandan FDA is putting a lot of effort into mitigation (e.g., Government purchased mobile dryers and contracted entrepreneurs to support cooperatives), mycotoxin testing capacity remains a challenge (e.g., rapid test for aflatoxin is far from adopted). Indeed, farmers’ lack of access to these technologies needs to be addressed. Additionally, although affordable technology does exist, farmers are often not aware of it. It was agreed that both government but also entrepreneurs have a key role to play to promote this technology transfer. With regards to knowledge dissemination, it was underlined that communication between government and cooperatives must be improved and that this improved communication should be supported by universities as well as entrepreneurs. The breakout group "Creating Demand for Nutritious Food" emphasized the need to take actions to change consumer perceptions of healthy foods; one example given was the consumption of orange sweet potatoes, which has been related to a rise in diarrheal episodes in children. Furthermore, private-public partnership (PPPs) was pointed to an important role in increasing demand for healthy and nutritious foods. The government should take the lead in this process and give incentives for the private sector to participate. For example, given that plastic is prohibited in the country, how can the government assist SMEs in the preservation and management of healthy foods? Finally, the government should educate consumers on what constitutes nutritious food while also ensuring that such food is readily available and affordable. In few words, without awareness of health and nutritious food, there are not investing opportunities. In the "Advocacy and Policy" breakout session, it emerged the need to establish two key connections among the food systems. Policies should link food production to healthy food production in order to avoid the availability of unhealthy foods on the market. The government should improve the connection between academia and agribusiness entrepreneurs to mind this gap. Secondly, because entrepreneurs have the ability to influence the food environment, policy should connect entrepreneurs to the upcoming food dietary guidelines in order to engage the private sector with healthy and nutritious food. Lastly, it was pointed out that Government should implement further research to study the local healthy diets which are part of the culture but are not anymore visible to consumers. Read less

Our Dialogue focused on the role technology and innovation can play to make sure safe, healthy, and nutritious foods is available and accessible to all people regardless of their economic status. Through Food Systems Innovation Hubs (FSIH). FSIH looks to stimulate investment in resilient and responsive food systems and facilitate relevant technology transfer and knowledge from high-income countries, who benefit from large consumer markets and large pools of venture capital to test and try innovations to make food systems nutritious and sustainable, to LMIC. Through partnerships, government col... Read morelaboration, impact investors, philanthropies in the context of local entrepreneurs, the hubs will catalyze a transformative change for society-wide dietary shifts towards more efficient, healthier, and more environmentally friendly food systems. The focus of our dialogue was in relation to action track # 1. Read less

The dialogue surfaced certain tensions that need to be considered in the discussion of wild foods within the context of local to global food systems. The areas of divergence identified during the dialogue were expressed as concerns that require further reflection, especially on its implication towards future interventions and its potential impact overall. The following were noted: 1) Wild foods are primarily used by forest-dependent communities for subsistence, personal consumption as well as livelihoods. The question of just how much of these wild foods should be traded and opened up to wider... Read more markets emerged. Some feel that wild foods are best valued for their contributions to local community resilience and food security and as an additional source of income, but should stay within a reasonable scale for it to be sustainable. Another point of view was opening up these wild food sources to a wider market for trade to increase income of communities. On the one hand, certain communities also have aspirations of scaling up their wild foods-based enterprises. Safeguards must be ensured to mitigate risks of commercialization which might lead to overharvests and undue stress. There was a call to be more cautious of this so we avoid the situation where indigenous peoples themselves who produce these food do not lose control over their products. 2) Raising awareness on wild foods and traditional food systems are important to gather support and to advocate for more conducive environments in support of indigenous peoples and local communities. Documentation of these species are also important and should be ensured. However, alongside this increased attention is the threat of overexposing these indigenous and local food to outside threats and communities losing intellectual property rights over their food and cultural heritage and practices. Carelessness can lead to endangering indigenous intellectual property rights. 3) The view that there is a dearth of information about wild foods that are available and easily accessible and the view that there actually is a lot of information and knowledge about wild foods and traditional food systems but perhaps not just in the format mainstream society is used to. In relation to this, there were also discussions on having the need for traditional knowledge and practices to be 'validated by science' in contrast with speaking from a position of strength with regards to indigenous food systems, knowledge and practices. 4) It was observed that there are diverging views on wild food. For some, there is a certain stigma attached to wild foods because people who depend on these sources are viewed as 'backward' or 'primitive'. More attention and value is given to the dominant and more 'socially acceptable' food sources such as rice, wheat, etc. On the other hand, there is the view that people with strong indigenous food systems like rotational farming and wild food gardens are far better off and are more affluent in terms of food security and resilience. IPLCs should take pride in their rich food heritage and change the narrative. 5) Policies on self-sufficiency tend to concentrate on certain species only, encouraging uniformity vs. diversity in species, thereby ignoring healthier and nutritious food options and placing stresses on the environment and threatening biodiversity. There are often well-meaning policies which have negative socio-ecological impacts on the ground. Policy making should be more holistic in its approach, taking into view as well agroforestry and how forests figure in the discussion on food systems. 6) The view that regional and international policies are important to push for versus concentrating efforts on strengthening local initiatives which often require customized or tailor-fitted intervention designs and strategies. What is the added value of regional/global policies, considering that local contexts have varying requirements? There is a need to recognize that not all communities are in a similar position as far as wild foods are concerned and thus require separate strategies. Consider further reflections on possible local-to-global-to-local and global-to-local-to-global actions that impact food systems. 7) During the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, wildlife consumption bans were endorsed and imposed left and right, prohibiting consumption and trade of wildlife to prevent further spread of zoonotic diseases. Dissenting opinions about this were surfaced, with some fully supporting a blanket ban on this, while others called for a more culturally-sensitive view, noting that certain communities have wildlife as part of their local diets and this practice is tied to their cultural beliefs and traditions. A call to co-craft potential solutions and deepen the dialogue on this was suggested. Read less

RECOMMENDATIONS It is important to strengthen and sustain wild foods practice, traditions and knowledge through local and global action. Likewise, the need to establish and publicize the links between food and health should be made a priority. Co-relations between wild foods and access and consumption need to be further examined. As we envision a more inclusive food system, it is important to keep in mind all food ways prevalent in the region –this means including rotational farming, gathering, fishing, trapping, food gardens and cultivation in the conversation. The strengths and vibrancy of... Read more these systems should be known better in various local contexts, along with the challenges that are faced. This implies the need for continuous updating of our work, with learning exchanges and interventions facilitated that would contribute to the documentation of the knowledge and status of wild foods, as well as addressing observed gaps and needs identified from our field work and studies. Other emerging recommendations from discussions led by the Expert Group include: • Bottom-up/locally-based strategies and solutions to address challenges and sharing these in appropriate and strategic platforms • Need for better and stronger messaging, especially when it comes to encouraging engagement of the youth (to counter-message other influences) • Nurturing the agency of communities so their voices are heard and they understand the policy arenas that impact their lives • Organizing local groups for them to have their own economic identity • Forging partnerships and exploring multi-stakeholder and multi-platform avenues for interventions • Engaging in future research and action that encourages co-production of knowledge; involving communities and letting them lead these actions • Advocacy and protest actions for better policies • Awareness-raising and knowledge transfers across generations • Supporting and upholding traditional systems and recognizing their contributions • Sustainable farming, aquaculture, wild foods conservation and revitalization • “Food-focused conservation” - protect, revive, restore wild foods • Sustainable trade and market engagements; engaging the right kinds of markets • Increase value of wild foods and raise awareness through storytelling • Linking our work to post-2020 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) discussions, climate change, food summits and tenure rights. It is important to include wild foods in the dialogue so it isn’t “missing from the picture • Respect IPLCs management of forests, lands – include them and see them as stewards, leaders – custodians and guardians; respect aspirations of communities and the rights of IPLCs • Develop and strengthen partnerships and capacities; facilitate multi-stakeholder interactions and dialogues, collaborations • Further explore linkages of wild foods to agroforestry, agroecology, permaculture, etc. • Identify factors that make the environment conducive for inclusive food systems. Look at the socio-ecological factors that enable best practices • Further explore linkages of wild foods to agroforestry, agroecology, permaculture, etc. • Identify factors that make the environment conducive for inclusive food systems. Look at the socio-ecological factors that enable best practices • Diversification of diets and including wild foods in meal planning and meal food distribution programs; Scaling up dialogues on food diversification • Think about safeguards to protect from overexploitation, biopiracy, negative effects of commercialization • Creative alternative discourses and also create spaces so that narratives on wild foods and traditional food systems are made visible, leading to increased awareness on its importance • Sharing messages of resilience and hope, along with lessons and best practices Read less

Emerging outlook on wild foods and inclusive food systems in Asia The right to food is a universal human right and inclusive food systems would ensure that this right is accorded to and enjoyed by all. During the dialogue, several conversations revolved around the discussion of a vision towards 2030 on inclusive food systems in Asia, particularly one that considers the perspectives of indigenous peoples and local communities who rely on wild foods and traditional food systems. The discussion on outlooks are meant to provide a frame in which we can begin to identify pathways and ideas in transf... Read moreorming our present food systems. The following key policy issues and suggested areas of engagement were identified: • Respect and recognition of traditional livelihood and food systems of IPLCs • Involving scientific community appropriately in wild food knowledge documentation and innovation • Production and consumption and mainstreaming of wild foods • Diversification • Health • Food distribution • Agriculture, biodiversity and environment What needs to be done towards the vision of inclusive food systems, including wild foods, to 2030: • Bottoms-up and inclusive policy making • Advocate for wild foods and sustainable food systems, including respect for collective rights of IPLCs • Build strong foundations for awareness raising, research and documentation • Invest in improving wild food education for youth • Secure tenure for IP and forest based communities • Develop wild foods harvest and management guidelines • Safeguard indigenous knowledge on wild foods from biopiracy • Harness digital tools to have a stream of technical support to policy making and practice or ground-level action • Scale up dialogues on food diversification and inclusive food systems The role of networks and support groups was also highlighted as an important facilitating factor in ensuring that knowledge is restored back to the people. A network on wild foods, biodiversity and livelihoods can facilitate learning exchanges and foster meaningful engagement across countries, regions and generations. This can lead to a better understanding and appreciation on the value of wild foods work in relation to its contributions to food security, livelihoods, cultural heritage and biodiversity conservation. Read less

Wild foods and sustainable community-based livelihoods Wild foods are important sources of income for forest-dependent communities. Apart from subsistence, wild foods provide livelihoods for locally-driven social enterprises, supplying markets at a local, national and at times even global scale. It was discussed during the dialogues that there is an observed hesitation on the part of communities and support groups in engaging markets because of various concerns, but the link between wild foods, communities and markets is an important one to understand. How do we make markets work for indigenou... Read mores food systems and biodiversity conservation? What are the lessons to be learned in upscaling to other markets while at the same time, achieving balance on the things that matter such as food sovereignty, ecosystem integrity, and cultural values? These were just some of the questions that were brought forth during the discussions. Through an exchange of personal experiences, case stories and an open dialogue on the link between wild foods and livelihoods, we were able to identify best practices and recommendations that can help address the threats to wild foods in the context of livelihoods and market engagement. Challenges to wild-foods based community enterprises/livelihoods: - Policies are put out by people who have limited understanding and perspectives on IPLCs, traditional food systems, mountain systems, etc. As a result, there is a tendency to leave out other groups and their voices do not get to figure in in discussions. - Products are undervalued and the time, effort and knowledge applied in harvesting of wild foods are not considered in its pricing. Middlemen tend to buy at lower price points and sell for higher profits. - Migration and modern education impacts food systems tradition and knowledge - Market demand can lead to overharvests, exploitation - it is important to be able to strike a balance and to be clear about terms or principles of engagement with markets, especially as they tend to be very dynamic Recommendations and lessons shared: - Policies and markets drive the state and conditions of global biodiversity, forestry and agriculture, affecting what is produced and what is eaten. It is important to review policy frameworks that affect wild foods and consider ways on how policies can also be designed to support the revitalization and restoration of wild foods and local food systems. - Storytelling is important and placing emphasis on the understory of wild food products can help highlight and optimize its value. Health and nutritional values of wild foods can be emphasized. - Engage the right kind of markets - i.e., markets that are respectful and understanding of IPLCs and the value of their wild foods and forest harvests - It is very critical to keep a balance between selling and consuming. - To alleviate demand-driven pressures on certain products, communities can diversity their supply and also package various products as part of a collection - Support the establishment of community producer companies, cooperatives and local enterprises. - Food festivals help revive interest and appreciation for wild foods and also encourage ideas on sustainable community-based enterprises - Recognize women and youth as agents of change and innovation - they are able to lead in both conservation and economic aspects - Strengthen local markets for food resilience - Explore collective marks and participatory guarantee systems that ensure sustainable harvests of wild foods marketed for trade - Capacity building and training are important to help communities have successful enterprises. Nurture the agency of IPLCs and provide encouragement - Policy level changes have the potential to bring wild foods back in people's diets Read less

Wild foods and biodiversity - The sustainable use and harvest of wild foods and other natural resources supports biodiversity. Rich biodiversity in turn supports forests and other life systems. Wild foods and agrobiodiversity are important resources that contribute to systems resilient to climate and market shocks. - Communities that are strong and have sustainable practices on natural resources governance and management have areas where biodiversity thrives and is kept intact. However, threats to biodiversity endanger a food secure future. Challenges to wild foods and biodiversity - decline i... Read moren knowledge on wild foods and harvest practices at the local level - missing data on the nutritional aspect of wild foods and its conservation at the regional/global level - the lack of data also means that contributions of wild foods are not counted and are at best, mere estimates - conservation exclusion affecting IPLCs' access to territories - blanket bans on wildlife consumption, for example, undermine cultural practices - There is a need for a deeper dialogue to consider various perspectives on the issue - development aggression has led to conversion of forests at a massive scale and has encouraged monocultures, affecting habitats of species and biodiversity - Corporate farming has marginalized smallholder farmers and IPLCs - an orientation towards foreign markets for production and overreliance on cheap imports has undermined self-sufficiency of nations/localities, putting them at greater risk of food insecurity during times of crisis, such as pandemics - food production and diets as well are not diverse and are concentrated only on major crops - mainstream or popular food, which are usually processed and unhealthy, is preferred over traditional diets, which are more nutritious. Cultural perceptions and behavior also impact on wild food knowledge and practices - what does not get eaten gets forgotten, and with that, much knowledge and potential sources of nutrition, are lost Recommendations and lessons shared: - Document lessons, best practices and models and share these information with the network for learning exchange and possible applications and/or innovations - Continuously consider ways on how wild foods can be used and conserved for the long-term - Multi-stakeholder consultations and dialogue on wild foods and biodiversity can be organized - inclusive approaches and utilization of regional and local platforms help break silos and facilitate collaborations - Develop food-resilient communities by supporting capacity development for smallholder farmers and IPLCs and supporting self-strengthening processes that enable local groups to organize themselves - See wild foods as both an economic and an ecological system - Propose bills and pass laws that support tenure security and biodiversity sustainability Read less

Wild foods and tenure, traditional knowledge, systems and practices - We looked at how customary tenure supports diverse food systems and arrived at the conclusion that tenure security is essential in ensuring food security and threats to tenure undermines biodiversity and traditional knowledge, including systems and practices related to food. It is essential that we work together in reducing threats to tenure to ensure continuity of traditional, communal food systems. - Indigenous peoples' lands are the last frontiers for biodiversity. It is important to recognize the sacred relationship they... Read more have with their territories and their role as stewards and guardians of forests and natural resources. How do we ensure that traditional food systems are able to continue - We need to look at the ways in which indigenous peoples and local communities manage their areas and understand the system so as to be able to adapt our ways of thinking about rights, power dynamics, and all these other important issues that need to be discussed. - Indigenous practices on agriculture and food are related to their spirituality and identity. A lot of the knowledge within this spirituality relate to conservation, such as how to preserve the ecosystem, how to maintain ecology for the long-term. - Rotational farming is important but is often viewed as a negative system compared to other processes. Community-led research and documentation to raise awareness and build evidence help in policy lobbying and advocacy efforts towards greater appreciation for the contributions of traditional food systems to food security and resilience. - ICCAs (indigenous and local community conserved territories and areas) are a complementary way of establishing their tenure and ownership in their ancestral territories. ICCAs or Territories of Life that are governed by indigenous peoples and local communities all over the world demonstrate that communities who pursue the conservation of their own traditional areas are also able to take care of the biodiversity within that area. This contributes to their food security. - There are various tenure modalities available in different countries across the region. Countries and communities can learn a lot from each other based on exchanges of experiences on certain policies and actions on the ground. A thematic network on wild foods can help to facilitate regional, as well as in-country, learning exchanges on the topic. There are numerous challenges to wild foods in the context of tenure insecurity: - land grabbing - changes in land use - difficulty in securing government support - e.g. slow titling process, overlapping policies, conservation exclusion, etc. - differing world views on tenure - tendency for the state to see these lands as "idle" and not see its cultural and ecological value - market forces impact customary control and practices and has an effect on culture and traditions Recommendations and lessons: - Identify entry points for tenure and wild foods for partnership and policy - Highlight the economic benefits of tenure to food security and poverty alleviation - Recognize women and youth as purveyors of wild foods and continue to support them through capacity building - Multi-platform approach to engagement - Organizing learning exchanges that encourage sharing of regional perspectives that can provide ideas on potential models and best practices - Conduct research to deepen understanding and build evidence Read less

Exploring wild foods and wild foods systems: why they matter? What are wild foods? - Wild foods refer to edible non-timber forest products (NTFPs) usually uncultivated plant species, fungi, and animals that are not consciously domesticated but collected from the forests, or on the edges of forests, and also on traditional gardens and agricultural lands. These food are customarily included in the diet of local communities in different ways or forms. Some examples of wild food are leaves, seeds and nuts, shoots and stems, root crops, fruits, flowers, fish, meat, and insects. Wild food are import... Read moreant for food security and nutrition. The intangible aspects of wild food are also deeply related to the culture and identity of indigenous peoples and local communities. Harvesting and utilizing wild foods requires knowledge on identification of plant and animal foods. These are often passed down across generations in both active and passive ways. The problems facing wild food availability and consumption include: - issues and concerns on tenure security and recognition - the continuity of inter-generational knowledge - cultural changes brought about my migration, urban influences - market can be a double-edged sword (rejuvenation of food vs. exploitation) - deforestation and forest degradation - use of chemicals - extractive industries and changes in land use - monocultures threaten wild foods and indigenous knowledge, systems, and practices related to food Other points to note when discussing wild foods in inclusive food systems: - The matter of time should be factored in. Experience from villages have shown that many available food are missing from diets because people now have less time to dig, make and set traps, and all the other related activities and traditions connected to wild food. - The more biodiverse an area, the more protection is needed for wild foods to ensure sustainability. - The relation between the shrinking of world languages and wild food biodiversity is worth exploring. - Research and inquiry on wild foods and indigenous food systems can look into the aspect of conservation initiatives that are food-focused and conduct studies that explore how wild foods are conserved, restored, revitalized and if there are types of wild food that remain in the wild versus. those that are already being cultivated. Read less

Common threads across the region on the state of wild foods and factors affecting them: 1. There is much knowledge about wild foods among indigenous and rural peoples. Most of them use wild foods to supplement their diets; many foods as well as their methods of preparation, storage or harvesting techniques are a part of their identity and culture. 2. Alongside, there is an overall decline in the knowledge regarding wild foods. The reasons can be traced to national policies that affect foods grown and their harvest (mainly due to import policies and subsidies), as well as an official oversight ... Read moreabout the role of wild and traditional foods in rural diets; the expansion of monocultures and other changes in land uses . 3. Mainstream agriculture has delinked food from nutrition and culture/identity. Both of the latter are important components of indigenous food ways. 4. Across the region there is a need to establish and publicize the links between food and health. While statistics on health may be easily available within government/intergovernmental agencies and international organizations, what needs to be examined are the correlations between wild food, access and consumption. 5. It is important to include all food ways prevalent in the region, including rotational farming, gathering, fishing, trapping, food gardens and cultivation. Even some of these traditional systems focus on non-mainstream crops. Their strengths and vibrancy should be known better in the local contexts, as also the threats that they face 6. The work on wild foods requires continuous updating, with new foods and the knowledge/status around them documented; this also includes the gaps in knowledge observed within communities during workshops and the appropriate interventions to be designed to fill them; and also to make clear the traditional uses and the link between wild foods and their nutritional values. 7. Field work and observations are encouraged to be explored in relation to various other predominating issues such as biodiversity, climate change, food security and tenure rights. 8. Indigenous knowledge do not have to be validated by science particularly when they stand on a position of strength through demonstrated practice. Challenges and Threats to Wild Foods: 1) Sustaining community practice - The sustainable consumption of wild foods necessitates the passing on of traditional knowledge, mainly through actual practice. However, due to economic constraints, sustaining wild foods extraction and consumption is challenged by livelihood shifts, changes in cultural preferences, and the decreased willingness of people to spend time to collect or hunt wild food. 2) Environmental destruction - Wild foods are significantly found in forests and other natural environments. Thus, activities that cause destruction of natural environments or limit people’s access to their natural resources negatively impact the availability and consumption of wild foods. Such activities include deforestation, mining, monocropping, chemical inputs, and infrastructure projects. 3) Tenure issues - Tenure ensures food security, especially for indigenous peoples. It ensures people’s access to wild foods and in making community-based management plans for their forests. Tenure related problems, such as lack of recognition of ancestral lands and commons, land grabbing and encroachment endanger food security 4) Market-driven economy - A market-driven economy can cause over-exploitation of wild foods for selling or abandonment of wild foods in favor of cash crops or commercial species. 5) Unfavorable laws and policies - The lack of policies that enable the tenure of indigenous peoples and local communities to their lands poses challenges to the sustainability of wild foods. Supportive policies can empower people to manage their lands and capitalize on their resources for food security. Recommendations and Ideas to Sustain Wild Foods: 1) Awareness-building and knowledge transfers - Build awareness about the benefits of wild foods; hold activities that will facilitate knowledge and skills transfer 2) Sustainable trade - Impose trade restrictions that ensure sustainability; remove barriers to market access due to limited market information, inhibitive taxes, lack of transportation, etc. 3) Sustainable farming, aquaculture, and wild foods conservation - Support community seed banking, rotational farming, observance of fallow periods, and guided fallows have the potential to improve forest quality; establish community-managed fish hatcheries and forest gardens; pursue multiple-use strategies and community-based management plans that are environmentally-sound and food-focused 4) Advocacy and protest actions - Dialogue, workshops, research, legal actions; advocate for tenurial and management rights of indigenous peoples for their lands; hold protest actions Read less

This virtual Independent Dialogue was convened by the Wild Foods, Biodiversity and Livelihoods SIANI Expert Group (EG) led by the Non-Timber Forest Products - Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP) Asia. It built on the outputs of an online discussion series held from June-September 2020 which explored wild foods and its links to customary tenure rights and traditional knowledge, biodiversity, and sustainable livelihoods, and an EG discussion of an emerging regional outlook on inclusive systems in Asia to 2030 held in January 2021. The objectives of the virtual dialogue / forum on March 8-12, 2021 were ... Read moreto: 1) Provide a platform to reflect on policy inputs, recommendations and insights from the expert group members, dialogue partners and contributors towards an indigenous peoples and local communities’ (IPLC) agenda on wild foods in the South and Southeast Asia region 2) Provide a venue for IPLCs and civil society to engage policy actors and donor institutions and stakeholders to support wild foods initiatives 3) Increase awareness, support and recognition on the role of IPLCs and wild foods for food security and community resilience towards an enabling policy environment for food security, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, and enlivening a community of conscious practice. It was envisaged that the dialogue process that culminated with the virtual forum, will be able to provide a vital contribution to ongoing regional to global processes including the FSS. Collectively the dialogues surfaced the perspectives of multi-sector experts (including indigenous and local communities) about wild foods and traditional food systems, explored their current status and practice among thriving indigenous and local communities, and their future in the face of present day barriers and challenges. Our major focus was to convene and facilitate a: - sharing of experiences, cases and best practices in relation to wild foods work - a discussion on the challenges and threats to wild foods - recommendations on ways forward - an outlook on wild foods, biodiversity, livelihoods, and inclusive food systems - documentation and communication of key messages, insights, and lessons about transforming local to global food systems to be more inclusive; and - visioning of the future role of a wild foods, biodiversity and livelihood network towards a transformative and inclusive food systems to 2030. We had three (3) main sessions during the forum: (1) Opening Session: A synthesis of the key messages captured in the 2020 dialogue series that helps to frame the Virtual Forum, an outlook on wild foods and inclusive food systems in Asia towards 2030; (2) Country perspectives on the situation of wild foods in South and Southeast Asia; and a (3) Regional dialogue on wild foods, biodiversity and livelihoods: Enabling and enriching policy and practice. Side events on women and youth engagement and wild food stories in the region, including recipes and innovations on local ingredients, were also featured, and their distinct perspectives were also captured. The dialogue was directed towards an outlook of a more inclusive food system in Asia - covering the diversity of populations that will govern, manage and benefit from it, to the knowledge, culture and science combined that drive it and the biocultural resources that have been neglected or taken for granted that contribute to its vitality, resilience or sustainability. The group was able to identify the important issues that intersect with wild foods that are critical to be addressed in policy and practice. The dialogue produced holistic recommendations of collective and participatory future actions. Read less

Areas of divergence were as follows and to be discussed at future meetings. - A belief that money will solve the issues of food security. Not fully seeing the systems perspective. - Some individual wariness of the few individuals who may take advantage of sharing/free food, and therefore "ruin" it for others - A faction of the group would like to focus on short term/emergency aid, others look at the drivers and want to tackle more longer-term, systemic issues.

Governance/Policy: Food Partnership accesses network support bodies eg. sustainable food places, Feeding Britain. The importance of food systems work is fully recognised within local authority (how best to achieve this) Eastbourne Borough Council is integral in development of and adoption of town-wide food strategy either as stand alone document or becomes built in to other working strategies.

Primary prevention Access to cookery skills and nutrition classes for every resident Model whole-school food scheme in Eastbourne school and roll-out, including nutrition review, TastEd/similar in curriculum, food growing spaces, cooking skills, after-school clubs. Support network for private home growing, including skills workshops, seed swaps, knowledge sharing, land share etc - links to workshops and ‘master gardener’ network above. Making town more resilient by strengthening links with local producers - eg, ‘food festival’ event, local produce market, link surplus to distribution h... Read moreub, website and social media promotion, online sales platform to raise awareness. Integrate regenerative local food producers/processors/distributors/retailers into a local monetary system with built-in rewards for regenerative practices. Read less

Secondary prevention Establish comparable ‘intermediate’ food support services in every ward, so that every resident has access to a community fridge/pantry or similar. Establish central food redistribution hub where surplus/donated food can be effectively distributed to other organisations/fridges review council-owned community buildings and establish full collaboration and integration of community centres to offer comparable provision across the town including community cafe or similar, and community growing space if possible. Ensure all schools are aware of local support available and i... Read moredeally set up fridges and growing spaces within easy access to local schools Establish network of community allotments/ growing spaces to enable access for every resident, along with growing workshops/skills development (including composting) - a ‘master gardener’ network in each ward Pilot a Social Supermarket, ideally in town centre location. Read less

Emergency response / tertiary prevention - eg foodbank, homeless support Establish central point(s) where the public can access up to date, comprehensive food support provision information, and staff hours are available to keep this tracked. Council website/Food partnership? Affordable Food Network mapping. Comprehensive signposting support across network including local services and eligibility for support eg. healthy start vouchers Establish a platform for the network to communicate & collaborate Focus group to establish acute emergency response plan Food bank (already in 8 most deprived... Read more LSOA’s) - what collaborative support/action would help the most? Action on cooking facilities in temporary accommodation Town-wide collaboration to coordinate winter night shelters Read less

Potential drivers to being unable to access sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food Poverty and the drivers of this Lack of cooking skills Lack of time to cook Lack of equipment Lack of nutritional knowledge Lack of access to land to grow food Lack of knowledge as to how to grow food Local shops do not provide fresh healthy produce No local market Isolation Promotion of unhealthy ultra-processed foods Proliferation of fast food outlets near schools Lack of economic & financial incentives for regenerative food growing/processing/distribution schemes/projects/activities