Explore Official Dialogue Feedback

During the meeting, several disagreements were observed that are summarised below: • Representatives of the non-governmental institution reported that rural women are unaware of sustainable food systems and sustainable development goals in general as well as government adopted support measures directed to the woman entrepreneurs who are producing food. Government officials as well as FAO Azerbaijan office mentioned that they have conducted several projects directed to improve live of rural woman who are engaged in agricultural production and are part of the food system. It was recommended to... Read more take concrete steps to define the role of women's entrepreneurship in the formation of sustainable food systems. • Another interesting opinion stated during the meeting were related to production of health food. It was mentioned that there is an abundance of food products in the market, but insufficient attention is paid to the impact of products on human health, as well as weak control over the use of pesticides. While acknowledging the existence of problems and the need to take appropriate measures to improve the situation, government officials have already noted that the government has already taken steps to establish a mechanism for initial control over the use of pesticides (Electronic Agricultural Information System - EKTIS). • One of the main stakeholders raised his concern regarding to the unified translation of food into Azerbaijani language in order to avoid disagreements and misunderstandings. Read less

Resilience and sustainability were two important keywords that initiated the discussions. Participants emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic and the escalation of the conflict situation in the country have caused the need to accelerate the transformation of food and agricultural systems to make them more resilient in the face of potential challenges and stresses, including climate change. There was a consensus among the participants that there is a need to introduce new measures and strategies in the “Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Socio-Economic Development”. Discussants also sh... Read moreared some pilot ideas such as: (i) strengthening business development services in rural areas with a focus on promoting agricultural technology start-ups; (ii) strengthening digital extension services to help farmers easily adapt to systems transformation; (iii) stimulating climate-smart agriculture through the introduction of agriculture-specific input subsidy programs and policies; (iv) introducing innovative agricultural practices and green biotechnologies; (v) and promoting the use of sustainable food production and climate resilient farming practices. Participants raised the key challenges and proposed solutions for ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all. Actions were discussed in three broad areas: (i) improving access to nutritious foods for subsistent farmers as well as vulnerable groups such as IDPs and people living in remote rural areas, with a particular focus on women and children; (ii) the importance of enhancing the role of women in rural and agricultural areas through the promotion of women's entrepreneurship; and (iv) the need for enhancing of national food safety systems; as well as raising awareness on food security and nutrition concepts. The discussions also centered on the question of what measures should be taken towards transitioning to nature-positive sustainable production practices. Participants generally agreed on the need for improving monitoring and control systems for the use of agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides to ensure sustainable food production systems; and the possibility of introducing additional measures for incentivizing and subsidizing natural farming (for example, payments for ecosystem services) instead of chemically intensive agriculture. Participants conveyed the need to emphasize, promote, replicate, and scale up existing models that increase women's role in the food systems, as well as generate livelihood opportunities to attract more rural women to the sector. Discussants highlighted the critical importance of empowering women in the agricultural sector by improving their access to extension and business support services. The idea of organizing a forum of rural women at the country level was also proposed to demonstrate the key role that rural women play in food production and security. The need to strengthen digital agriculture was also underlined, with a focus on improving access to agricultural and rural data such as the agri-food supply chain and its stock levels as well as data on landless farmers who therefore cannot register in the electronic agricultural information system. Read less

Main findings can be summarised as follows: • Some participants stated that there is a need for new approach in terms of ensuring sustainability in agriculture. Currently, the main role in the digitalization of agriculture in Azerbaijan belongs to the state, there is a need to expand the role of the private sector, the system of agricultural subsidies should include issues related to sustainability (for example, climate-smart subsidies), as well as, expand the use of biotechnology. In this regard, the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture accepted the need for improvement measures in... Read more these areas and noted that the issue will be discussed. • The dialogue was welcomed by the participants in terms of achieving the sustainability goals. It was recommended to achieve consistency in the organization of such meetings, at the same time, the participants expressed their readiness to cooperate in this direction. • It was suggested that the Center for Agrarian Research under the Ministry of Agriculture be identified as a coordinating body in terms of coordinating dialogue discussions. • It was decided to have discussions on conducting a Rural Women's Forum to educate women on the sustainability of food systems and raise awareness campaigns. • Although farmers who receive subsidies are registered by the state, there is no registration of farmers who have small arable land and produce mainly for their own consumption – namely so-called subsistence farmers. The representative of the Ministry of Agriculture stated the urgency of this issue and said that discussions would be held to take appropriate measures. • In comparison to the previous periods, the urgency of food systems including the food security issues in the country is fully recognised. Although a superficial approach to food security issues was demonstrated during the development of the Strategic Roadmap for Agricultural Production and Processing, representatives of both governmental and non-governmental organizations have now acknowledged the urgency of this issue and have expanded included activities related inclusion of food security issues in state strategic documents. Read less

The main objective of the first meeting was to reach a common understanding among the participated stakeholders on the following areas: (i) the 2021 UN Food System Summit, (ii) the national dialogue process and (iii) the “sustainable food systems approach”. By bringing together key stakeholders contributing to the food systems of Azerbaijan, the Dialogue has become a starting point for an inclusive and collaborative exchange of views on the path to sustainable national food system; as well as for identifying challenges and sharing best practices for improving food systems and ensuring thei... Read morer sustainability in the future. The major focus of the dialogue meeting are: • To provide information to the participants on the importance of dialogue meetings held in preparation for the UN 2021 Food Systems Summit to be held in September this year. In this regard, materials on the topic (also relevant guidelines) were introduced to the participants by both local and international representatives. • Providing participants with general information on food systems. Also, participants were provided with information on sustainability in food systems within the SDG 2030 Agenda, as well as the transformation of food systems to achieve sustainability. • Expected results from the national dialogues carried out by the member countries within the framework of the Food Systems Summit. Some of the participants of the Dialogue raised questions about the expected results of these dialogues, and representatives of relevant governmental bodies answered these questions. • Discussion of issues related to the role of women in the establishment and operation of sustainable food systems in the country, especially in rural areas. Discussions focused on the role of women, including rural women, in agricultural and food production, and agreed that appropriate measures should be taken to assess the role of women and achieve gender equality in these activities. • The discussions also centered on the question of what measures should be taken towards transitioning to nature-positive sustainable production practices. Participants generally agreed on the need for improving monitoring and control systems for the use of agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides to ensure sustainable food production systems; and the possibility of introducing additional measures for incentivizing and subsidizing natural farming (for example, payments for ecosystem services) instead of chemically intensive agriculture. Read less

The meeting with the Japan Business Federation Committee on Agriculture was held to exchange opinions related to SDGs and sustainable food systems. The main remarks of the participants are as follows: -The Government of Japan expressed carbon neutralization by 2050 and I hope how to reduce carbon emission by 41.1 billion tons will be discussed at the summit. -In the industry of agricultural pesticides, while we continue to work on developing safer and more eco-friendly pesticides, we also need materials for biological pesticides and natural-derived ones to complement chemical ones and, therefo... Read morere, we would like the government to consider policies to promote the development of such materials. - For making Japanese agriculture an export industry, besides enhancement of productivity through digital transformation, capture of demand-side changes, response to international trends such as carbon neutral or economic security, individual issues have been identified including acquisition of certification, quarantine consultation with the other country and protection of intellectual property. Whereas expanding exports of agricultural produces is one of the pillars to make Japanese agriculture a growth industry, it is also an important theme in terms of attracting young people. - Since environmental changes around domestic and foreign agriculture has been getting dynamic recently, exchange of opinions between private sector and administrative organizations is meaningful. Read less

In this dialogue, we discussed challenges and opportunities especially related to Action Track 3.

The meeting with the Japan Food Industry Center Environment Committee was held to exchange opinions related to SDGs and sustainable food systems. The main remarks of the participants are as follows: - Regarding food loss and waste, besides working on the reduction at food manufacturing and processing site, we need to pay attention to the actual situation about how much raw materials are discarded at agricultural production site. It is necessary to visualize reality of food loss and waste across the entire value chain and what action is needed by each stakeholder. - For the Food Systems Summit,... Read more considering the Recommendations of the TCED(Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures), discussion should be proceeded after outlining the future image of food systems from various world views including 4 degree temperature rise and less than 2 degree temperature rise scenarios. - As an effort to reduce food loss and waste, it is halfway through to review business customaries across food supply chain, including the extension of delivery deadline by food retailers, and more efforts are needed. Read less

In this dialogue, we discussed challenges and opportunities especially related to Action Track 2 and 3.

● Post-Harvest losses: Surveys show that over 40% of harvested food produce is left to rot due to inadequate storage facilities, poor logistics, and lack of infrastructure. Proposed solutions to mobilise the private sector to invest in transportation of food across the country using specialized storage vehicles. ● Insecurity: the inadequate capacity of security agencies to provide security and the poor state of Nigeria’s transport infrastructure discourages investment into the logistics sector of the food value chain. In the last few years, the farming community in Northern Nigeria has s... Read moreuffered displacement ● Poor quality Input: The unavailability and unaffordability of quality agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and seeds militate against the production of quality foods. ● The duplicity of standards enforcement: Nigeria has consistently failed to meet global food safety standards. This is a testament to poor adherence to food safety rules and best practices in food production in the country. Also, the duplication of food standard enforcement and regulatory mandates in government (SON & NAFDAC) constitute a hindrance to the effective management of food safety ● Market distortion activities such as bans on food e.g., Rice. There should be a plan to Improve local domestic infrastructure from planned food bans before implementation ● Several data sources on the status of food systems in Nigeria need to be harmonized ● Ambiguity in the certification and accreditation regimes. Integrate the regimes for the competitiveness of the stakeholders and operators of the value chains. ● Operation of logistics: Low-cost modular energy sources and technology for farmers and agri-businesses by the private sector. Read less

Track 5: Build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks, and stress ● The implementation and renewal of the National agriculture resilience framework (NARF) should be made a priority. ● Establishment of sustainable food system policy for national development and the review of existing frameworks for better implementation and productivity. ● Within CGRI, take on climate risk profiles to map out opportunities to build resilience and quantify investments at the national and sub-national level ● Farmers should have access to climate information – information about impending climate problems... Read more should be communicated ● Get insurance companies involved in protecting informal farmers ● Engage state and local government actors in policy agenda ● Help farmers increase their yields – e.g. support for higher-yielding seeds, invest in seed systems, speed up the release process. Who should take the actions? ● Flour Milling Association of Nigeria is funding a survey with NBS on local wheat production. ● Water Life Systems Africa is looking to roll out national programs on wastewater treatment using PPP and grants in Nigeria. Ways the actions will be measured ● Build a measuring mechanism around policy and set key performance indicators ● Measuring mechanism which gathers feedback and information from private sector stakeholder – such as Nigerian export council working with NBS. ● There is a need to create a one-stop forum to monitor and collate the status of information in the agricultural sector: baselines for production, available seed variety, irrigation and extension services. Read less

Track 4: Advanced Equitable Livelihoods What actions in next 3 years will have greatest impact on the Discussion topic? ● Availability and adequacy of capital and data at all levels to stimulate broad-based incentive growth. ● Leveraging government, donors, and private sector resources for coordinated investments in infrastructure, and service delivery in the value chains. ● Mechanism and framework development in transparency and accountability among institutions, systems, and stakeholders. ● System automation to identify and track primary producers, buyers, and regulators in the value... Read more chains. ● Intermittent stakeholders’ meetings and agricultural programs to advance an impartial livelihood and emerge the food system in Nigeria. ● The education and coordination of farmers in addressing issues of standards, quality, quantity, marketing, and involving them in incentive-based training through extension agents. ● Synthesis of service centers (registration and documentation of operators in the value chain, mechanization, irrigation, and agro-allied) with the local government and communities. Ways the actions will be measure ● Development of a Policy framework that sensitizes Nigerian especially those in the manufacturing sector to increase the quality of their bags who in turn sensitizes customers to reuse them. ● Post-harvest loss- Develop a policy to synergise the private sector and government to preserve agricultural products in Nigeria. ● Organised private sector should collaborate with small holder farmers to come up with a framework for engaging the government to improve the transport infrastructure for ease of transportation of agricultural products. ● The private sector should present a position paper on some of the issues plaguing farmers to the government to exert pressure on them to ensure a good ecosystem for agricultural practices in Nigeria. ● Private sector and government should educate farmers and sensitize them on Policies currently in place that they can take advantage of for agricultural benefit. Read less

Track 3: Boost Nature-Positive Production ● Development of land restoration, and irrigation system to reduce erosion and tree planting to serve as wind-breaker. ● Introduction of solar systems for irrigation to reduce the total reliance on energy. ● Establishment of a rainwater collection system and the release of the right quantity of water required to save the cost and reduce water waste. ● Proper education of smallholder farmers on innovative ways of improving farming, food, and seed systems, and reducing logistics issues. ● Reduction in post-harvest losses by improving warehouse ... Read morestructures ● Expansion of farm market roads in between warehouses, regulated by the government to move food products easier ● increase in the quality of bags (e.g., low-quality nylons etc.) to encourage reuse by Nigerians. ● Collaboration of NESG with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the coordination of key players to address linkages that can impact the farmers to improve the value chain. ● Leveraging technology between producers and consumers to return used products to the companies. ● Development of policies to encourage private sectors in the production of paper-based bags to reduce degradation of the ecosystem. ● Establishment of free trade zones in rural areas to improve the socio-economic development of the rural areas. ● Conversion of agricultural waste to value-added products and the development of policies to track carbon footprint through the value chain. Who should take the actions? ● Cold hubs- Will build cold rooms powered with solar panels in strategic places in markets and make it sustainable for people to bring their products and pay for their services. ● Saro Africa- will provide an integrated Agric value chain input by: a. Providing improved farm seeds to address the low yield of smallholder farmers. b. Training farmers on good agricultural practice. c. Offering extension service input to farmers. d. Aggregation and link farmers to off-takers ● Policymakers will create a legislative framework that covers the protection of the environment by industries and punishment for defaulting industries that venture into the manufacturing sector. ● Ecological funds from the government constitute 1% of the Federation Account and it is known as the Derivation and Ecology Fund. ● The private sector can contribute to this fund to aid the development of the ecosystem. ● Manufacturing industries can embark on afforestation to replace the trees logged for industrial purposes to encourage a sustainable green environment. Ways the actions will be measured • Build monitoring and evaluation frameworks and tracking systems like dashboards for real-time data across the 36 States on improved agro-ecological and climate-smart agriculture. • Provide technical assistance and capacity building programs to farmers to bridge knowledge gap through improved agricultural extension systems and this can be tracked by the ratio of farmers to number of agricultural extension officers as well as improved policies around agricultural extension system in Nigeria Read less

Track 2: Shift to Sustainable Consumption Patterns (Increase consumption of healthy foods, reduce consumption of unhealthy foods, and reduce food loss and waste at household and food service levels. Actions with the greatest impact for the next three years . ● There should be National Nutrition Criteria to guide producers to develop healthy products and consumers to select healthy products. The private sector needs to create business solutions around providing healthy alternatives to consumers, especially through leveraging local and traditional food products. ● Increased public awareness ... Read moreabout what healthy diets are – This could be done through the advertisement of healthy foods and products and the nutrients they contain and will stimulate demand for healthy foods. Public awareness should be widespread, including for producers, in schools, rural communities, etc. ● The private sector should fund research towards the development of healthy food products, including improved food preservation, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. ● The private sector should invest in logistics, storage, and processing facilities that support the production of healthy foods, including cold storage transportation. ● Promotion of legislation that discourages producers from the production of unhealthy foods e.g., sugar taxes, but incentivizes them to invest in the nutrition value chain e.g., tax incentives for affordable, healthy foods ● Implementation of easy-to-understand nutrient labeling on food products and adequate regulation to prevent labeling fraud. ● Nutrition should be approached from a business perspective and not a humanitarian intervention perspective – This will encourage private sector participation. Who should take the actions? ● NAFDAC and SON: The agencies need to review their standards to include nutrient content guidelines and ensure that ingredients mentioned on labels are present and carrying out factory inspection to ensure that standards are followed before foods are released to the public ● Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning: The Ministry should convene organisations concerned and nutritionists to work together to produce uniform stance and messages on what constitutes a healthy diet. ● FIRS: The Federal Government should provide tax incentives to Private Sector organizations that actively promote the production and consumption of healthy foods ● National Assembly: Strict regulations should be passed at the National Assembly to deter advertisements of unhealthy foods, food fraud, and promote nutrition labeling. ● Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, other research institutes, and Universities: Research on infrastructure and technology that will improve the storage, preservation, and production of healthy and safe foods. ● Civil Society Organizations: Provide technical assistance to government agencies and conduct advocacy to the National Assembly. ● Private Sector Organizations, including Transport Unions: Adopt processes and products that facilitate access to and affordability of healthy foods. Ways the actions will be measured ● A major boost in the investment of cold chain infrastructure and other food system innovations. ● Engagement of youth entrepreneurs in the value of horticultural crop chain. ● Increase in the estimated number of policies and publicity in nutritional information that will encourage the consumption of a nutritional diet resulting in the reduction of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases. ● Higher demand for healthier food products by consumers will result in the reduction of micronutrient deficiencies ● Further conversation and formal dialogues around food systems in Nigeria. ● A major accretion in the demand for healthier food products by consumers will increase the nutritional food content produced ● Implementation of family life extension programs into the Nigerian agricultural extension scheme to address socio-cultural issues within rural farming households towards consumption of diversified diets rich in protein, fruits, and vegetables. Read less

Track 1: Zero Hunger & Improved Nutrition (Access to safe & Nutritious Food for All) Actions with the greatest impact for the next three years ● Collaborate with the government to define/develop a policy direction on the quality of food produced in Nigeria. This policy should include access to high-quality seeds, other input, and storage facilities. ● Deregulate the seed sector to allow for the use of technology to enhance the quality and productivity of seeds. ● Create incentives to make good quality fertilizer availability and affordability in the Nigerian market to enable farm... Read moreers’ access. ● Strengthen the capacity and availability of extension services to smallholder farmers. ● Enhance domestic R&D capacity and ensure adoption of viable R&D output on seed development by Nigerian farmers. ● Adopt the model of the ISD Tech-Match programme to up-scale domestic productivity and avoid post-harvest losses. Also, create interlinkages between global innovators in the value chain, local adopters, and implementing partners like the government. ● Upgrade the structure of Nigerian markets to include cooling rooms for fresh foods and vegetables to mitigate post-harvest losses. ● Reduce Post-Harvest Waste by improving logistics infrastructure. ● Roll out a policy on improving the capacity of Nigeria’s security capital and infrastructure to facilitate the inflow of investments into the logistics ecosystem. ● Adopt social behavioral change communication tactics to encourage the consumption of nutritious foods, incorporate nutrition education and proper cooking methods into primary and secondary health care advisory to address child malnutrition. ● The government should sustain the creation of awareness on proper nutrition especially in primary schools, secondary schools, and rural communities. ● Encourage private sector players to invest in the production of dried fruits and the adoption of packaging that appeals to children as this will improve their nutritional intake. ● Revise the advocacy or communication strategy for the implementation of proper nutrition to ensure that the benefits of adopting appropriate food & nutrition practices are emphasized alongside the cost of doing the alternative. ● There is a need to emphasize the empowerment of the female gender both educationally and economically as they are pertinent to enforcing appropriate nutrition. ● Consider cash transfers to mothers in the rural areas to enable them to afford nutritious food for themselves and their children. ● The government needs to improve its capacity to enforce and monitor standards and regulations in food production. ● The government should ensure that it creates a level playing field for local manufacturers to compete in the food market. This entails the imposition of tax breaks and low-interest credit for local innovators. Who should take the actions? ● The NESG should collaborate with the government to make a business case for the organized participation of the private sector in the logistics sub-sector of the food value chain, educating the private sector on the prospects of investing in the sub-sector. Ways the actions will be measured ● We will track changes in the number of malnourished children in Nigeria As improve nutrition will lead to a reduction. ● The Availability and affordability of food irrespective of its season will be a major indicator that we have made progress with food storage and processing ● We will measure the average yield of crop per season as an indicator of improved access to high-quality input and good agronomic practices. Read less

● Standards and Regulations: There is an opportunity to create long-term wins in the Nigerian Food systems if we can implement standards for the quality of food produced in Nigeria across the value chain from high-quality input, good agronomy to management of post-harvest activities, storage, packaging, and distribution. ● Research and Development: The Private and Public sectors can establish a partnership to enhance domestic R&D capacity and ensure the dissemination & adoption of viable R&D output amongst Nigerian farmers. R&D is urgently needed for seed production, GAP, f... Read moreood preservation, etc. ● Awareness: There is a general lack of awareness about the composition of healthy diets. This could be done through the advertisement of healthy foods and products and the nutrients they contain and will stimulate demand for healthy foods. Public awareness should be widespread, including for producers, in schools, rural communities, etc. This will stimulate the demand for healthier options and persuade the sector to deliver on this demand. ● Logistics, Storage and Processing facilities: The private Sector should leverage the demand for logistics, storage, and processing facilities that support the production of healthy foods, including cold storage transportation. This is a key solution to post-harvest losses in several parts of the country. ● Technology and Climate Smart Practices for Resilience: Farmers should be connected to climate information – rainfall, drought, flooding etc. to enhance their preparedness for shocks and stress. To promote further resilience, agricultural technology companies should promote small-scale, low-cost modular energy sources, and technology for farmers and agri-businesses. Read less