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• Government and intervention agencies to assist in acquisition of and access to non-arable lands to households interested in farming according to their needs. • All households in the rural communities, including public servants and private sector wage earners to engage in farming and other food systems components for which they have comparative advantage to undertake. • Strengthening of Public Agriculture Extension services to provide technical advice to promote good agricultural practices in the communities to improve availability of food and introduction of new crops and livestock in ... Read morethe area. This will increase crop and livestock diversity and improve availability and affordability of nutritious foods in the community. • Effective information sharing and dissemination on existing markets for farm inputs as well as related agricultural products and services will ensure all year farm production and reduce hunger and improve affordability of nutritious foods. • Government to facilitate the establishment of private-public managed food banks/storage facilities to store harvested surplus Agricultural produce harvested in the community. This will reduce post-harvest loses as surplus during harvest and ensure continuous availability and affordability during lean period. This will reduce food inflation in the rural areas as currently experienced in the community. • More punitive measures against thefts of agricultural produce and enforcement of existing laws and procedures regulating the food systems within the community to safeguard investments to improve availability of food and increase affordability of safe food in the community. • To ensure increased affordability and availability of nutritious and safe foods, farmers and other stakeholders involved in rural food systems should avoid sharp practices, use of harmful chemicals, and adopt good agricultural practices in crop cultivation, livestock farming, processing and marketing of agricultural produce and services. • That proper storage of crops in farms and foods at homes would assist in ensuring better quality and nutritious foods and household food availability and reduction of food inflation in the Community. • To ensure the availability and affordability of nutritious foods, all farmers in the community should engage in mixed crop farming and diversity of livestock rearing. • To ensure safe foods, regulatory agencies in-charge of consumer rights and food safety should be strengthened to deliver on their respective mandates. • Individuals at all levels of the Community should ensure proper hygiene in handling processed, unprocessed and leftover foods, as well as the practice of eating sick or dead animals should be discouraged to ensure safe foods. • That to promote food hygiene, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services should be available at household level and open defecation discouraged in order to reduce food contamination. • Nutrition education highlighting the dangers of unhealthy food choices targeted at communities and schools in order to empower community members and school children to demand for healthy foods. • In view of the frequent flooding experienced by the Community, Climate Smart agriculture technologies promotion, shoreline protection as well as dredging of the rivers would assist in mitigating the effect of climate change on food production. • There should be provisions for good storage facilities and use of appropriate technology for food preservation to address wastage and post-harvest loses; and • That the Leadership of the Community should facilitate and encourage farmers to organise themselves into cooperatives to benefit from such rural institution structure. Read less

The focus of the Rural Community Stakeholders Food Systems Dialogue was to explore through dialogue a rural community food system in the South-South Region of Nigeria guided by the five (5) action tracks and levers of the UN Food Systems Summit. Participants were engaged in discussion of the composition, working, previous and status of the food systems in the area. Detailed discussion examined food systems dynamics, major actors, environmental and gender issues, cultural practices as each affected food systems. Opportunities for improved condition as well as actions to be taken by different st... Read moreakeholders to achieve food security, nutritious food, and healthy consumption pattern on a sustainable basis in the rural area were deeply discussed by participants. Immediate feedback revealed that lack of arable land, manual method of farming, low participation of community members in farming, poor knowledge of soil information, poor knowledge of modern methods of crop production and animal husbandry, lack of storage facilities, flooding, and lack of government assistance to farmers were major hindrances to reduction of hunger and inequality making it difficult for availability and affordability of nutritious foods. Poor food hygiene, lack of knowledge of consumer rights and enforcement of rules by Food Inspectors and Veterinary Doctors in the rural arears increased unsafe food practices. Limited livelihood activities, poor/low income, post-harvest loses, theft of agricultural produce were factors that reduced the resilience in event of shock, potential vulnerability, and external stress on the food systems of the rural people. Cross-cutting issues discussed showed that food inflation could reduce action against hunger and malnutrition. Similarly, climate change resulting in flooding threatened availability and reduced production was further challenged by poor soil fertility, limited participation in farming as well as gender and cultural constraints in the community. Achieving healthy and sustainable food consumption pattern was also linked to be affected by the above-mentioned factors. The right to foods in Nigeria will likely be challenged by low farm productivity which result in food insecurity and low nutrition food consumption. In Nigeria, weak enforcement of laws will also be likely to affect right to food policy. Formation of farmer’s organisations and involvement of mass participation in agriculture will enhance equitable livelihoods in Nigeria in the views of the participants. The adoption of innovation in agriculture in all crop and livestock enterprises, building of private storage facilities and establishment of private sector food bank will help the rural food systems withstand vulnerability, shock, and stress in rural food systems in Nigeria. Read less

1. At the core of a lot of divergences is that some stakeholders prefer processes that rely on individual/household level change (demand side actions), while others prefer processes that rely on institutional change (supply-side actions). Community Gardens: Some stakeholders welcomed the idea of having community gardens while others opposed it. Reasons for the opposition: Conflict resolution issues that may arise from sharing formula. 2. Reduction of fiscal space: Some of the stakeholders were of the view that the government is doing enough in terms of interventions in the rural communities wh... Read moreile others are of the opinion that the government is not doing enough. Even where there are cases of government interventions they are seen as being hijacked by portfolio farmers and effects does not trickle down to rural farmers. 3. Lobbying and interference by special interests: Some stakeholders welcomed the idea of lobbying as it helps attract interventions in their communities while those that opposed gave reasons of such interventions being hijacked. 4. Social norms are difficult to change Some stakeholders were of the opinion that you cannot have good nutrition if you are not wealthy. Opposing view: Those in opposition tried to prove that you can be wealthy and not eat right (hidden hunger). 5. The assumption that youths would want to work in agriculture or agro-processing / food manufacturing. There were divergent views on the youth’s participation in agriculture. While some stakeholders are of the opinion that if government can intervene more in agricultural development projects targeting youths, more of them will be willing to go into agriculture. Others were of the opinion that with or without government intervention, the youths are not willing due to their “get rich quick syndrome”. 6. Need to ensure that innovation and technology transfer is fair: There were no divergent views on the above area. Areas of divergence: 1. At the core of a lot of divergences is that some stakeholders prefer processes that rely on individual/household level change (demand side actions), while others prefer processes that rely on institutional change (supply-side actions). Community Gardens: Some stakeholders welcomed the idea of having community gardens while others opposed it. Reasons for the opposition: Conflict resolution issues that may arise from sharing formula. 2. Reduction of fiscal space: Some of the stakeholders were of the view that the government is doing enough in terms of interventions in the rural communities while others are of the opinion that the government is not doing enough. Even where there are cases of government interventions they are seen as being hijacked by portfolio farmers and effects does not trickle down to rural farmers. 3. Lobbying and interference by special interests: Some stakeholders welcomed the idea of lobbying as it helps attract interventions in their communities while those that opposed gave reasons of such interventions being hijacked. 4. Social norms are difficult to change Some stakeholders were of the opinion that you cannot have good nutrition if you are not wealthy. Opposing view: Those in opposition tried to prove that you can be wealthy and not eat right (hidden hunger). 5. The assumption that youths would want to work in agriculture or agro-processing / food manufacturing. There were divergent views on the youth’s participation in agriculture. While some stakeholders are of the opinion that if government can intervene more in agricultural development projects targeting youths, more of them will be willing to go into agriculture. Others were of the opinion that with or without government intervention, the youths are not willing due to their “get rich quick syndrome”. 6. Need to ensure that innovation and technology transfer is fair: There were no divergent views on the above area. 7. Stakeholders working in silos There were no divergent views on the above area. 8. Preponderant national emphasis on under nutrition There were divergent views on national emphasis on under nutrition. Some stakeholders were of the opinion that government is doing a lot sensitization especially on breastfeeding, others were of the opinion that the government still has a lot to do on addressing issues bothering on under nutrition e.g Poverty. 9. Trust deficits: There were divergent views on trust deficits. Some stakeholders were of the opinion that government has done enough in supporting agriculture while others claimed that such interventions were being hijacked. • Provision of interest rate at a concessional rate • Provision of subsidy to farmers on agricultural inputs • Provision of processing equipment to farmers at subsidized rate Read less

Group 1: Poor people are able to eat nutritious foods that will not make them sick Actions urgently needed Strand 1: Reducing hunger and inequality • Everyone should be encouraged to engage in one form of agricultural production e.g. backyard gardens, community gardens, and integrated homestead food production in order to make food more diverse and readily available. • Food systems in the rural communities should be nutrition sensitive by incorporating nutrition objectives like planting pro-nutrition crops and tubers/roots, oil palm processors should be discouraged from adding chemical dye... Read more to the finished product e.t.c. • Governments should make policies that boost agricultural production thereby providing an environment of improved food availability and opportunities for households to lift themselves out of poverty, hunger and malnutrition. • Government should encourage fresh graduates to go into agriculture by providing grants and interest free loans. • Female farmers should be given equal opportunity to resources e.g. access to farmlands. • Government and research institutes should come together to improve the nutrient value of stable crops through bio fortification and make such crops available to rural farmers. Group 2: Shift to Healthy and Sustainable Consumption Patterns Actions urgently needed • Awareness creation on radio, television and churches on healthy consumption pattern. • Educating the rural dwellers on what a balance diet is and the importance of eating a balance diet. • Integrating food policy and regulatory reforms to improve food environment. • Using schools as a key environment for delivering healthy, safe and sustainable diet and fostering lifelong healthy and sustainable consumption. Group 3: Global Food System at Crossroads: Policy Landscape and Governance Factor for Boosting Nature Positive Production at Scale in Nigeria: The Right to Food Approach. Actions urgently needed • Government should make bush burning an offence. • Protection of land from erosion by planting new trees, applying of organic manure instead of chemical fertilizers. • Government should provide adequate storage facilities for food crops. • Government should provide funds/ grants and improved farm inputs. Group 4: Advancing Equitable Livelihoods in Nigeria Actions urgently needed • Women farmers should be given equal access to resources like land, this will improve food production. • Female health and nutrition should be made a priority, this can prevent health complications for them and the children they bare. • Government policies should ensure that everyone has equal right to adequate food and social protection. • Stakeholders should be provided with equal accessibility to land, natural endowment and economic opportunities. • Youths and women should be duly represented in leadership positions in rural areas. Group 5: Building the Resilience of Food Systems in Nigeria to withstand Vulnerabilities, Shocks and Stresses Actions urgently needed for Improved Food availability for resilience • Good agricultural policy by Government • Provision of agricultural loans to indigenous farmers. • Availability of farm land, manpower, seedlings e.tc • Educating farmers on farming systems and providing extension services. • Encouraging youths to go into agriculture. • Use of organic fertilizers should be encouraged. • Building of food processing plants to reduce food wastage. • Addressing the issue of climate change • Provision of market to farmers • Provision of adequate processing equipment to farmers • Reduction of Post-harvest food losses • Ensuring the accessibility of farmers to irrigation system Read less

Group 1: Poor people are able to eat nutritious foods that will not make them sick Actions urgently needed Strand 1: Reducing hunger and inequality • Everyone should be encouraged to engage in one form of agricultural production e.g. backyard gardens, community gardens, and integrated homestead food production in order to make food more diverse and readily available. • Food systems in the rural communities should be nutrition sensitive by incorporating nutrition objectives like planting pro-nutrition crops and tubers/roots, oil palm processors should be discouraged from adding chemical dye... Read more to the finished product e.t.c. • Governments should make policies that boost agricultural production thereby providing an environment of improved food availability and opportunities for households to lift themselves out of poverty, hunger and malnutrition. • Government should encourage fresh graduates to go into agriculture by providing grants and interest free loans. • Female farmers should be given equal opportunity to resources e.g. access to farmlands. • Government and research institutes should come together to improve the nutrient value of stable crops through bio fortification and make such crops available to rural farmers. Group 2: Shift to Healthy and Sustainable Consumption Patterns Actions urgently needed • Awareness creation on radio, television and churches on healthy consumption pattern. • Educating the rural dwellers on what a balance diet is and the importance of eating a balance diet. • Integrating food policy and regulatory reforms to improve food environment. • Using schools as a key environment for delivering healthy, safe and sustainable diet and fostering lifelong healthy and sustainable consumption. Group 3: Global Food System at Crossroads: Policy Landscape and Governance Factor for Boosting Nature Positive Production at Scale in Nigeria: The Right to Food Approach. Actions urgently needed • Government should make bush burning an offence. • Protection of land from erosion by planting new trees, applying of organic manure instead of chemical fertilizers. • Government should provide adequate storage facilities for food crops. • Government should provide funds/ grants and improved farm inputs. Group 4: Advancing Equitable Livelihoods in Nigeria Actions urgently needed • Women farmers should be given equal access to resources like land, this will improve food production. • Female health and nutrition should be made a priority, this can prevent health complications for them and the children they bare. • Government policies should ensure that everyone has equal right to adequate food and social protection. • Stakeholders should be provided with equal accessibility to land, natural endowment and economic opportunities. • Youths and women should be duly represented in leadership positions in rural areas. Group 5: Building the Resilience of Food Systems in Nigeria to withstand Vulnerabilities, Shocks and Stresses Actions urgently needed for Improved Food availability for resilience • Good agricultural policy by Government • Provision of agricultural loans to indigenous farmers. • Availability of farm land, manpower, seedlings e.tc • Educating farmers on farming systems and providing extension services. • Encouraging youths to go into agriculture. • Use of organic fertilizers should be encouraged. • Building of food processing plants to reduce food wastage. • Addressing the issue of climate change • Provision of market to farmers • Provision of adequate processing equipment to farmers • Reduction of Post-harvest food losses • Ensuring the accessibility of farmers to irrigation system Read less

Group 3: Global Food System at Crossroads: Policy Landscape and Governance Factor for Boosting Nature Positive Production at Scale in Nigeria: The Right to Food Approach. Actions urgently needed • Government should make bush burning an offence. • Protection of land from erosion by planting new trees, applying of organic manure instead of chemical fertilizers. • Government should provide adequate storage facilities for food crops. • Government should provide funds/ grants and improved farm inputs.

Group 2: Shift to Healthy and Sustainable Consumption Patterns Actions urgently needed • Awareness creation on radio, television and churches on healthy consumption pattern. • Educating the rural dwellers on what a balance diet is and the importance of eating a balance diet. • Integrating food policy and regulatory reforms to improve food environment. • Using schools as a key environment for delivering healthy, safe and sustainable diet and fostering lifelong healthy and sustainable consumption.

Participants at the end of the discussions affirmed that there cannot be Sustainable Development without bold actions to achieve food and nutrition security, agricultural policies that will lift small and large scale farmers and vulnerable communities out of poverty. The following were the top findings and recommendations made by the participants at the end of the dialogue: Findings • Inadequate agricultural education on farming systems to farmers. • Nonchalant attitudes of young people towards farming. • Negligence and ignorance of citizens in taking balance diet. • Limited storage fa... Read morecilities. • Increase intake of processed food in our communities. • Agricultural lands are being used for housing development. • Inadequate financial support from the government to farmers. • Poor access roads to farms. • Inadequate basic infrastructures. • Lack of basic nutritional knowledge. • Little or no government intervention through policies/strategies and vision to help improve nutrition security. Conclusions/Recommendations Recommendations made by the participants at the end of the dialogue include: • Government should come up with policies that will make agriculture attractive to young people: Farming offers the young generations a chance to make a difference by growing enough food to feed the world. Those who become farmers now have the opportunity to be the generation that will end hunger and alleviate malnutrition. • Conservation farm practices for sustainable Farming: Based on principles of soil and nature protection, conserving farm practices serves as the base for sustainable farming. It manages to increase both the crop yield and soil properties as well improve nature biodiversity. • Government policies should make food more available, accessible and affordable by increasing agricultural production. This will improve the economic and health status of the community. • Farmers must be supported by the government financially to realize their full potential by enabling them to increase their agricultural productivity, promoting their access to markets and services. • Research institutes should develop ways of enlightening the citizens on improved varieties of staple crops. • Nutrition officers should continuously enlighten the citizens on healthy eating habits. • Provision of markets, good access roads and basic storage facilities. • Farmers should be discouraged from bush burning. • Farmers should use more of organic fertilizers and natural pest control methods and reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. • Deforestation should be discouraged and afforestation encouraged. • The government should engage the services of indigenous people to secure the rural communities and farm lands. Read less

Participants at the end of the discussions affirmed that there cannot be Sustainable Development without bold actions to achieve food and nutrition security, agricultural policies that will lift small and large scale farmers and vulnerable communities out of poverty. The following were the top findings and recommendations made by the participants at the end of the dialogue: Findings • Inadequate agricultural education on farming systems to farmers. • Nonchalant attitudes of young people towards farming. • Negligence and ignorance of citizens in taking balance diet. • Limited storage fa... Read morecilities. • Increase intake of processed food in our communities. • Agricultural lands are being used for housing development. • Inadequate financial support from the government to farmers. • Poor access roads to farms. • Inadequate basic infrastructures. • Lack of basic nutritional knowledge. • Little or no government intervention through policies/strategies and vision to help improve nutrition security. Conclusions/Recommendations Recommendations made by the participants at the end of the dialogue include: • Government should come up with policies that will make agriculture attractive to young people: Farming offers the young generations a chance to make a difference by growing enough food to feed the world. Those who become farmers now have the opportunity to be the generation that will end hunger and alleviate malnutrition. • Conservation farm practices for sustainable Farming: Based on principles of soil and nature protection, conserving farm practices serves as the base for sustainable farming. It manages to increase both the crop yield and soil properties as well improve nature biodiversity. • Government policies should make food more available, accessible and affordable by increasing agricultural production. This will improve the economic and health status of the community. • Farmers must be supported by the government financially to realize their full potential by enabling them to increase their agricultural productivity, promoting their access to markets and services. • Research institutes should develop ways of enlightening the citizens on improved varieties of staple crops. • Nutrition officers should continuously enlighten the citizens on healthy eating habits. • Provision of markets, good access roads and basic storage facilities. • Farmers should be discouraged from bush burning. • Farmers should use more of organic fertilizers and natural pest control methods and reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. • Deforestation should be discouraged and afforestation encouraged. • The government should engage the services of indigenous people to secure the rural communities and farm lands. Read less

The major focus of the Rural Stakeholders Food Systems Dialogue was to engage more grassroots stakeholders in taking an aggressive approach to solving global hunger. In Abia State the dialogue was guided by the five (5) action tracks and levers of the UN Food Systems Summit. Stakeholders during the dialogue explored different aspects of the food system to identify pathways that will improve nutrition security, reduce hunger and the prevalence of malnutrition in line with the national food and nutrition policy for Nigeria. Concrete actions for fighting hunger, malnutrition and strategies to red... Read moreuce poverty and enhance the resilience, sustainability of food production and security were discussed. Participants were divided into five (5) groups to facilitate the discussions. Group 1 focused on suggesting ways to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition to reduce incidence of non-communicable disease, enabling every individual to stay healthy and suggesting how everyone will always have access to enough affordable nutritious and safe food products. Group 2 focused on ways to build consumers demand for sustainably produced food, strengthening the local value chains, improve nutrition, and promote re-use and recycling of food resources especially among the most vulnerable. It also recognised elimination of wasteful patterns of food consumption and transition in diets towards more nutritious foods that require fewer resources to produce and transport. Group 3 focused on how to optimize environmental resource use in food production, processing and distribution thereby reducing biodiversity loss, pollution, water use, soil degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. It also centred on food system governance that realigns incentives to reduce food losses and other negative environmental impacts Group 4 focused their discussion on elimination of poverty by promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all actors along the food value chain, reducing risks for the world’s poorest, enabling entrepreneurship and addressing the inequitable access to resources and distribution of value. It was also centred on improved resilience through social protection and seek to ensure that food systems “leave no one behind”, it also highlighted potential game-changing and systematic solutions to ensure that food system from land to waste are regenerative and circular where possible thus more resilient to future shocks in Nigeria. Group 5 focused on actions that will work to ensure the continued functionality of sustainable food systems in areas that are prone to conflicts or natural disasters. The ambition under the action was to ensure that everyone within a food system are empowered to prepare for, withstand and recover from instability. Read less

GENERAL DISCUSSION Discussion of the different innovations included the benefits of naturally derived solutions for pest control, disease resistance and fertility; the nutritional benefits of insects as human food; cost savings for insect raising; consumer interest in insect sourced food products; food processing options; use of agricultural by-products; marketing strategies: Eat Crickets, Be Healthy, Support Farmers; drones for crop health mapping, aerial survey and as a tool for consultant services; targeting for supply of different services to different markets; cost savings and productivit... Read morey increases through mechanization at appropriate scale. The appetite and interest in youth in innovation and technology was clear. The support from academia and the private sector was also clear. more work is required, connecting the national research bodies to academia and the private sector, fostering and incentivizing innovation and taking novel solutions through to realization in the marketplace. Read less

Student and youth enthusiasm for the event was evident and this is a sign that support for innovative ideas are a key aspect for the sustainability of agriculture and the appeal to youth of employment in agriculture and food system. The support from both international and national institions proved effective in stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship. Investor interest for commercial products was immediate with private sector representatives seeking contact with the innovators for follow-up discussions. This event amply demonstrates both the interest and the capabilities of student and aca... Read moredemic teams in pursuing innovation and also demonstrates the value of a youthful organization like Impact Hub in sustaining the effort. Given the many challenges confronting agriculture and the technology lag evident in Cambodia, it is evident that there is insufficient national investment (public and private) in incubators for innovation, in funding academic research and challenging researchers to move into commercializable research areas. Mentoring of academics and students is a critical aspect for generating commercial solutions. The experience that academics and students have gained from placements in other countries is another factor in fostering innovation, giving the researchers opportunities to see outside the box in terms of the potential for improvement of agricultural production and agribusiness. The event demonstrates the interest and the relevance of agribusiness oriented studies featuring technological innovation and relevance of academic institutions in contributing to innovation and development and benefits to students of being exposed to these possibilities. It also amply demonstrated the value added of the organizations like Impact Hub, both for commercial possibilities and appeal to youth. Read less

The focus of this event was on innovation in food systems, mostly in relation to agriculture but also featuring food processing and retailing. BHEARD and the USAID Mission in Cambodia have supported the improvement of key aspects of the agricultural research system in Cambodia by investing in developing capacities in the Royal University of Agriculture, the Center of Excellence on Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition and other institutions. Stakeholder engagement with key actors in Cambodia’s agricultural system, identified that investment in technology transfer would be an... Read more important way to remove barriers to innovation and progress in Cambodian agriculture. The BHEARD funds for Cambodia were used for a competitive seed grant program to support innovative research. This small project has demonstrated the interest in innovation and the potential for turning innovations into commercializable products for continuous improvement in the agricultural sector. Four prize winning examples were presented that demonstrate what relatively small investments, creative interest, entrepreneurial and technical skills can achieves in a short time. The examples show how much can be achieved and how necessary the investments in the institutions and ideas are for the future of the food system. The examples provided were: ◾ Safe plant spraying product to tackle pests, diseases, and nutrition Contact details: Tho Kim Eang: [email protected] - Tel: +855 85 999 457 ◾ LM-Drone: Large Scale Crop Health Monitoring by Unnamed Aerial Vehicle (Drone). Contact details: Sanara Hor : [email protected] - Tel: +855 12 722 616 ◾ PhallChangrit (PCr.) innovates the cricket value chain, from the production of low-cost cricket-feed to the production of highly nutritive cricket-based products: Contact details: Phalla Miech [email protected] Tel: +855 77 743 739 ◾ Veggi-Transplanter: Manufacturing of easy-to-use equipment/ products that help farmers to optimize vegetable farming. Read less