Explore Official Dialogue Feedback

The main focus of the dialogue was how to empower many more young food entrepreneurs to access finance, as well as the complementary services and skills required to use finance to develop new business models that can transform food systems, particularly at the SME level. The theme is relevant across the FSS ATs, though the event was particularly connected to the At4 process.

Divergence related to meat consumption reduction, focused on respectfully manage the topic. There was an opinion that today there is a tendency to "shaming" of meat consumption. Representatives of the meat alternative industry expressed this opinion. On the other hand, the necessity to reduce meat consumption, especially in Israel, one of the world leaders in meat consumption per person, was expressed as an urgent and robust solution that must be adapted for the population's health and the globe. This solution was based on the epidemiological, public health, and environmental sciences. Another... Read more divergence reflected the tension between the agricultural and environmental issues. Israel is a small and very populated country with scarce natural resources, especially land. The struggle to grow the major healthy and sustainble food basket and at the same time to reserve natural land creates conflict of interest that must be addressed. Read less

Sustainable agriculture: 1. Promotion of a holistic view, focusing on local eco-friendly agriculture as a primary provider of food 2. Promotion of legislative infrastructure, supporting farmers' needs for local production such as stable customs on import, water prices, workers, and workforce saving technologies 3. Promoting contacts between farmers and consumers and increasing the share of local agriculture in food security General approach • Food security - Fresh food must continue to be produced locally • Promote Sustainable intensification • Support organic farming without the use of ... Read morefertilizers and pesticides • waste separation and organic waste should be sent to a designated site to be composted in each region • Good enough is not enough in food- the emphasis should be placed on quality beyond appearance. • Smart logistics systems need to be built to support also direct agricultural marketing Legislation • Agriculture is a strategic resource - an Agriculture Law needs to be enacted, water subsidized for farmers, and direct support to farmers. • The agricultural sector, limited by rising water prices, increasing imports, and imposing fees on foreign workers, must not be neglected. The state has set goals of local production and self-sufficiency - farmers have met targets and have not been compensated • Ensure the next generation of farmers - the number of farmers has been decreased local production is not guaranteed • Agricultural land and available water must be ensured. There is a decrease in output in many crops (including crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and various fruits) and, at the same time a large increase in price, contributing to less accessibility to fresh produce. Research is needed to understand why there is a decline in production. • Investment of public funds in agriculture should be efficient and with a significant component of R&D, including manpower-saving technology • Regional reference is needed - each region is different in environmental, agricultural and social aspects • The current focus is on the cost of food only, dealt mostly by import and causing uncertainty and unprofitability. Holistic approach, including the need to produce quality and accessible food, is needed. To this end, costumes on food products can be removed only in the framework of trade agreements. • Plans to reduce harmful food - comprehensive vision and policy advancement- are required to cooperate with all government ministries. • Focus on the quality of the food and continuous monitoring of the nutritional values of foods grown in Israel, including appropriate legislation (e.g., monitoring the selenium/magnesium values) • The state should be responsible for its food prices, which should be tailored to the poor rather than the wealthy consumer Public behavior • Education for adults as well and not just for young people - move from mostly discussing quantity and price to a holistic vision that also includes quality • Education from an early age to consume healthy foods, especially fruits and vegetables • A change in consumption and dietary habits is required to enable food security based on local agriculture, a reduction in animal food consumption and food waste • We need to strengthen the connection between people and their environment and the ability of citizens to know the sources of the food they consume • Bring the population closer to food sources and producers, and producers to their consumers Read less

Animal-based food systems 1. Economics - more than half of the grain imports to Israel are for the livestock industry. Animal-based diets in Israel set dependence on imports at times of global hazards. Israel is small and populated with high consumption of meats that are not aligned with health and sustainable recommendations. 2. Health and sustainability need to set meat reduction targets based on health and sustainable recommendations and equality. 3. It is important to promote healthy, sustainable, and affordable substitutes for animal-based proteins. 4. There is a need for a transparent, p... Read morerofessional supervisory system with accountability on all livestock food systems. The regulation has to be clear to who supervises the indicators and must be coordinated among all parts. The hazards of livestock systems endanger public health on a high level, from different pathogens such as Salmonella and Campylobacter thru Zoonosis as Tuberculosis, Anti-microbial Resistance, and pandemics such as aviation flu, the Spanish flu, and the covid-19. As we all realize today, the broken food systems, especially from the livestock industry, set a global danger and must change to suit the global resources and human health. 5. We have to solve the conflicting policies which on one side encourages meat and animal-based food consumption by incentives to the livestock agriculture and even for marketing and tax-lowering on meat and even processed meat imports, which distorts the consumer decision as the prices do not reflect the real cost of these food products. Moreover, this while the ministry of health recommends reducing - avoid ultra-processed meats as they are carcinogenic on high-level evidence-based. 6. The agriculture ministry did not take into account the environmental parameters. Lowering the import taxes on meats harms the local farmers and does not calculate health, sustainability, and welfare. 7. We have to tackle this issue in a holistic way to help all stakeholders join for the good of all. 8. There is a lack of a national holistic food policy. Each ministry works independently without any coordination. There is a need to include animals' welfare in the general policy. 9. We have to work according to safety standards for safe food. There are gaps. We do not have enough data and transparency. There is a shortage of budget to gather the data on the complex issues of antibiotic use, infections, etc. In comparison to Europe 10. The needs reliable information sources on healthy, sustainable, and safe nutrition Solutions: 1. Raising the public awareness 2. A course on sustainability and health to different governmental ministries with learning on the ground to see and learn the problems 3. Creating change in the social norms as was with other health issues 4. Find solutions to the workers in the livestock industry while reducing the production and consumption 5. Demanding transparency, traceability, ecological footprint, and reporting obligation on environmental and health hazards 6. National nutrition security authority that the livestock and animal-based food system will be part of it. 7. Annual report on the use of anti-microbial use as is in many countries. The data should be available at all times. 8. Limitations on all kinds of animal-based foods 9. Promotion of innovations of healthy and sustainable animal-based food replacements. 10. Updating the food basket under governmental price supervision to be based on the healthy and sustainable food basket based on the Mediterranean diet. Now it includes butter, cream, and salt, to name some. Read less

Traditional societies (Food systems and health in the Arab sector): The traditional nutrition and food system are very healthy, accessible, affordable, and economic, emphasizing food saving and food storage. The nutritional transition and globalization caused the disappearance of the traditional kitchen and the traditional culinary culture. The young population lacks awareness of the Arab diet culture and is characterized by high consumerism in all areas, particularly in food consumption patterns. The high accessibility to meat, which was introduced into Arab cuisine in the last years, led to ... Read morethe inclusion of meat in most dishes and a dramatic increase in meat consumption. People are not aware of the health and environmental consequences of this pattern. Hospitality and generosity as cultural values are manifested in the increase in food waste. The quantities of food offered in Arab restaurants are critical for the waste of food. It is recommended to develop an Arab nutrition model and promote it within the Arab sector. Simultaneously, it is important to regulate unhealthy and processed food advertisements and educate for better consumption patterns. Alongside these, we need more information– research on health, dietary consumption, and dietary patterns in the Arab sector. 50% of the children are nutrition insecure, and most of them are poor. Going back to family agriculture and family production of food could improve nutritional insecurity. A nutrition security model adapted to the Arab population should be developed and implemented, based on better nutritional screening and addressing overweight and obesity that are rising, developing nutritional orientation and solutions for the changing structure of the traditional family. Solutions: 1. Encouraging traditional home self-production, encouraging children to produce healthy nutrition in the household backyards and other lands. 2. Education programs for consuming healthy food, saving food, and reducing consumption of unplanned food. 3. Collecting data and more research about effective strategies for food security, awareness, industrial development, and agricultural practices. 4. Social campaign from bottom up. For example - the olive harvest season as a family experience, more community gardens. 5. Integration of local councils. Read less

Healthy and sustainable nutrition security: The challenges: the government does not take responsibility on the issue: there is no permanent budget or legislation to frame solution, there is no inclusive body that integrates the multidimension of the problem, data solutions, thru the different government ministries. Lack of data: How many nutrition insecure people as a permanent screening process, what kind of food baskets do they get, etc. There is lack of crucial data on how many NGOs supply food for the insecure population. What is the total budget of the all the NGOs together? What is the p... Read moreercentage of the food which is donated by the food industry? And how much of it complies with the ministry of health foods recommendation to be included and how much of it complies with the list of foods to be excluded from such food baskets to the nutrition insecure. Today, only the government can handle the food prices. There is conflict of interests between the importers to the local producers. Short term solutions: solutions to the nutrition insecure children at the corona crisis Long term solutions: Education – to include again, healthy and sustainable nutrition education as core subject at the education system: from the early age thru graduations as it is crucial to their development and health thru their lives. As well education for the nutrition insecure adults as part of any program for nutrition security. Inclusion of healthy nutrition demands from any food program for children or insecure population. The health aspects of the nutrition insecure population is part of any policy and program. One of the challenges is that the insecure population is not always familiar with the different pulses or even vegetables the get in the food boxes. Therefor the healthy professional nutrition guidance is an integral part is crucial. On the other side, most of the products on the food packages are consumed, which can turn to a significant vector to improve their health. There is a major question relating the whose responsibility is the nutrition security? What are the reciprocal relations between the government and civil society relating food security? The government today is working detached from the NGOs. The complexity is big. The government should guide but also establish pronounce budget to solve the problem. There is the dilemma between supporting Nutrition insecurity by food boxes or by credit card enabling independent procurement. Food rescue: is another aspect, with the need of the government to recognize of its advantages and support it. There is huge question on the ultra-processed food donations which eventually are major part of what is called "food rescue", that is given to the nutrition insecure population. However, the ultra-processed foods are in contradiction to the nutrition recommendations for health, especially for this population with high rocket rates of obesity, diabetes and all their complications. Therefore, there is a need for differentiating the policy relation food rescue, with recommendation to the government to budget rescue of fruits and vegetables and healthy food as recommended by the ministry of health, but not the ultra-processed food. We need to determine that food baskets will be based on healthy foods. Equality and dignity should be integral part of the nutrition security policies. Read less

Nutrition security, climate and agriculture: Our agriculture has to be more focused and efficient and less squander than today. The food waste including the livestock industry which partly thrown in the nature feeds the wild animals with destructive effect on ecological systems. Climate change and crisis's ahead, will influence agriculture capabilities that must be taken into account in our strategy to assure food and nutrition security for all. Israel's poultry and meat consumption are of the highest in the world, much higher than the recommended amount in the Mediterranean diet. We need to r... Read moreecommend reduction of meat consumption which aligns with the healthy and sustainable recommendations in the Eat Lancet report, with the target of achieving the SDGs in 2030. The Mediterranean diet (MD) is the most researched and the recommended by the ministry of health. We are able to support the population food needs based on the MD. There are multiple pressures on land use especially in small populated Israel. There is possibility for dual or even triple use of the land that should be targeted. Our strengths: Knowledge and entrepreneurship relating irrigation and soil management, replenish the missing ingredients to the soil. Weakness: Our farmer's average age is around 60. Where are the future farmers? To change we need political will. We need to turn it into a national security issue, which it is. We have to change the notion today that food is a commodity and only that free market will solve it. Threats: Chemicals in the food are a threat, but can turn to be an opportunity. As leaders in research in agriculture, we can lead precise and healthier use of biological and chemical uses in agriculture. The climate crisis will likely cause rise in food prices, as temperature rise, droughts, water shortages, fires, floods and more are tackling many areas of the world. There is a threat for change in the nutrition composition of the food grown because of the climate crisis. Solutions: Israel's agriculture can supply the core of the healthy and sustainable dietary recommendations to day and major parts in the future. Change in the livestock agriculture, where Israel is leading in Food Tech. There is a need for professional guidance to the farmers. There is a need to engage the private sector: with tighter regulation on one hand and a call to join forces for the good of all. They are part of the problem, but should be part of the solutions, based on public health interests. Technology based solution to cope with the change in quality as well as quantity. In addition to reducing animal-based food consumption, as major change towards the planetary diet pattern, there is a need to change the livestock systems to a much more sustainable and healthier. We cannot forfeit the food to the free market. The same food can be harmful or contribute to health depending how it was grown, what chemicals where used or food was fed to the animals thru their life. It is there for crucial to build a national food and nutrition strategy and plan, that will map all its needs and a roadmap to support our farmers to grow the heart of the plant based national recommended Mediterranean diet, assure the prices of the basic healthy and sustainable food basket is affordable to all. The livestock industry must transform on the whole process how it is being grown, density, food, antibiotic and medication use etc., as major factor in assuring healthy and sustainable food system. Read less

Promoting sustainable local food systems and the role of the municipal authority: At the national level, processes are moving very slowly. On the municipal authority, the macro and the micro can be addressed. The municipality should lead processes of assimilating a healthy and sustainable food system. Moreover, those who need to lead this issue are the high-rank officials committed to creating in-depth changes. It is mandatory to appoint a nutritional safety and security committee in each city and publish a municipal nutrition appendix. The idea of a nutrition appendix is to form the urban spe... Read morecification for all aspects of nutrition – from purchasing food for feeding programs for schools, the elderly and other centers to urban community's kitchens and cooperation between authorities. We need to learn how to incentivize the local private sector and include it in the process. Food is a topic that connects communities - activities around the food systems are connecting and non-threatening. Focus shifted from food baskets to local production and local agriculture to eliminate the need for food baskets. Waste: The cost of food waste to the cities is enormous. 40% of the local authority's waste is organic waste. There is a huge saving for municipalities and individuals. Changing waste policy to the European model - those who reduce waste will be compensated, and payment will be according to the amount thrown away. The solution to food waste needs to be implemented at the municipal level first. Food rescuing: One of the main barriers is the Ministry of Health restrictions on the use of reusable utensils and on the use of saved food for the feeding program. The MOH requirements for school caterings are for a variety of 4 fruits and vegetables a week, which cannot be controlled when using rescued food. This problem can be solved by communicating and cooperating between authorities. The business sector has a powerful impact on health and food systems, and is a part of the problem - including it needs to be part of the solutions. Community gardens - this is a type of outdoor community center, a place for physical activity, a meeting for the elderly, etc. if we could turn these areas to be more productive and produce local agriculture, it can help reduce nutritional insecurity especially in low-income neighborhoods. This should happen without taking on the community nature of the garden. The refugees and statusless usually come from places that live mainly from agriculture. A high percentage of them were farmers. Giving them land to grow food on it is an idea worth more exploration. Solutions: 1.Cities should move toward edible cities or at least edible neighborhoods. Planting fruit trees in the city, together with a productive community garden. These are solutions, even if partial, for food security. 2. Municipal kitchens for educational institutions and social periphery – to support local employment and local food production. 3.Education program for a healthy and sustainable diet: returning nutrition classes to the education system. 4.Harnessing business sector, who currently detached from the urban food systems. 5.Reducing food losses and food waste by rescue food. Focus on vegetables and fruits (cooked food is more problematic for transfer and donation). 6.Cooperation is required between government ministries and local government. Part of the challenge is that the current food systems comply with supply and demand economic mechanisms. Read less

Food loss and food waste: In-depth analysis is needed to treat food loss in the field, agricultural depreciation, post-harvest as a critical stage, including legislation to change expiry dates system, retailer's chains purchasing systems, and infrastructures designed to detect waste optimize utilizing all products. At the agricultural level: climate changes increase depreciation (this year, the depreciation of apples in the north of Israel has reached 40% when it is usually 15-20%, caused by heatwaves). New technologies and applications are emerging, and more research and collaboration with ac... Read moreademics are needed to find solutions to agriculture losses and find other more sustainable alternatives to preservatives, fertilizers, and during transportation and storage. Optimization of all the processes. At the policy level, we tend to set long-term goals, while in this issue, we need much more short-term goals. The situation with institutional kitchen is too many restrictions on using "old" food, because of food safety issues, it is in contradiction to the need to reduce food waste. Better mechanisms to maintain food safety and reduce food waste are needed. It is challenging to predict food amounts to prepare when it is a big institutional kitchen, so solutions to the food not eaten should be prioritized. At the public level, we need to strengthen good habits, promote sustainable cultures and find how to reach out to people and make an impact. The awareness of food waste is very low in Israel, and there is a fear of shortage. We need to connect food waste to costs and explain that it is also a waste of money. Also, emphasis on the positivity and fun part of food saving, the creativity involved. Solutions: Differential pricing, active policies, and actions inside specific target populations to reduce food waste. As for households – the solutions should focus on education and changing the culture around food storage. Urban community centers, changing agents like teachers, parents, health practitioners, and NGO's campaigns could be trained to educate for reducing consumption in all its forms. Communicate the message of the urgent need to reduce food waste at all levels. Municipalities are the main actor in changing post-harvest food waste: In retail chains, in restaurants, institutional kitchens, and households. For example, waste tax, "pay as you throw," at all these levels. An interdisciplinary council that will include all parts of the local food system is needed. How: Identifying "hot spot" for wasting (for example, specific sectors, specific ethnicities) and targeted interventions, requiting the education system to teach children about food waste, media campaigns, Local Food Council (Food Security Administration), and solutions tailored to different populations and different sectors (emphasis on the essential part that municipalities have) Read less

The major thems were: Theme 1: Establish a national food and nutrition masterplan to assure national and nutritional food security in the present and future. Proposal: Systematic screening and data collection, which is nutrition insecure Proposal: budget allocation to support the nutrition insecure population Proposal: reduction of meat consumption to comply with healthy and sustainable diets and transition toward Mediterranean diet. Proposal: Promotion of a holistic view, focusing on local agriculture as a primary provider of food security, with emphasis on quality and not only quantity and e... Read moreco-friendly agriculture Proposal: Promotion of agricultural law and legislative infrastructure, supporting farmers' needs for local production such as stable customs on import, affordable water prices, foreign workers, and R&D, including workforce saving technology Proposal: substantial budgeting for research as a permanent part of the masterplan. Setting measurable goals in all aspects: health and nutrition, economy, welfare, education, etc.) Proposal: collecting data and researching food loss and food waste through the whole food system – from agriculture to households. Legislation of coerced treatment of food loos and food waste throughout the food systems – from livestock and plant agriculture to industrial and municipal food waste. Theme 2: the establishment of an inclusive regulatory authority for national food and nutrition Proposal: mapping and solving conflicting policies through system thinking according to the masterplan Proposal: establishing Big Data integration center to cope with the huge challenges of contradicting regulation and lack of data in significant parts of the food system in Israel (lack of data on antimicrobial resistance, food insecurity population, the nutritional composition of agriculture production) Proposal: the healthy and sustainable food basket recommendation of the Israeli ministry of health for nutrition insecurity population should be the compass for policies and implementation – fields dedicated for certain plantation (allocations of agricultural land to specific yields, guidance to which food can be donated and which food cannot be donated for the nutrition insecure population and more. Theme 3: Regulation and policies: Proposal: create incentives and penalties throughout the food system: To reduce food waste, a different waste stream system, such as households paying per weight waste, incentives for farmers to reduce agriculture waste and for consumers to buy "ugly" fruits and vegetables. Solutions such as taxes on ultra-processed food and differential VAT on healthy food create incentives to consume healthy diets on the production and consumption. Proposal: reducing food waste – promoting better consumption and purchasing through policies. Theme 4: sustainable and healthy nutritional and agricultural education for children and adults Proposal: sustainable nutrition should be part of the educational programs within the educational system from the early ages until graduation. Proposal: Allocation of resources and land in cities, especially to the underprivileged, to grow food Proposal: Education for all ages, promoting closer contacts between farmers and consumers, and changing nutritional habits that will increase local agriculture base in food security. These will be in congruence with the national dietary recommendation. Theme 5: technologies are needed to better adaptation and mitigation Proposal: to make sure the technologies that are being developed are used to support health and sustainable diets and not produce ultra-processed food. Proposal: use of technologies (special apps) to reduce food loss and food waste –including on retails, catering services, restaurants, and neighborhoods. Theme 6: healthy and sustainable livestock food system Proposal: creating a benchmark for the whole livestock: from agriculture to food waste. Including data collection and transparency to prevent Antimicrobial resistance and zoonotic disease development. Proposal: the target of lowering livestock-related foodprints should include both the imported meats and the country's local-grown meats. Theme 7: local food systems are central to the solutions. Municipalities can take part in all SDG's Proposal: since food systems are so complicated, each municipality or region must have an inclusive food and sustainability council led by the mayor and lead the region's healthy and sustainable policies. Proposal: connecting the municipals' private sector to be part of the solutions to changing the local food systems to healthier and sustainable ones. Proposal: creating incentives - financial and logistics- for sustainable treatment of metropolitan's food waste. Read less

The focus of the dialogue was food Security, Nutrition Security, Agriculture, and Climate Crisis. The dialogue consists of seven teams: 1. sustainable agriculture and food production; 2. climate crisis and food security, and agriculture; 3. Livestock food systems; 4. native food security (Arab sector); 5. Nutrition and food security for all; 6. Local and municipality food systems; 7. Food waste and food loss. The compass of our FSD was the 17 SDG's and the right to food. Proposals were focused on ensuring food security for all: assuring healthy and sustainable diets at all times, including tim... Read morees of crisis. Read less

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

YES Malawi discussion topic 3 (Off-line): How to empower youths and women in Food Systems in relation to Health? 1. Conduct action based research as an entry to programme planning and design on food and nutrition programs targeting youth and women 2. Involve youth and women in the design and targeting of all food security and nutrition action plans. this should include the provision of education about the links between nutrition and good health for individuals, groups and their families and food systems 3. Develop local food security networks to discuss and share information on food systems an... Read mored nutrition and the role of youths and women. 4. Need for good leadership and political will to have youth and women empowerment programs. 5. Need for changes to policy, legislation and planning in order to: - protect girl children from teen marriages and pregnancies - safeguard and increase women’s access to, and control over, incomes and other resources - enhancing women’s and youth and women’s participation in microfinance facilities - explore creative approaches to reduce women’s time constraints e.g. provision of improved water supply - increase women’s involvement in decision making at all levels Read less

YES Malawi discussion topic 2: What actions need to be taken in the next 3 years to ensure the empowerment of women and youth for better participation in the food system? 1. Government support needed in various areas: - Setting up business incubation schemes for women and youth - Review existing relevant policies and ensure that youth and women roles / challenges in food systems are mainstreamed, which should the strengthening of youth and women groups and the deliberate provision of income earning opportunities for them. - Establish special loan facility for youth and women agri-entrepreneurs... Read more, but ensure effective management, accountability and impact. 2. Development practitioners and local organisations (such as YES Malawi) to facilitate the creation of cooperatives among women and youth in the food system for better financial inclusion 3. Financial institutions to develop youth focused finance packages, such as those with lower interest rates, non-traditional collateral and re-payment terms that are contextualized to the type business that women and youth are engaged in the food system. 4. Women, youth, all participants and citizens: need to play our part for a radical mindset shift. Children should be trained and groomed by families to have a better understanding of the food system and what actions they and all can take (at the local level) for resilience and sustainability. Local organisations (such as YES Malawi) need to work with community groups, traditional leaders and families to make information available and to create tools that families can tap into, tools should be relevant and in the vernacular to allow understanding. 5. Government/private sector/ Academia and Research/ private entities (such as YES Malawi): Work collaboratively to develop, market and make available low cost technologies or the mechanization of agriculture and other processes within he food system. this will make engagement tin food systems attractive for youth and less tedious for all including women (involved in the primary production stage). Read less

YES Malawi discussion topic 1: How can youth and women be empowered today be empowered today to ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all in the future? Participants views are provided below: 1. Advocacy: Field practitioners should carry out massive awareness campaigns to understand the gap of women and youth exclusion in the food system; 2. Practitioners, government and private sector stakeholders should provide information to women and youth to build their knowledge and capacity to enable them to better engage in the food system. This should be with the aim of changing mindsets and e... Read morequipping them with knowledge and skills to effectively participate in the food system; 3. Government should make deliberate efforts to incentivize women and youth to participate in the food system. This can be done in various way: -Legal frameworks should have a special focus on women and youth smallholder farmers for example in Malawi this can mean enforcement of the Cooperative Act to ensure the effective engagement of women and youth - Government should set up institutions to govern the marketing of agricultural products - Ensure the financial inclusion of women and youth - Government should monitor integration of the operating framework of state and non-state actors as disintegration leads to contradicting [agricultural advisory] messages at grassroots level - Promote the engagement of women and youth in seemingly simplistic innovations such as backyard vegetable farming and home Irrigation farming, which for the poorest members of society can be very empowering. Read less

The main finding of the Youth Enterprise Services (YES) Malawi independent dialogue is that no single solution, especially on its own is a panacea to the challenges faced by youth and women in the food system. However there are game changing solutions that can go far in empowering youth and women to effective actors in transforming food systems, these include: 1. Increased access to affordable tech solutions. Current cost for access to the internet and to technological based solutions in the developing world is prohibitive. Youth and women cannot leverage technology to overcome many of the cha... Read morellenges they face because these are expensive. 2. Establish local information hubs that provide up to date and emerging information, in the relevant vernacular language for communities, practitioners, and traditional authorities on all various aspects of food systems and for various players (farmers, agri-SMEs, consumers, field practitioners). 3. Need for more tailored finance that is responsive to the unique needs of youth and women in developing context food systems. 4. Strong political will that facilitates the implementation of all these solutions above and which works towards putting in place a policy environment that enables creativity and the implementation of solutions that are practical and tangible. Read less

The YES Malawi Independent Dialogue brought together women and youth from Malawi engaged in agriculture and the food system. This included Malawian youth and women engaged in farming and agribusiness, policy makers from both the agriculture and health sectors, agricultural researchers and scientists and youth still in education. The dialogue built upon the practical work of Youth Enterprise Services (Yes), and highlighted the pervasive challenges hindering youth and women from fully contributing to transformation of the food system into one that is sustainable. Participants then engaged in dis... Read morecussing game changing solutions focus on a key question: How can the youth and women, in Malawi, be empowered today to ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all in the future? Read less