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En ninguna de las consultas hubo áreas de divergencia.

4. Tema de debate 4: ¿Cómo pueden las políticas públicas contribuir a la mejora de la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional con el propósito de garantizar el derecho a la alimentación, a la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional, el consumo de productos saludables de calidad? ¿Cómo es la inclusión con perspectiva de género y jóvenes? - En el país se requiere impulsar formas sostenibles de producción, abaratando los costos para lo cual es importante contar con una Estrategia nacional para producción sostenible. Se requiere una Política de Estado en seguridad alimentaria y nutricional ... Read moreque se aplique eficazmente, que incluya efectivamente a los pueblos indígenas, reconsiderando que la política alimentaria está asociada tanto con la oferta de alimentos saludables, como con los mecanismos y estrategias para promover los hábitos de consumo saludables. - Para garantizar la política pública aplicada a la seguridad alimentaria se debe partir por el cumplimiento de las leyes vigentes para los pueblos indígenas, que centran los principios rectores, el respeto de las creencias, autonomía, forma de vida e idiosincrasia. - Hay que partir de la sistematización de las experiencias exitosas, por ejemplo, la agricultura “Nainu”, enfatizando en la implementación de huertos familiares, actividad que las familias indígenas desarrollan cada año. Hay que garantizar el apoyo al rescate de estas y otras prácticas tradicionales. - Es importante involucrar la temática de género, los derechos de las mujeres, jóvenes y niños en los sistemas alimentarios y su inclusión y empoderamiento en todas las políticas que se generen en este tema - En lo que se refiere a las cadenas de valor, se requiere fortalecer las instituciones que puedan apoyar una adecuada gobernanza de las cadenas inclusivas de valor en la que se apoye a los pequeños productores y deben reducirse, cuando sea posible, los intermediarios en estas cadenas. - Hay que impulsar una política estatal para la producción, comercialización y consumo que cree incentivos a los productores y compradores, fortaleciendo la agricultura familiar y modelos asociativos facilitando el acceso oportuno a alimentos saludables. - Se requiere una Política de Estado en seguridad alimentaria y nutricional que se aplique efectivamente. Es importante retomar o considerar dentro de las políticas públicas no solo la oferta de alimentos saludables, si no también buscar o implementar mecanismos y estrategias que promuevan los hábitos de consumo saludables. - Debe impulsarse la educación alimentaria y nutricional a todos los niveles (formal e informal) - Hay que impulsar el etiquetado de alimentos confiable y como medio de información de las características nutricionales del producto y su inocuidad. - Es importante involucrar la temática de género, los derechos de las mujeres, jóvenes y niños en los sistemas alimentarios y su inclusión y empoderamiento en todas las políticas que se generen en este tema. - Es importante fortalecer a todos los actores del sistema alimentario con políticas integrales y trabajo intersectorial que incluyan: alianzas público-privadas, acceso a tecnología, asistencia técnica, titulación de tierras y/o acceso a estás, comercialización equitativa por regiones, organización de la producción para evitar la sobreproducción y pérdida de alimentos, programas alimentarios, entre otros, haciendo énfasis en poblaciones con mayor vulnerabilidad. - Hay que impulsar el trabajo social y comunitario que involucre a las familias, niños, niñas y adolescentes fomentando la cultura de producción de alimentos de manera sostenible. Read less

3. Tema de debate 3: ¿Cómo definen las políticas gubernamentales las acciones para el sector agropecuario para una seguridad alimentaria y nutricional? ¿cuál es el reto en su aplicación y cómo se ven afectados sus actores como resultado de los conflictos por los regímenes de tenencia y derechos sobre la tierra y el agua? - La población identificó de manera positiva los programas de alimentación escolar como herramienta de cobertura nutricional a población de niños, niñas y adolescentes, en su etapa crítica de desarrollo físico y mental. Estos programas se vieron afectados direc... Read moretamente por las restricciones de la pandemia durante el 2020, reestructurándose para impulsar actividades de capacitación en educación alimentaria y nutricional al personal docente e inversión infraestructura adecuada en los comedores y cocinas. - En varias de las consultas se identificaron debilidades que tiene el mercado para regular adecuadamente los sistemas alimentarios, con oportunidades para mejoras o intervención estatal. Un ejemplo fue la solicitud de un marco jurídico más robusto para estimular la participación en la oferta de alimentos nutritivos de manera que permita coordinarla con otros usos o zonificaciones de la tierra, como aquellas requeridas para preservación ambiental, y que estimule la coordinación efectiva y una mayor colaboración entre los actores dentro de los sistemas alimentarios. Además, el esquema legal es crítico para establecer principios de interacción armónica entre la oferta nacional y la importada. - En lo que se refiere a las cadenas de valor, se requiere fortalecer las instituciones que puedan apoyar una adecuada gobernanza de las cadenas inclusivas de valor en la que se apoye a los pequeños productores y deben reducirse, cuando sea posible, los intermediarios en estas cadenas. La tenencia de la tierra y el derecho a la misma tiene muchas limitaciones y es un problema, principalmente para los micro y pequeños productores que producen para ellos y para el mercado. - Por otro lado, las consultas reiteraron la necesidad de contar con datos actualizados para identificar y abordar los problemas de los sistemas alimentarios, como son las distorsiones a nivel de producción, de cadena de comercialización y en el consumo. - En este último sentido, la falta de información impide la participación y toma de decisiones efectivas. Por ejemplo, las consultas identificaron que persiste la necesidad de impulsar el etiquetado de alimentos confiable, como vehículo de información de las características nutricionales del producto y su inocuidad - Deben implementarse procesos para el seguimiento permanente a los programas y proyectos a partir de las experiencias exitosas. - Resulta importante fortalecer las acciones orientadas al ordenamiento de la tenencia de la tierra a nivel nacional con el fin de minimizar los conflictos que se puedan generar por falta de instrumentos legales que respalden los derechos de sus propietarios. Read less

2. Tema de debate 2: ¿Qué deberían hacer los actores del Sistema Alimentario para reducir o compensar los impactos negativos generados en los procesos productivos, procesamiento, transporte, almacenamiento, intercambio y consumo de los productos alimenticios? - Se identificó que la falta de infraestructura para la comercialización alimentaria, a escala nacional, es fuente de ineficacias, asignación inefectiva de la producción agropecuaria, incluyendo su pérdida o merma en las diferentes etapas de la cadena agroalimentaria. Se identificó principalmente la necesidad de ampliar la red de... Read more mercados alimentarios en los territorios para integrar de mejor manera la producción y consumo subnacional. Con un mayor número de mercados se estimulan los “circuitos cortos”, promover ferias de productores, contar con vías de acceso a los sitios de producción y transporte adecuado y acceso a la cadena de frio. Además, la constitución y coordinación de redes de mercados facilita el impacto de los incentivos creados por las políticas agroalimentarias para aumentar la sostenibilidad del sistema y alinearlo con las metas de desarrollo nacional. - Hay que abordar el problema de pérdidas en productos alimentarios y el manejo de los desechos que se generan y relacionado a esto, impulsar programas de capacitación dirigidos a los productores sobre el manejo y disposición adecuada de estos desechos y la disminución de las pérdidas (mermas) en la producción. - Es importante fortalecer a todos los actores del sistema alimentario con políticas integrales y trabajo intersectorial que incluyan: alianzas público-privadas, acceso a tecnología, asistencia técnica, titulación de tierras y/o acceso a estás, comercialización equitativa por regiones, organización de la producción para evitar la sobreproducción y pérdida de alimentos, programas alimentarios, entre otros, haciendo énfasis en poblaciones con mayor vulnerabilidad. - El uso y manejo de los recursos hídricos fue señalado consistentemente como un factor a considerar para la construcción de sistemas alimentarios sostenibles. Deben impulsarse proyectos de cosecha de agua de lluvia, así como la aplicación de innovaciones y tecnología para un uso eficiente del agua y es muy importante impulsar la reforestación de cuencas hidrográficas. El país mantiene una situación de inequidad en el acceso al agua para la población, que afecta especialmente a la población que reside en áreas de difícil acceso. - Con miras a garantizar el uso sostenible de la tierra y los recursos naturales, las comunidades indígenas también destacaron que es importante retomar el traspaso generacional a las mujeres jóvenes y a los jóvenes de los conocimientos ancestrales para tener familias fortalecidas con valores en cuanto a una buena alimentación, lo que posibilitará en el futuro, el contar con jóvenes, niños, adultos mayores con fortaleza, saludables y más longevos. - Se necesita impulsar la participación continua de la sociedad civil y la población en general a través de sus organizaciones en lo relacionado a las actividades productivas de comercialización y consumo de alimentos para ir avanzando hacia la sostenibilidad de estas actividades en el país. Read less

1. Tema de debate 1: ¿Cómo podemos mejorar la contribución del sector agropecuario para una seguridad alimentaria y nutricional en las actividades económicas a nivel local o nacional para fortalecer la participación de la población general en desarrollo de la producción, el procesamiento, la comercialización y consumo? - Los sistemas necesitan ampliar la participación de actores locales, en especial los productores nacionales y locales, para mantener una diversidad adecuada de organizaciones que produzcan alimentos nutritivos a precios que permitan ampliar la cobertura nutricional, ma... Read moreyor estabilidad en esta oferta y una distribución más equilibrada de los beneficios generados. - También se señaló la importancia de un mayor apoyo a los pequeños productores y agricultores familiares para que puedan transitar de una agricultura de subsistencia hacia niveles productivos que le generen ingresos a su núcleo familiar o cooperativa, las que también requieren de mayor apoyo para su fortalecimiento como una vía de inclusión del pequeño productor a mercados con precios justos. - El intercambio con las poblaciones indígenas identificó obstáculos en la interacción o cohesión social que impiden la comunicación necesaria para construir estrategias y agendas de trabajo participativas. Como consecuencia, son frecuentes las intervenciones públicas o privadas que desconocen las preferencias locales de los territorios. - Para una mayor participación ciudadana también se requiere aumentar la divulgación de los proyectos de gobierno, disponibilidades de financiamiento, entre otros recursos, y los procesos o requerimientos necesarios para acceder a los mismos. - También se identificó que es necesario aumentar la presencia institucional del Estado en áreas de difícil acceso ya que esto obstaculiza la interacción directa con las comunidades impactadas por la política pública. Esta interacción es necesaria para equiparar la visión de desarrollo nacional con la de la comunidad local, exponiendo las características diferenciadoras de los territorios que deben considerarse para garantizar el éxito de cualquier acción tomada. - Para facilitar la participación indígena en los procesos de toma de decisión se recomendó crear redes comunitarias para trabajar organizadamente en los territorios indígenas, además de fortalecer los consejos comarcales, con mayor presencia de las instituciones gubernamentales y personal que pueda articular con las autoridades locales. - En general, se señaló la importancia del fortalecimiento institucional de las entidades del sector agropecuario, así como de otras instituciones gubernamentales vinculadas a los sistemas alimentarios y la necesidad de fortalecer el trabajo coordinado entre instituciones y sectores. - Para aumentar la cobertura nutricional en el país, los participantes solicitaron ampliar la infraestructura de acceso y fortalecer la cultura de alimentación nutritiva. La primera destaca la importancia de las iniciativas usuales para expandir la infraestructura de transporte para acceso a mercados; ya sea por vía terrestre, aérea o marítima; mientras que en segunda instancia también es importante ayudar a impulsar la demanda por alimentos altamente nutritivos y/o producidos con mínimo impacto al medio ambiente. Una fórmula para lograr esto es impulsar el trabajo social y comunitario que involucre a las familias, niños, niñas y adolescentes fomentando la cultura de producción de alimentos de manera sostenible - La política pública debe mantener un enfoque en reducir las barreras de costos de producción, especialmente en materia de fertilización del suelo, que impiden ampliar la cobertura nutricional con oferta local. Para ello, es muy importante impulsar la innovación, aprovechando de mejor manera el conocimiento generado en los sistemas alimentarios. - A pesar de que las consultas contaron con presencia de múltiples organizaciones cooperativas a lo largo del país, la gran mayoría de los participantes todavía identifica al sector público como la principal fuente de financiamiento para el sector. Read less

Es importante señalar que la pandemia reafirmó la importancia de contar con sistemas alimentarios sostenibles y la continuidad de la producción de alimentos por nuestros productores para garantizar la alimentación de la población en todo el país. 1. El problema mayormente expresado por los consumidores fue el “alto nivel de precios de los alimentos”. Este abrumador señalamiento se refiere principalmente a los precios de los productos nacionales, aunque también se repiten con mediana frecuencia referencias a los altos precios de los productos de importación. 2. Desde la perspectiva... Read more de la mayoría de los productores del país el tema de los precios, con muy alta frecuencia, es uno de los principales problemas que les aqueja, pero, contrario a los consumidores, para ellos representa “bajos precios de sus productos”. Si bien estos son percepciones reales de ambos lados, las propuestas de solución, en ambos casos, se dirigen a resolver las causas de esta aparente “oposición”. 3. El otro gran problema señalado fue la “mala calidad de los productos” que provienen principalmente de la producción nacional. Para los consumidores este señalamiento es más frecuente de lo que señalan los productores. En ambos casos, los problemas de calidad de los productos, también es compartido como un objetivo de política y de acción. 4. Lo mismo sucede con el señalamiento más destacado por todos la: “ausencia de suficientes y eficientes mercados, nacionales, regionales y locales”, así como sus condiciones ineficientes de operación y malas prácticas, escasa transparencia, ausencia de información y predominancia de intermediarios, muchos de los cuales no agregan valor y encarecen más los productos, amén de la presencia de oligopsonios y monopolios en la comercialización de varias de las cadenas de valor. 5. Otros de los importantes temas que se comparten entre ambas posiciones, con alta frecuencia por los productores y con mediana frecuencia por los consumidores, son los “altos costos de producción y comercialización de los productos” y los “bajos niveles de productividad” de las actividades agropecuarias de los productores. 6. Con diferente frecuencia se señalan otros tipos de problemas como son: el “bajo acceso de los productores al crédito”, más señalado por los productores, el “atraso tecnológico de los productores”, más señalado por los consumidores, la “escasa infraestructura”, más pronunciado por los productores, la “baja agregación de valor” a los productos, igualmente pronunciado, y los “bajos niveles educativos” y la “ausencia de organización de los productores”, más destacados por el lado de los consumidores. 7. Se presenta con alta frecuencia, principal y exclusivamente por los productores, los problemas de la inexistente e ineficiente “infraestructura y caminos de producción” que agravan las condiciones de acceso a los mercados. 8. Con mucha mayor fuerza por los productores y en menor medida por los consumidores, se señala la “ausencia o escasa presencia y apoyo a los productores de las instituciones públicas del sector agropecuario”, principalmente el MIDA y otras instituciones como el ISA, el IMA, el BDA, entre otros. 9. De la misma forma y características, los productores destacan la “inexistencia, insuficiencia e ineficiencias de los servicios agro-logísticos” dentro de los cuales están los almacenes, centros post cosecha, redes de frío, información, transporte, entre los principales. También el tema de “encarecimientos de insumos”, es otro de los que se repite con alta frecuencia, sobre todo, entre los productores. Read less

La consulta nacional y subnacionales de Panamá, tuvieron como lema “Cerrando brechas para la seguridad alimentaria”. El objetivo principal era determinar la futura dirección de los sistemas alimentarios en Panamá, hacia la consecución de los ODS explorando las opciones de cambio necesarios para darle sostenibilidad a los sistemas alimentarios del país para el año 2030 y situar al proyecto de Diálogos dentro del contexto de trabajo intersectorial que realizará el Gobierno Nacional y los actores de la cadena alimentaria nacional. Sobre la base de las cinco vías de acción definidas ... Read morepara la Cumbre de Sistemas Alimentarios 2021 (1. Garantizar el acceso a alimentos sanos y nutritivos para todos. 2. Adoptar modalidades de consumo sostenibles 3. Impulsar una producción favorable a la naturaleza 4. Promover medios de vida equitativos 5. Crear resiliencia ante las vulnerabilidades), se adoptaron cuatro preguntas orientadoras que se utilizaron en todas y cada una de las sesiones de consultas realizadas. Si bien cada una de las regiones del País presenta en sus propuestas características específicas, en todas las provincias, en general, se registra con mucha claridad dos tipos de propuestas que se pueden agrupar según emergen desde las “metrópolis” (Panamá y ciudades del interior) cuyas propuestas se centran predominantemente en la perspectiva de “consumidores de productos del agro”, por un lado, y por el otro, las que provienen de los productores, y agentes vinculados al agro, desde las cuales se emiten propuestas desde una posición de “oferentes de productos”, los cuales se destinan a satisfacer esos grandes “estómagos sociales de la gran urbe y la urbes provinciales”, pero que solo logran abastecerlas en parte de sus requerimientos, conviviendo con las importaciones que vienen supliendo cada vez más mayores proporciones de dichas necesidades. En la consulta específica con pueblos indígenas se manifestó la necesidad de una mayor coordinación y participación de este grupo en actividades productivas que contribuyan al sistema alimentario nacional. Rescatar prácticas tradicionales de cultivo y su aporte productivo a las propias comunidades y a programas sociales. También fue señalada la necesidad de una mayor articulación de las autoridades indígenas con la institucionalidad gubernamental. Fueron abordados también temas que van desde el recurso hídrico y su importancia, impulso a prácticas de producción amigables con el ambiente como la agroecología y la agricultura orgánica, así como la disminución del uso de agroquímicos en la agricultura. La educación fue identificada como herramienta fundamental para promover hábitos saludables de consumo y prácticas de producción innovadoras, sostenibles y competitivas que apoyen al desarrollo de los pequeños productores y agricultores familiares de todo el país. Entre los temas señalados está también la necesidad de garantizar un mayor nivel de acceso a créditos y seguros agropecuarios dirigidos específicamente a pequeños productores que les permitan participar en las cadenas de comercialización y poder generar ingresos. En general hay plena conciencia de la importancia que tiene para todos, el contar con sistemas alimentarios sostenibles y que para avanzar en esa dirección se requiere el concurso de todos los actores que participan de una forma o de otra que deben cooperar y coordinarse con esta meta común. Por una parte, las instituciones gubernamentales con políticas claras de apoyo al sector productivo del país, la empresa privada, con buenas prácticas de producción y los consumidores con hábitos de consumo saludables. Desde todas las provincias y comarcas se distingue con toda claridad las posiciones de un lado y del otro. Esta distribución de las propuestas, entre consumidores y productores, sigue un patrón muy claro: se abre una brecha de posiciones, más en los diagnósticos que en las soluciones, pero también se establecen “puentes” en las propuestas, para acercar intereses de las poblaciones en general. Read less

1. Establishment and Operation of Agricultural Business Centers In 2009, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Food Security (MAFFS) developed the National Sustainable Development Plan 2010-2030 (NSADP) under the umbrella of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) with the broad involvement of all stakeholders. The NSADP sets out ambitious targets: (i) Increase in the agricultural sector growth from its current 4 per cent to 7.7 per cent per annum by 2015; and (ii) increased incomes of farming households by 10 per cent and increased household food security by 25 per... Read more cent. At the core of the NSADP was the Smallholder Commercialisation Programme (SCP). The MAFFS has developed a USD 403 Million National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP) for the implementation of the SCP covering the years 2010-2014 including one key component: (i) Improving smallholder production and commercialisation by setting up 2,750 FBOs and building 650 Agricultural Business Centres (ABC) nation-wide. The ABC approach was to establish a one-stop shop market linkage between farmers and buyers using comprising so many value chain components including storage facility to generate revenue using the business lens. However, due to other competing priorities, under this programme, over three hundred (300) Agricultural Business centres (ABCs) have been constructed in every chiefdom by government but most of these structures are not functional as per purpose for which they were designed. Participants went into argument as to what should be done with the ABCs. Some people had the view that the ABCs should be revitalized, and a strong monitoring mechanism put in place for proper management while others had the view for the management and ownership of the Agricultural Business Centres be privatised for proper utilization. 2. Government should stop constructing new stores without existing strategies of ownerships: In addition to the SCP programme, other development projects funded by the World bank, Irish Aid, etc. constructed additional community stores including dry floors to reduce post-harvest loss along the various chain products supported and were left in the hands of local authorities without proper utilization and management. During the dialogues process, since the inadequate storage facilities were mentioned as challenge along the thematic areas of access to inputs, production and processing, some participants were against constructing new community stores without establishing proper ownership structure in place for sustainability. Majority suggested that, let there be a mechanism in place where by a private sector player will manage and to be paid for by community members at a subsidised rate for a period until it becomes a freehold for the private sector player. In that case, the private sector will also in turn pay for the investment with time. 3. The government inputs supply chain/model for the community youth farms should be reviewed: Feedback from most participants highly appreciated the effort of the government by creating job opportunities for the youths across the country through farming activities. However, some participants were with the view that the model of accessing inputs through mobile money needs to be revised to a voucher system without indicating the amount of money or worth of the inputs to be delivered to the farms. This will reduce diversion of the funds allocated to access inputs to the actual farming activities as expected. 4. Strong debate on not allowing women to own Land: All the traditional leaders who witnessed the dialogue are against the motion for women to own land. There was a lengthy discussion in such area due to the strong defence of all the women representatives. Women believe that hence they are the key players presently in the field of Agriculture they deserve to own land. According to them, they ascend that women are facing lot of violence by family members in the activities of farming especially when it comes to collaboration.. 5. Service Providers not working in the interest of farmers: During the discussions at group level, it was very difficult among participants to agree that all of the service providers are working in the interest of the farmers based on the erratic nature of changing prices for inputs in the market and other services they provide at community level. Some recommended that government should establish price control system for all service providers along the input supply chain, while others were against such recommendations based on the fact that majority of them are not getting financial support from the government to operate their businesses.. 6. Access to Finance by farmers- As others ask for no collateral whiles others are in support of collaterals: This topic was never agreed upon by majority of the participants based on the following reasons: • That some farmers are in the habit of always expecting handouts from government and if government influence financial institutions to remove collateral from accessing finance, most of the financial institutions will run out of cash to run their business due to high none repay patterns and asking for collateral is the best option • Others said that financial institutions should not use collateral as the best option to permit access but to use reference checks through their local leaders about their honesty and hard work/investment in terms of farming activities carried out and use that to provide financial assistance to them. Read less

Topic: Climate/Environmental Extremes and Economic Shocks Actions that are urgently needed: 1. In the event of shocks that affect smallholder farmers, government and partners should establish seed banks to support smallholder farmers to revive their faming activities. The seed banks will also prevent the extinction of specific crop varieties and certain species of animals. 2. Afforestation and agro forestry farming system intensified 3. Establishment of affordable irrigation system for all chiefdoms 4. Government subsidies for SMEs for recovery from economic shocks 5. Establish the green belt ... Read moreand enforce it, institute urban planning in the context of the current design of our cities 6. Use our higher learning institutions to research and generate credible and sustainable solutions 7. Construction of drainages and canals, fire belts) and community dialogue programmes. 8. Set-up of emergency response team, construction of stock house, strong measures to stop people from habiting in disaster prone area. 9. Strengthen and capacitate Fire Force Department to reduce time for quick response to fire incidents by fire force. 10. Institute a strong monitoring mechanism to discourage youths from mining sand in prohibited areas along the coastline. 11. Training of local CSO’s on environmental hazards and its mitigation and provision of logistical and other support to local to conduct sensitization 12. Replant mangrove trees in areas where they have been cut down. 13. Introduce disaster management modules into our learning institutions 14. Government to transform all mining pits into aquarium at community and chiefdom level 15. Relocation of houses /slums constructed on canals, wetlands, reserve forest to safer areas or environmentally friendly areas. 16. Enforcement of the Housing and Environment policies by developing concrete policy implementation plans, which can be reviewed from time to time. Who should take these actions? Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of trade, EPA, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Local Government, NRA, Office of national Security, Local Councils, Ministry of lands, Traditional and local Leaders. NGO’s, CSO and Private sectors. Ways in which progress could be assessed: 1. Decreased in deforestation, increase in agricultural production year-round. 2. Reduction in the occurrence of natural disasters and fire hazard 3. Increase in beaches along the peninsula to illegal sand mining along the peninsula in Western Area Read less

Topic: Conflict and Instability Actions that are urgently needed: 1. Animal settlement policy to address disunity that is existing among cattle owners and crop famers. 2. All paramount chiefs to formulate byelaws and implement them for animal settlement. 3. Government to review the land tenure system as land issue often leads to conflict in communities. Who should take these actions? Ministry of lands, law officers’ department, Ministry of Local Government and Ministry of Agriculture Ways in which progress could be assessed: 1. Conflict reduced among farmers 2. Peaceful communities and progr... Read moreess towards sustainable development goals for 2030. Read less

Topic: Policy Development, Enforcement, and Coordination Actions that are urgently needed: 1. Total inclusion of women in policy formulation and implementation along the food system chain and linkages. 2. Animal settlement policy will address the community disputes that emerge because of destruction of farmers’ crops by grazing animals in rural communities. 3. Enforce the local content policy on deforestation through regular monitoring and supervision of the agreement on the policy, and tree planting nationwide. 4. Enactment and enforcement of byelaws on environmental protection. 5. Enforcem... Read moreent of the Housing and Environment policies by developing concrete policy implementation plans, which can reviewed from time to time. 6. Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of policies and actions for household nutrition and food security. 7. Establishment of SUN Secretariat at District or Regional level with increased support for effective coordination of food systems actors. 8. Anti-corruption to be a key driver at every level of the food chain and linkages for a sustainable food system. 9. Coordination of relevant stakeholders in support of relevant policies and actions relating to food production 10. All outdated policies that can support food systems strengthening should be reviewed and popularized for proper implementation by the appropriate sectors. 11. Establishment of an effective system for price control and standardization of units of measures of local foods. 12. Institution of an effective monitoring system for prices, unit of measures and expired food commodities in shops and markets. This will required adequate human resource to be deployed throughout the country. Who should take these actions? Ministry of lands, Law officers’ department and Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Local Government, Standards Bureau, Ministry of Health and Sanitation Ways in which progress could be assessed: 1. Effective coordination mechanism in place along the food system 2. Food systems policies in place and implemented to support sustainable food security for all. Read less

Topic: Access to Finance Actions that are urgently needed: 1. Provision of credit/insurance facilities and review of interest rates for farming. 2. Address gender discrimination in accessing agricultural loans 3. Reduce administrative bottlenecks (Too many procedures and bureaucracy with extra cost by FSA/ Community banks) that frustrates farmers who need financial loans as agricultural activities are time bound. 4. Government Commercial banks should have a desk purposely for Agricultural credit facilities to recognize farmers. Loans should be given within two weeks of application and the repa... Read moreyment process should start at least after the second crop harvest. 5. Improve access to government subsidy, grants, and farmer support initiative. 6. Provision of soft loans to processors by financial institutions especially community banks. 7. Revision of collaterals for agricultural Loans and include guarantors for smallholder farmers who may not have collaterals. Who should take these actions? Ministry of finance and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Financial institutions, Bank of Sierra Leone, and IFAD Ways in which progress could be assessed: 1. Conducting feedback session or follow up session after three cropping sessions 2. Percentage increase in diversified food availability Read less

Topic: Food Waste Management Actions that are urgently needed: 1. Construction of facilities and recruit waste recycling trainers 2. Identify youths for waste recycling as a livelihood measure 3. Recruitment of garbage collector and provision of protective gears to enhance their safety 4. Make available garbage bags for household use and garbage collection. 5. Procurement and supply of adequate dumper trucks to meet the needs of cities 6. Create appropriate waste dumping sites in every city. 7. Formulation of appropriate policies and laws and close monitoring of the implementation of those bye... Read morelaws. 8. Using peels of cassava or vegetables as compost manure and using the waste as animal feeds and or mushroom cultivation e.g., cassava peels, rice brown, saw dust Who should take these actions? MoHS, Local councils, NGOs, and CBOs, NaCSA, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ministry of Agriculture Ways in which progress could be assessed: 1. Reduction in the incidence of malaria and diarrhoea among children under the age of five years 2. Cleaner cities and communities 3. Reduction in seasonal flooding Read less

Topic: Consumption and Utilization Actions that are urgently needed: 1. To address the problem of food waste and low food consumption diversity: Government should ensure availability, accessibility, and affordability of sustainable electricity supply particularly in urban areas. 2. Increase taxes on imported agricultural and nutritional products and establish women led enterprises with support for production local nutritious crops with reduce taxes to encourage consumption of healthy foods over inferior foods that flood the market. 3. Formation of food banks and engage line MDA’s, Food insti... Read moretutions, restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets on the idea of a food bank especially of perishable foods. Form a system or organization to collect donations and distributions to agencies or individuals in need. 4. Processing of left-over foods to serve as manure for animals and plant 5. Support training of women of childbearing age and care takers on appropriate feeding practices of young children and good maternal nutrition. 6. Households establish backyard gardening or urban agriculture for those in big cities for diversified food crops for households’ consumption. 7. Popularize Food based dietary guidelines for healthy eating in communities through radio discussions. Airing of Jingles. Organizing focus group discussions to get information on what is known and sensitize communities on benefits of diversified food production and consumption. 8. Promotion of food safety guidelines among all food businesses in the country. 9. Provision of improved storage facilities and manufacturing of key local foods for improved preservation. 10. Health system strengthening can assist in improving the health status especially of women and children under the age of five years. 11. Increase safety net programmes such as the national school feeding programme to target primary schools in the country and Food vouchers for extremely poor households. 12. Promotion of family services to especially poor rural households that have large family sizes. 13. There should be a multi-sectoral approach including establishment and support of all nutrition security networks. 14. Collaborate with relevant Ministry Department Agencies (MDAs) on how to ensure food consumption and utilization through the Scaling up Nutrition secretariat. 15. Provide potable water in every community and local authorities should make byelaws of water management to avoid pollution of rivers and streams. Institution of water user committees and train consumers on the storage of water to avoid contamination. 16. Placement of farm gates at appropriate centres and construct appropriate composts for the disposal of wastes. 17. Monitor the quality of foods sold at the farm gates Who should take these actions? Ministry of finance and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, NGOs, and CBOs Ways in which progress could be assessed: 1. Percentage decrease in malnutrition. Increased awareness and practice in healthy eating 2. Reduction in Non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Read less

Topic: Marketing and Distribution Actions that are urgently needed: 1. Government to increase subsidizing for fuel pump to reduce cost of local foods. 2. Constructions of roads especially roads connecting districts and those leading to farm gates. 3. Increase purchase/provision of transport vehicles specifically for farm produce. 4. Provision of appropriate vehicles to transport fresh and perishable foods. 5. Provide appropriate stores for the storage and preservation of foods for sale. 6. Provision of storage facilities in markets and transport facilities at all levels by building of market a... Read morend storage structures/outlets. 7. Provision of adequate and appropriate food markets with stores and appropriate cold rooms for frozen foods. 8. Discourage importation of inferior agricultural and nutritional products and encourage homemade foods by supporting large and small and medium enterprises. 9. Establishment of market information system to enhance fair trade of agricultural produce especially for smallholder farmers. Who should take these actions? Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of trade, SLRA, NaCSA, Private sector, Ways in which progress could be assessed: 1. Percentage decrease in the cost of marketing and distributing produce. 2. Availability of variety of locally produced food/products as well as imported food products in markets throughout the country. Read less

Topic: Processing Actions that are urgently needed: 1. Create and enabling environment (access to loans, reduced taxes) to processing companies/ individuals. 2. Assessment to map private sector players interested and provide loan facilities to them to construct and manage the storage facilities 3. Provide adequate knowledge by training processor on the preservation techniques of crop types and construction/ rehabilitation of storage facilities based on crop type and food zones. Provide facilities that promote appropriate processing and preservation of foods. 4. Provide affordable and gender fr... Read moreiendly processing tools and equipment by granting duty waiver to agricultural processing tools and equipment. 5. Encourage private sector player to take the lead and do farming as business 6. Provision of uninterrupted accessible and affordable electricity especially in industrial processing areas on a sustainable basis. 7. Construction of Hydro-Dams, Installation of Solar Plants, and biomass technologies. 8. Establish cold rooms in fish economy and vegetable production zones, Revive the food processing infant industries. 9. Government to collaborate with development partners to provide transportation facilities on loan scheme to private sector players using Public Private Partnership (PPP). 10. Processing and storage facilities for food stuff particularly perishable goods 11. Train market women and farmers on appropriate food preservation techniques and provide solar drying floors for preservation of foods Who should take these actions? Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Finance, Fabricators (FINIC, WINGIN), Importers, Processors, farmers, and training/academic institutions Ways in which progress could be assessed: 1. Increase in the number of large, medium, and small business enterprises processing local foods for both domestic consumptions and exporting for international trade. 2. Availability of adequate foods (especially fruits and vegetables) for domestic consumption all year round. Read less

Topic: Production Requirements Actions that are urgently needed: 1.Government to develop a policy on land tenure system protecting farmers and Investors in Agriculture by clearly stating the value of farmland per hectare and minimum duration of lease of farmland. (supporting Responsible investment in agriculture) 2. Government should reserve land for agricultural purposes and given to large companies to go into commercial farming in the country. 3. Government should directly engage and support the Private Sectors in Agriculture to embark on production of rice and other food components with a c... Read morelearly defined output and outcome. (tonnage of rice produced per year) 4. Private sectors to develop one model Youth farms of 25 Hectares each per district across the country that the youths can manage instead of the current initial 100 hectares. 5. Model farms to be established with irrigation facilities and train identified youths with passion for Agriculture to fully manage with technical extension support from MAF, Private Sectors and NGOs. 6. Construction of feeder roads especially those leading to large food production areas and linking farmers to markets including routine maintenance of roads to assist in improving our food systems. Feeder roads construction and maintenance schemes at community level could be supported by provision of food for work. 7. Promote the production and investment in livestock infant industries for livestock. 8. To address the problem of seasonal food production, government and partners should consider the infusion of modern farming technology and irrigation system, crop intensification and integrated farming into our farm management culture and train personnel in land development. 9. Assessment and identification of farmers in integrated farming. Based on the report actions should be taken to address the situation if less farmers are not involved in integrated farming practices through capacity building of smallholder farmers. 10. Identification of professional Irrigation engineers for the designing and monitoring of land irrigation. 11. Create competitiveness for the policy shift on the ring machinery for a quality delivery of services through assessment of the performance of agro-dealers based on the tonnage of food produced in their districts of operation instead of the acreage cultivated. 12. Establishment of Facilities where farmers can easily access improved and modern inputs at an affordable cost. 13. Development and rehabilitation of inland valley swamps (IVSs) in economic zones with such ecology. 14. There is a big challenge of mining companies degrading lands for agricultural and fishery purposes. One possible solution is the reclamation of lands in mining areas for food production. 15. Establishment of institutional farms for Police, Military, and Correctional Centers that government provide huge quantities of food for their monthly rations. 16. Improvement in the low capacity of smallholder farmers will be achieved through provision of extension services by increasing the number of extension workers and the required logistics for them to visit farmers in the catchment areas. 17. Establishment of basic social amenities in the form educational games and sports and recreational facilities in each chiefdom to reduce youth migration from farming communities. Who should take these actions? Ministry of Lands, Law officers Department and Ministry of Agriculture, SLeCAD, Youth Ministry, Land holding families, Implementing Partners, local Authorities and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA), Ministry of Works, Local Councils. Ways in which progress could be assessed: 1. Percentage increase in food production, availability in diversity throughout the year. 2. Good roads linking all districts and food production areas 3. Increase in youth farms in every chiefdom and well-established farms for government support institutions like the police, army, and correctional centres. Read less

Topic: Access to Inputs Actions that are urgently needed: 1. Strengthen Research Institution/and the seed certification agency to support the input sector and total involvement of private sector players the input supply chain. Example, encouraging private sector to invest seed breeding and production of foundation seeds. Support registered and certified seed growers to establish their businesses in country. 2. Government should increase allocation of resources/funds towards agricultural research for development. 3. Support registered and certified seed growers to establish their businesses in ... Read morecountry. 4. Establish seed multiplication farms through Agricultural Business Centres (ABCs) at chiefdom levels and initiate seed fares at chiefdom levels. 5. Review land tenure system to accommodate provision for commercial farming. 6. Policy review on interest rate to allow farmers to access agricultural loans to support food systems. 7. Build capacity of actors on input management and supply chain. 8. Consideration should be given to the gender friendly processing tools and equipment when government and partners are procuring farming tools and equipment as women play very big roles in food production. 9. Provision of adequate storage facility for agricultural produce especially at farm gates 10. Review of policy shift for the machine ring approach for the supply of government’s agricultural inputs to boost food production. 11. Agro-chemical regulations/policies should be implemented to the fullest. 12. Capacity building for personnel involved in the provision of plants and animal health services as well as increase in the human resource required. 13. Institute regular and effective monitoring to ensure inputs get to the targeted beneficiaries. Who should take these actions: Ministry of finance and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Sierra Leone Roads Authority National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) Legislative arms of government on Finance in parliament Private Sector and local councils Ways in which progress could be assessed: 1. Conducting feedback session or follow up session after three cropping sessions to get feedback 2. Increase acreage cultivated by smallholder farmers and increase in mechanized farming which will boost food production. Read less

The discussion was very participatory and brought out key issues or challenges that need to be addressed if Sierra Leone should attain a sustainable food system to meet the 2030 agenda as outlined below: 1. The issue of land tenure system affecting commercial farming was a concern which could be resolved by reservation of land for agricultural purposes. 2. There is a big challenge of mining companies degrading lands for agricultural and fishery purposes. One possible solution is the reclamation of lands in mining areas for food production. 3. Slash and burn are the culture of our farming syste... Read morem. Sensitization on farming systems from shifting cultivation to intensification supported by trainings for smallholder farmers. 4. Inadequate access to agricultural finance. Policies surrounding access to finance for agricultural activities should be reviewed as the conditions for loan repayment pose challenges for farmers to access loans for farming activities. 5. The current interest rate in commercial banks is very high (double digits) to support agricultural activities this should be a single digit to be supported by Bank of Sierra Leone. Period for repayment of loans by financial institutions should be specified in financial loan policies. 6. High cost for agricultural inputs- Cost of agro-chemicals should be regulated, and they should be available, accessible, and affordable for farmers. Quality seeds should be available, accessible, and affordable and inputs dealers should be available if not at chiefdom level but at district level. 7. To address the problem of food waste and low food consumption diversity: Government should ensure availability, accessibility, and affordability of sustainable electricity supply particularly in urban areas. 8. Low advisory services to farmers’ pastoralist and fisher folks: Improvement in the low capacity of smallholder farmers will be achieved through provision of extension services by increasing the number of extension workers and the required logistics for them to visit farmers in the catchment areas. 9. Gender inequality in accessing productive agricultural inputs: Consideration should be given to the gender friendly processing tools and equipment when government and partners are procuring farming tools and equipment as women play very big roles in food production. 10. Bad road networks came out as one of the major challenges in our food systems as such construction of feeder roads and routine maintenance of roads can assist in improving our food systems. 11. Climate change variability and limited early warning systems: To address the problem of seasonal food production, government and partners should consider the infusion of modern farming technology and irrigation system, crop intensification, and integrated farming into our farm management culture as well as the continuation of tax waiving on the importation of all agricultural inputs for the next five years. 12. Limited early warning systems: In the event of shocks that affect smallholder farmers, government and partners should establish seed banks to support smallholder farmers to revive their faming activities. The seed banks will also prevent the extinction of specific crop varieties and certain species of animals. 13. Poor dietary diversity is a major concern for both children and adults: Active or robust sensitization on nutrition education, scaling up sensitization on Sierra Leone Food- Based Dietary guideline for Healthy Eating. 14. Lack of food reserves stocks: Formation of food banks, provision of improved storage facilities and manufacturing of key foods for improved preservation. 15. Limited participation of women in policy making: Total inclusion of women in policy formulation and implementation along the food system chain and linkages. 16. Weak health system: health system strengthening can assist in improving the health status especially of women and children under the age of five years. 17. Dumping of inferior agricultural products from foreign countries: Discourage importation of inferior agricultural and nutritional products and encourage homemade foods by supporting large and small and medium enterprises. 18. Lack standalone animal settlement policy: Animal settlement policy will address the community disputes that emerge as a result of destruction of farmers’ crops by grazing animals in rural communities. Read less

During the dialogue process, the eleven thematic areas selected focused on almost all the five action tracks: List of thematic areas: a. Access to finance b. Access to inputs c. Production Requirement d. Processing e. Marketing and Distribution f. Consumption and Utilization g. Food waste management h. Policy development, enforcement and coordination i. Conflict and instability j. Climate/Environmental Extremes k. Economic Shocks However, during the discussion, emphasis was more on action tracks one and five; 1. Action track #1 ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all 5. Action track ... Read more#5 building resilience to vulnerabilities shocks and stress This is because Sierra Leone is a developing country and the priority is to establish a sustainable food system that ensures access to safe, nutritious foods at all times, and building the resilience of the food system to adapt to shocks from climate change variabilities (floods, droughts, wildfires), pandemic/epidemic (COVID-19, Ebola, cholera) that is and had affected the country. Linking the themes above to the selected action tracks and bringing out constraints with recommendations in a form of an action plan could position the country in a better way in the drive for food and nutrition security. Read less