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Latvian farmers work hard to enhance the Latvian countryside, maintain habitats for native plants and animals, maintain landscapes, protect watercourses and support wildlife species. Agriculture provides a population with one of the most important need – food. In spite of this, the farming is still one of the biggest sources of environment pollution. Divergence appears whether and at what scale farmers should transform their practices. Whether Latvian food is safe and traceable? How much information should be made available to consumers? The complex nature of the food supply chain and the ec... Lire la suiteonomic motivation to provide cheaper food products increase the likelihood of fraud. If on one side there are regulations, control authorities and opinions that everything is under control, on the other side opinions emerge that the systems are losing credibility, consumers are being misled, food quality is lost, food safety is threatened and unfair commercial practices are being pursued harming environment and public health. Self-sufficiency and external trade - if on one side higher productivity and export of food products above self-sufficiency levels is good for economy, on other side it has high load and risks towards environment. Lire moins

Public Discussion: 1. to close supermarkets on Sundays; 2. higher VAT on products of animal origin and lower VAT for bio-products; 3. each citizen should start by at least one change in his/her own food consumption pattern, e.g. one missed meal per week; 4. a common food policy across agriculture, environment and health - the food system is a complex issue; 5. environmental impact needs to be improved; 6. the use of fertilizers and pesticides must be significantly reduced; 7. improve the quality of products, meaning healthier ingredients, ecologically sustainable; Online survey results showed ... Lire la suitethat the majority of respondents had voted for the need to transform the Latvian food system (74%) (i.e. to lower the impact on the environmental 33%, health concerns 20%, and significant reduction of mineral fertilizers and pesticides 21%). On the other hand, 5% were of an opinion that everything is well and that it is still safe to continue production without thinking about the environment, but more profit is needed. Lire moins

Results of the discussion of politicians: 1. changes in the education system to provide basis for new production systems; 2. promoting healthy food consumption; 3. sustainable agricultural production systems: transition to environmentally friendly methods with appropriate transition and financial support.

Food safety and traceability: solutions for sustainability: 1. education of consumers: to have information about product from the very beginning to the plate; 2. a common understanding of the objectives of the policy, surveillance, production, consumption; 3. a rapid process of safety and traceability checks.

Fair competitiveness and the market - when small gets big and big becomes small: 1. educating the public on food production at all stages of the chain; 2. the same conditions in international trade, both in terms of financial support and in terms of restrictions.

Rural territory for livelihood and food production: 1. exchanging with the information and knowledge; 2. improvement of practical skills at all levels; 3. the reduction of food waste along all the steps of the value chain, the development of the circular economy; 4. development of economic activities basis of which cultural environment and infrastructure can be developed.

Responsible consumer for the environment and food to ensure resilience at all stages of the food chain 1. to become smarter consumer and to reduce overconsumption: educating professionals; listening to youth, their needs and views; 2. reduction of food waste: identifying food waste in catering and households, data-based household planning; 3. reduce the amount of food packaging using it only to the extent necessary for food safety. Start with yourself as an example: replace bottled water on the table with water in carafe.

Promoting the development of food producers for local and foreign markets 1. strengthening cooperation among producers and between producers and consumers, cooperatives; 2. understandable and focused financial support based on clear national strategy; 3. education and promotion; Do it step by step! If everyone of us would eat just locally produced food every Saturday it would be already a good start.

Meaningful and sustainable use of agricultural land for food production and the maintenance of a diverse rural livelihood 1. at least 85% of household should consume healthy locally produced food; 2. maintaining the balance of interests (population, farmers, environment) in land use; 3. educated and motivated farmers, processors, consumers; 4. financing system to finance sustainable business solutions; 5. decisions are made from the holistic point of view;

Environmentally friendly and responsible practices in food product production: 1. educating the public and raising awareness of food production; 2. educating all parts of the food chain, especially farmers via vocational, higher and life-long education; 3. mobilizing farmers to change policies; 4. financial support for organic farming, i.a. support to start-up for young families to set-up small and average size farms.

Fair and transparent cooperation at all stages of food supply chains in order to ensure the long-term resilience of all actors: 1. ensuring traceability of food: full information available to the consumer on the cultivation, production, logistics, storage, marketing of the product; 2. ensuring fair competition, including in public procurement; 3. professionalism in smart and evidence-based decision-making.

These are the main findings on which the majority of participants had a broad agreement: 1. Changes in the behavior of the society and individuals have high potential in transforming the food systems. 2. Minister of Agriculture Mr. Kaspars Gerhards in his concluding remarks emphasized that the national dialogue will be continued. Holistic and multidisciplinary approach with well-developed dialogue methodology will facilitate the future work.

Resilient Rural areas and Food systems for future generations was the focus of this National dialogue, first of this kind in the history. President of the Republic of Latvia H.E. Mr. Egils Levits in his opening speech emphasized that: • Over the past decades Latvia has successfully transformed itself into a food exporter country. We have integrated into the global food production chain. • The latest UN calculations show that nearly 700 million people or 9% of the world population still live in hunger, while 2 billion people or 25% do not have regular access to safe and healthy food. • Bi... Lire la suiteological diversity continues to decrease. Pesticides are still harming nature, reducing its diversity, accumulating inside living organisms and entering the food chain, as well as the human body. • Agriculture is one of the sectors contributing most, in the medium-term, to humanity threatening climate change, the adverse effects of which can already be seen today and the grave consequences expected by the end of this century. • People’s diets throughout the world are becoming increasingly unvaried. It means that we receive less nutrients, thus harming our health. There are three levels of issues: 1. Farm structure Over the last 10 years the number of large and wealthy farms in Latvia has increased, as has the area of land they cultivate, however, they still constitute only a small portion of the total number of farms in Latvia, employing the smallest portion of agricultural workers. Only 3% of economically active farms produce more than 100 000 EUR in goods. In turn, medium, small and micro farms, which constitute 90% of the total, employ 76% of the total workforce in agriculture. Over the last three decades Latvia has undergone two major agricultural reforms. The first one was in the second half of the 1990s, when Soviet kolkhozes and sovkhozes were liquidated and land was restored to its former owners. The second reform occurred rapidly since Latvia's accession to the European Union in line with the European Union policy which started in the mid-1990s. It has been a turning point towards economic efficiency, industrialisation, product unification and monopolisation. Is this the agricultural structure that our society really wants? Is this something to just be taken as a given or do we, in fact, have more or less power over it to drive it one way or another? Is the current structure and the policy supporting it truly the best choice for Latvia and its countryside? This really calls for an in-depth public discussion going beyond just a conversation among stakeholders. 2. Effects of agriculture on the environment Harmful effects of agriculture on the environment are constantly being reduced. But the rate at which this is being done is too slow. We will have to radically alter our agricultural practices in order to continue to receive EU subsidies, maintain competitiveness on the EU single market or even just continue to work in agriculture. Obviously a major role here will fall to organic farming. In order to increase its role, technological innovations, as well as new skills and shifts in consumer preferences will be needed. 3. Social and cultural dimension of agriculture and rural areas It is an issue of what we want our countryside, our agriculture to look like. It is an issue of the Latvian identity, which is rooted in our countryside. It is an issue of lifestyle. It is an issue of farmers as the upholders of a special lifestyle. But what is a farmer today? Is it an agricultural company, its shareholders, managers, workers — are they all farmers? What the so-called genuine farmer? One new trend in the development of the countryside as a cultural space has occurred lately, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The attractiveness of the countryside as a living space has increased for city-dwellers and also new families. This could, possibly, lead to a rapid increase of the number of people living in rural areas, maybe even on small farms, but not engaging in agriculture. Lire moins

Les points de divergences sont divers selon les thématiques abordées. Les agriculteurs et les éleveurs n’avaient pas eu les mêmes points de vue sur la gestion des couloirs de passage des animaux qui occasionnent annuellement des conflits. Les consommateurs et les producteurs n’ont pas les mêmes perceptions de la tendance des prix des denrées alimentaires. En effet, pour les producteurs le renchérissement des prix des denrées est bien perçu tandis que pour les consommateurs, il est perçu comme un facteur de pression sur le panier de la ménagère. En ce qui concerne le choix du co... Lire la suitensommateur, pour la plupart des consommateurs béninois (à faible revenu) la qualité du produit alimentaire n’est pas l’élément déterminant tandis que pour les consommateurs à revenu élevé la qualité du produit est un facteur déterminant. Lire moins

Plusieurs situations affectent négativement l’environnement du système; il s’agit entre autre du faible pouvoir d’achat de la majorité des consommateurs face à des prix élevés des produits locaux, de l’insuffisance des infrastructures marchandes (magasins de stockage, places de marchés animés, etc.) et des industries de transformation occasionnant des pertes post-récoltes, de la faible connaissance des consommateurs de l’alimentation équilibrée, de la prolifération de la vente d’aliments dans des conditions précaires. Au cours des vingt dernières années, quelques ava... Lire la suitencées positives et négatives sont notées par rapport à l’environnement du système alimentaire. Le changement positif important est l’amélioration de qualité des produits issus de la transformation. Quant aux changements négatifs ce sont l’augmentation des prix des produits alimentaires locaux, la baisse des rendements due au changement climatique, la non amélioration de la sécurité sanitaire, la mauvaise pratique d’hygiène alimentaire, etc. Globalement le choix des aliments par les consommateurs est fonction des prix, des goûts, de la disponibilité à proximité, des habitudes culturelles, religieuses et de l’état de santé. Lire moins

Plusieurs facteurs en rapport avec la production des aliments mais aussi les comportements des consommateurs et les pratiques culturelles et cultuelles influencent le système alimentaire au Bénin. Ces facteurs ont connu quelques changements au cours des dix à vingt dernières années. Le secteur agricole est le plus déterminant du système alimentaire. Les évolutions récentes au niveau de la configuration des acteurs du système alimentaire au Bénin concernent l’amélioration du degré d’organisation des acteurs des filières agricoles qui se constituent progressivement en coopérat... Lire la suiteives, en association par corporation professionnelle mais aussi en interprofessions à l’échelle nationale. Lire moins

Selon la typologie des modèles alimentaires, les modèles domestique, de proximité, et celui de commodités sont les plus répandus au Bénin. Le modèle agro-industriel et celui de qualité différenciée sont certes présents et adoptés par les nouveaux entrepreneurs du secteur agro-alimentaire, mais sont peu développés.

Face aux nombreuses contraintes, surtout celles du secteur agricole et pour adresser des réponses idoines aux problématiques de l’alimentation dans les rues et de la salubrité alimentaire, des leviers d’actions importants sont proposés par les acteurs rencontrés dans le cadre du dialogue. Ces actions touchent (i) l’amélioration de l’accès aux facteurs de production, de transformation et de commercialisation des produits agricoles alimentaires, (ii) la promotion de la production agricole saine et résilient au changement climatique, (iii) l’accroissement de la production, de la... Lire la suite transformation et de la consommation des produits alimentaires, (iv) l’amélioration de la gouvernance du système alimentaire. Lire moins

Les concertations au niveau du Bénin ont été axées sur une étude complète des systèmes alimentaires avec un regard prospectif sur les changements probables attendus dans les décennies à venir. Ainsi, sur la base des composantes et des facteurs classiques des systèmes alimentaires, il s’est agi pour les parties prenantes d’analyser les facteurs influençant les systèmes alimentaires au Bénin actuellement et leurs tendances probables la décennie à venir. Ensuite, l’analyse s’est poursuivie sur l’identification des acteurs des systèmes alimentaires et les changements obse... Lire la suitervables en perspectives des points de vue de la quantité et de la qualité des acteurs. La perception des parties prenantes sur l’environnement alimentaire a été explorée ainsi que la tendance des changements probables dans cet environnement la décennie à venir. L’analyse s’est intéressée au choix des consommateurs béninois en terme de comportements particuliers des consommateurs, changements observés au niveau de ces comportements et les raisons qui justifient ces changements. L’analyse s’est intéressée aux impacts des systèmes alimentaires sur le système de la santé humaine et animale, sur l’environnement, sur la situation nutritionnelle nationale, sur la situation socio-économique nationale. Enfin, l’analyse s’est étendue à l’appréciation de la gouvernance du secteur de l’alimentation au Bénin en terme de degré d’implication des acteurs et de la prise en compte de leurs intérêts ainsi que des pistes de suggestions pour améliorer la gouvernance. Lire moins

There is not much divergence observed during the symposium proper, as well as during the discussions in the open forum. The activities done by the DA-FAO-GEF Project in the pilot sites can be duplicated in other local communities for sustainable food production within their respective capacities and circumstances. The SUCs and other educational institutions/agencies shall provide science-based knowledge in preserving traditional knowledge and practices in capacitating the vulnerable and marginalized like the IPs. The trade-off, on the other hand, can include the possibility of low-yielding var... Lire la suiteieties, presence of pest and disease management, etc. Lire moins