Call for experiences in the use and application of three sets of CFS policy recommendations on smallholder agriculture in the context of food security and nutrition

A stocktaking event is planned to be held in October 2019 during CFS 46 Plenary Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) to monitor the use and application of the following CFS policy recommendations:

Set 1: Investing in Smallholder Agriculture for Food Security and Nutrition (endorsed in 2013)

Set 2: Connecting Smallholders to Markets (endorsed in 2016)

Set 3: Sustainable Agricultural Development for Food Security and Nutrition: What Roles for Livestock?
            (endorsed in 2016)

The Committee on World Food Security requests stakeholders to provide inputs on their experiences in applying any of these policy recommendations by 22 April 2019 to inform the CFS 46 event.

These policy recommendations are of great relevance to all CFS stakeholders, and particularly to the smallholder producers who are the main contributors to food security and nutrition and the most numerous category of family farmers. They are key protagonists of the United Nations Decade on Family Farming and this stocktaking event at CFS 46 will constitute a specific contribution of CFS to the Decade in 2019.

The event will focus on how smallholders have effectively benefitted or are expected to benefit from these CFS policy recommendations. It will also look into the potential application of CFS policy outcomes, especially for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in the context of the UN Decade on Family Farming and the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition. Given the important role of women in the context of smallholder agriculture, the event will also contribute to mainstreaming the messages of the 2017 CFS Forum on Women’s Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition.

All inputs received will contribute to monitoring progress on the use and application of the three sets of CFS policy recommendations. All inputs will be compiled in a document made available for delegates at CFS 46 in October 2019.

Please use the template available here for sharing your experience in applying any of these policy recommendations. You can upload the completed form below or send it via email to fsn-moderator@fao.org. The deadline for submissions is 22 April 2019.

Submissions can be made in any of the UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) and should be strictly limited to 1,000 words.

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Nutrition Exchange – Issue 11/ January 2019

Issue 11 of Nutrition Exchange features some common themes of networks and coordination for nutrition, including a short article on the commitments made by Brazil, Ecuador and Italy under the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (available at pages 28-29).

Nutrition Exchange is an ENN publication that contains short, non-technical and easy-to-read articles on nutrition programme experiences and learning, from countries with a high burden of undernutrition and those that are prone to crisis. It also summarises research and provides information on guidance, tools and upcoming trainings in nutrition and related sectors. It is published twice per year and one issue is dedicated to Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement related learning and experiences of scale up which is facilitated by the ENN SUN Knowledge Management Project regional and Global team.  

NEX is available in English, French, Arabic and Spanish. 

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FAO chief urges emphasizes need for inclusive digital innovation

It’s time to accelerate innovation in the food and agriculture arenas and to do so in a way that aspires to make a difference to hundreds of millions of people rather than seize a headline,, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told agriculture ministers from more than 70 countries at a meeting in Berlin.
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FAO chief urges emphasizes need for inclusive digital innovation

It’s time to accelerate innovation in the food and agriculture arenas and to do so in a way that aspires to make a difference to hundreds of millions of people rather than seize a headline,, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told agriculture ministers from more than 70 countries at a meeting in Berlin.
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Aligning Policy And Legal Frameworks For Supporting Smallholder Farming Through Public Food Procurement: The Case Of Home-Grown School Feeding Programmes

In the past few years, various countries, regions and cities from low-income to high-income economies have been developing a range of food procurement initiatives designed to use the regular demand for food on the part of government entities as a policy instrument targeting broader development objectives.

These initiatives—also referred to as Institutional Food Procurement Programmes (IFPPs)—are based on the premise that public institutions, when using their  financial capacity and purchasing power to award contracts, can go beyond the immediate scope of responding to the state’s procurement needs by addressing additional social, environmental or economic needs that contribute to the overall public good of the state (McCrudden 2004; De Schutter 2014; Kelly and Swensson 2017).

In particular, public food procurement initiatives have been recognised, especially in low-income economies, as a potential policy instrument to support local and smallholder farmers and to help integrate them into markets. They are thus recognised as a potential driver of the transformative development of local food systems (Morgan and Sonnino 2008; Sumberg and Sabates-Wheeler 2010; Gelli and Lesley 2010; Foodlinks 2013; De Schutter 2014; 2015; Fitch and Santo 2016; HLPE 2017; Kelly and Swensson 2017; UNSCN 2017).

A key example of public food procurement initiatives is offered by home-grown school feeding programmes. Although the definition of ‘home-grown’ may vary, this type of programme may be understood as a school feeding model that is designed to provide children in schools with safe, diverse and nutritious food, sourced locally from smallholders (FAO and WFP 2018). Other relevant examples of public food procurement initiatives include ones linked to strategic food reserves and broader food security programmes.

Various studies, as well as development projects, have analysed the key challenges involved in developing inclusive public food procurement initiatives that target smallholder farmers and their organisations, the reforms needed to bring these about, and the lessons to be learned from the current situation. Among the key lessons learned, there is an increasing recognition of the importance of a conducive and aligned public procurement policy and regulatory framework5 (Morgan and Sonnino 2008; Sumberg and Sabates-Wheeler 2010; Brooks et al. 2014; Swensson 2015; FAO 2013; Kelly and Swensson 2017; Swensson and Klug 2017). This includes, in particular, the alignment of public procurement laws, regulations and related practices.

The paper Aligning Policy And Legal Frameworks For Supporting Smallholder Farming Through Public Food Procurement: The Case Of Home-Grown School Feeding Programmesaims to help build this dialogue, bringing to the food procurement and rural development literature an analysis of the various legal mechanisms that can be used to align the regulatory framework in pursuit of broader development goals by means of public procurement in the form of home-grown school feeding programmes.

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Aligning Policy And Legal Frameworks For Supporting Smallholder Farming Through Public Food Procurement: The Case Of Home-Grown School Feeding Programmes

In the past few years, various countries, regions and cities from low-income to high-income economies have been developing a range of food procurement initiatives designed to use the regular demand for food on the part of government entities as a policy instrument targeting broader development objectives.

These initiatives—also referred to as Institutional Food Procurement Programmes (IFPPs)—are based on the premise that public institutions, when using their  financial capacity and purchasing power to award contracts, can go beyond the immediate scope of responding to the state’s procurement needs by addressing additional social, environmental or economic needs that contribute to the overall public good of the state (McCrudden 2004; De Schutter 2014; Kelly and Swensson 2017).

In particular, public food procurement initiatives have been recognised, especially in low-income economies, as a potential policy instrument to support local and smallholder farmers and to help integrate them into markets. They are thus recognised as a potential driver of the transformative development of local food systems (Morgan and Sonnino 2008; Sumberg and Sabates-Wheeler 2010; Gelli and Lesley 2010; Foodlinks 2013; De Schutter 2014; 2015; Fitch and Santo 2016; HLPE 2017; Kelly and Swensson 2017; UNSCN 2017).

A key example of public food procurement initiatives is offered by home-grown school feeding programmes. Although the definition of ‘home-grown’ may vary, this type of programme may be understood as a school feeding model that is designed to provide children in schools with safe, diverse and nutritious food, sourced locally from smallholders (FAO and WFP 2018). Other relevant examples of public food procurement initiatives include ones linked to strategic food reserves and broader food security programmes.

Various studies, as well as development projects, have analysed the key challenges involved in developing inclusive public food procurement initiatives that target smallholder farmers and their organisations, the reforms needed to bring these about, and the lessons to be learned from the current situation. Among the key lessons learned, there is an increasing recognition of the importance of a conducive and aligned public procurement policy and regulatory framework5 (Morgan and Sonnino 2008; Sumberg and Sabates-Wheeler 2010; Brooks et al. 2014; Swensson 2015; FAO 2013; Kelly and Swensson 2017; Swensson and Klug 2017). This includes, in particular, the alignment of public procurement laws, regulations and related practices.

The paper Aligning Policy And Legal Frameworks For Supporting Smallholder Farming Through Public Food Procurement: The Case Of Home-Grown School Feeding Programmesaims to help build this dialogue, bringing to the food procurement and rural development literature an analysis of the various legal mechanisms that can be used to align the regulatory framework in pursuit of broader development goals by means of public procurement in the form of home-grown school feeding programmes.

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In Africa, investing in rural development and agriculture will offer rural youth an alternative to migration

Investing in rural areas and agriculture is crucial to achieve prosperity in Africa and to guarantee the continent’s young people an alternative to migration, FAO Director-General said today at the high level EU-African Alliance in Agriculture event in Berlin.
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EAT-Lancet Commission Launch

Thursday, January 17, 2019
14:30 – 16:00
The Aula, University of Oslo, Karl Johans Gate 47

Can we feed a future population of 10 billion people a healthy diet within planetary boundaries? 

To answer this question, EAT gathered 37 of the planet’s foremost experts who, for the first time ever, propose scientific targets for what constitutes both a healthy diet and a sustainable food system.  

At the launch of the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health, the attendees will be guided through the report by two scientific superstars – Prof. Johan Rockström (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Stockholm Resilience Center) and Prof.Walter Willett (Harvard University), co-chairs of the Commission. 

Following the presentation, Dr. Richard Horton, the Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet, will moderate a conversation and deep-dive into the key findings.

Dr. Gunhild A. Stordalen, EAT’s founder and executive chair, will share her vision on a global dugnad for a better food future. 

 

The doors will open at 13:45 and close 14:20, as the event starts at exactly 14:30.

A limited number of seats are available – register here.

The event will be live-streamed.

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Deep shift in food systems needed to ensure healthy diets

Hunger, obesity and other forms of malnutrition will continue to increase if there is no deep change in food systems, said FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva.
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EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems

Food systems have the potential to nurture human health and support environmental sustainability, however our current trajectories threaten both. The EAT–Lancet Commission addresses the need to feed a growing global population a healthy diet while also defining sustainable food systems that will minimise damage to our planet.   

The Commission quantitively describes a universal healthy reference diet, based on an increase in consumption of healthy foods (such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts), and a decrease in consumption of unhealthy foods (such as red meat, sugar, and refined grains) that would provide major health benefits, and also increase the likelihood of attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. This is set against the backdrop of defined scientific boundaries that would ensure a safe operating space within six Earth systems, towards sustaining a healthy planet.  

The EAT–Lancet Commission is the first of a series of initiatives on nutrition led by The Lancet in 2019, and followed by the Commission on the Global Syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change.

To access the EAT–Lancet Commission Hub page at The Lancet, click here.For the full report Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems (Walter Willett et al.), click here.

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EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems

Food systems have the potential to nurture human health and support environmental sustainability, however our current trajectories threaten both. The EAT–Lancet Commission addresses the need to feed a growing global population a healthy diet while also defining sustainable food systems that will minimise damage to our planet.   

The Commission quantitively describes a universal healthy reference diet, based on an increase in consumption of healthy foods (such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts), and a decrease in consumption of unhealthy foods (such as red meat, sugar, and refined grains) that would provide major health benefits, and also increase the likelihood of attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. This is set against the backdrop of defined scientific boundaries that would ensure a safe operating space within six Earth systems, towards sustaining a healthy planet.  

The EAT–Lancet Commission is the first of a series of initiatives on nutrition led by The Lancet in 2019, and will be followed by the upcoming Commission on the Global Syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change.

To access the EAT–Lancet Commission Hub page at The Lancet, click here.For the full report Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems (Walter Willett et al.), click here.

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FAO Policy Guidance Note #12: Food systems for healthy diets

Strengthening Sector Policies for Better Food Security and Nutrition Results

This guidance note supports the use of a comprehensive food systems approach (rather than a sectoral approach) and gives guidance on how to use food systems entry points to guide the delivery of healthy diets and subsequently address all forms of malnutrition. However, particular focus is given to tackling overweight and obesity and preventing NCDs through healthier diets because of their increasing prevalence globally. The food systems approach detailed in this guidance note encompasses the creation of enabling food environments alongside cross-government policy dialogue. It aims to support decision-makers and stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector by addressing the following questions:

  • How can each domain of the food system be coordinated to better contribute to healthy diets in order to prevent all forms of malnutrition, in particular overweight and obesity as well as diet-related NCDs?
  • What changes in the food system are needed? What are the policy options that would positively impact people’s diets?
  • What is the best way to actually bring about policy change?

This policy guidance note examines the various policy and intervention opportunities arising across the food system to support increased availability of and better access to affordable healthy diets. Through a stepwise approach, the guidance note supports decision-makers and stakeholders to better understand the interactions between the relevant policy instruments for reshaping food systems and creating enabling food environments in support of healthy diets, identify policy options and understand the political economy in order to facilitate policy change.

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