New Food System Integrated Program to support the transformation of food systems into nature-positive, resilient, and pollution free system
The world continues to face challenges to meet food and nutrition needs of existing 8 billion people equitably, and to ensure that nature, on which food production is based, is protected and enhanced to meet needs of future generation. Currently, at least 38% of the world’s total land area is under agriculture[i] production, and agricultural production accounts for up to 90% of global deforestation[ii]; and 50% of the freshwater biodiversity loss[iii]; and 70% of global freshwater withdrawals[iv]. According to a new study, food systems about third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions[v]). The consequences of unsustainable food production extend into aquatic systems. This makes agriculture the largest source of water pollution, which then runs off into aquatic ecosystems and coastal areas.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of UN (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) are developing a global program to support selected nations to catalyze the transformation to sustainable food systems that are nature-positive, resilient, and pollution-reduced. This program – Food Systems Integrated Program – will be funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and co-financed by countries, GEF agencies and other partners. The Food Systems Integrated Program is the second largest program approved in the GEF’s programming cycle for 2022 – 2026, known as GEF-8. FAO and IFAD aim to align the program with the outcomes of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and collaborate with partners, such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the Nature Conservancy, and the Regional Development Banks to deliver greater results.
The Food Systems Integrated Program will focus explicitly on sustainable, regenerative, nature positive production systems and support efficient value/supply chains covering selected food crops (maize, rice, and wheat), commercial commodities (soy, oil palm, coffee and cocoa), livestock, and aquaculture.
To maximize potential for transformative change, the Program will operate at two levels -global and selected national/sub-national levels - and promote work around transformational “levers” (governance and policies, financial leverage, multi-stakeholder dialogues, and innovation and learning) for advancing systems transformation.
At the global level, the Program will support:
- Strengthening global policy coherence for more sustainable food systems.
- Leveraging public, private and financial sectors through encouraging concrete actions on both the production and demand sides toward use and expansion of sustainability standards and commitments to environmental and socially responsible sourcing.
- Catalyzing new opportunities across spatial (landscapes/ jurisdictions) or vertical (supply chain) dimensions to help maximize scale potential for impact within and beyond national boundaries.
- Catalyzing access to knowledge, technical expertise, and capacity development on issues that represent common challenges across multiple countries or specific geographical regions (including south-south exchanges).
At the country level, and depending on the context, the objectives of the projects are:
- Creating an enabling environment to shift toward sustainable and regenerative food production systems through a diversity of approaches.
- Reducing livestock’s impact on the environment and contribution to zoonotic spillover and supporting production of alternative protein sources.
- Expanding investment in sustainable aquaculture management that is explicitly linked to land-based practices, impacting freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems.
GUIDING QUESTIONS TO THE ONLINE CONSULTATION
As a part of program development, FAO and IFAD, in consultation with the GEF and other key partners have developed the Theory of Change (TOC) and the Draft Results Framework for the Program.
The Food Systems Integrated Program development team invites your views and suggestions on these two documents.
Theory of Change:
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Do the barriers identified reflect your experience as Community Based Organizations (CBOs) / Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), private sector and local communities (women, men, youth, indigenous peoples)? Are there key barriers that are missing in TOC? |
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Do the first level Outcomes appropriate and adequate for transformation of food systems’ impacts on the environment? |
Draft Results Framework:
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Are the Outcomes planned appropriate and adequate for food systems transformation? |
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What could be examples of types of intervention and outputs that could ensure stronger engagement and ensure capacities of CBOs/ NGOs, the private sector, and communities (including women, men, and youth, indigenous peoples) to continue food systems transformation? |
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What might be specific contributions of each stakeholder group to the achievement of the components? |
In addition, the Program development team seeks inputs on your experiences and advice on:
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Note: The two documents are available for downloading on this webpage and comments are welcome in English.
The inputs received will contribute to finalize the Theory of Change and the Results Framework for the Food Systems Integrated Program. Furthermore, both documents will be presented to the GEF Council, most probably in June 2023 for their approval and these will guide country child projects in Argentina, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Eswatini, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Türkiye.
We thank in advance all the contributors for reading, commenting, providing inputs on these two documents, and sharing case studies.
Sameer Karki
Technical Officer with the FAO-GEF Coordination Unit under the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment of FAO
[ii] https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/cop26-agricultural-expansion-drives-almost-90-percent-of-global-deforestation/en
[iii] https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/global-food-security-at-risk-from-growing-threats-to-rivers-which-support-one-third-of-world-s-food-production
[v] https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1379373/icode/
The Food Systems Integrated Program was approved in February 2024, and the documentation is now public here: https://www.thegef.org/projects-operations/projects/11214
- Read 64 contributions
La crise économique dans laquelle sont plongée de nombreux pays africains a non seulement fait baisser des revenus déjà faibles et des conditions de vie déjà médiocre, mais elle a porté un coup à la capacité du secteur de la sécurité alimentaire à faire face, en freinant les dépenses publiques en alimentation qui est causé l’augmentation de la malnutrition.
La contraction des disponibilités alimentaires due à la crise économique a fait empirer la malnutrition qui fait rage dans nos milieux ruraux. La République Démocratique du Congo, dans l’ensemble du territoire, les décès d’enfants de moins de cinq ans et due à la malnutrition et représente près de la moitié de l’ensemble des décès. Les ONG et le secteur privé doivent soutenir les efforts de l’Etat pour une solution, c’est à ce titre que notre Société vient de lancer un produit en base des céréales riches en protéine, vitamines et minéraux pour combattre les maladies dues à la dénutrition.
L'alimentation est un élément clé des objectifs de développement durable (ODD) du Programme de développement durable à l’horizon 2030.
L'objectif de développement durable n°2 vise à éliminer la faim, à assurer la sécurité alimentaire, à améliorer la nutrition et à promouvoir l’agriculture durable. Les cibles visées par cet objectifs consistent notamment à :
- Éliminer la faim et faire en sorte que chacun ait accès tout au long de l’année à une alimentation saine, nutritive et suffisante ;
- Mettre fin à toutes les formes de malnutrition ;
- Doubler la productivité agricole et les revenus des petits producteurs alimentaires ;
- Assurer la viabilité des systèmes de production alimentaire ;
- Accroître l’investissement en faveur de l’infrastructure rurale ;
- Corriger et prévenir les restrictions et distorsions commerciales sur les marchés agricoles mondiaux ;
- Adopter des mesures visant à assurer le bon fonctionnement des marchés de denrées alimentaire.
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"It would be beneficial to create policies and guidelines in local languages in India, considering that there are many people who do not speak English, which is currently the predominant language used in official documents. This could help to improve access to important information and ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of the policies and guidelines."
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Involve local communities: Engage local communities in the program design and implementation to ensure that their needs and priorities are being addressed. This can include working with community-based organizations, conducting needs assessments, and involving community members in decision-making processes.
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Foster public-private partnerships: Partner with private sector actors to leverage their expertise, resources, and networks to support program activities. This can include working with agribusinesses, food processors, and retailers to improve supply chain efficiencies and increase access to nutritious food.
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Strengthen monitoring and evaluation: Develop robust monitoring and evaluation systems to track program progress, identify challenges, and measure impact. This can include collecting data on food system indicators, conducting impact evaluations, and using data to inform programmatic decision-making.
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Address policy and institutional barriers: Advocate for policy and institutional changes that support food system transformation. This can include working with governments to develop policies that incentivize sustainable agriculture and food systems, and promoting multi-sectoral coordination and collaboration.
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Foster innovation and experimentation: Support innovation and experimentation in food system transformation by creating spaces for collaboration, sharing of best practices, and experimentation. This can include developing innovation labs or accelerators, and providing funding and technical support to innovative solutions.
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Prioritize equity and social justice: Prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable populations, such as small-scale farmers, women, and marginalized communities, in program design and implementation. This can include implementing targeted interventions to address food insecurity, empowering women and youth in the food system, and promoting social protection programs to reduce poverty and inequality.
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Obviously align to Global Sustainable Goals
Dear participants,
Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to respond to our request in providing feedback on the GEF8 Food Systems Integrated Program’s draft Theory of Change and draft results framework.
We have been reading your inputs with great interest, and are encouraged to see how well your observations align with and enrich the narrative that we are developing for the Program Framework Document (PFD), which will accompany the theory of change and results framework.
We have already started to incorporate your suggestions in the main text of the PFD, while some of the more detailed points will be reflected in the Project Document for the Global Coordination Project of the IP, which will be developed in near future.
We look forward to further inputs and suggestions from experts who have not done so yet.
Sameer Karki, facilitator of this online consultation and a Technical Officer of the FAO-GEF Coordination Unit
L'alimentation est un élément clé des objectifs de développement durable (ODD) du Programme de développement durable à l’horizon 2030. L'objectif de développement durable n°2 vise à éliminer la faim, à assurer la sécurité alimentaire, à améliorer la nutrition et à promouvoir l’agriculture durable.
Selon les estimations publiées par la FAO, le monde n’est plus en voie de mettre un terme à la faim et à la malnutrition sous toutes ses formes d’ici à 2030. Dans le même temps, la sécurité alimentaire et l'état nutritionnel des populations les plus vulnérables sont susceptibles de se détériorer davantage en raison des répercussions socio-économiques et sanitaires de la pandémie de la maladie à coronavirus (COVID-19).
27 millions de personnes en République démocratique du Congo, soit environ le quart de la population du pays, font face à une insécurité alimentaire aiguë depuis septembre 2021, d’après une note du bureau de coordination des affaires humanitaires de l’ONU (OCHA).
La forte prévalence de cette malnutrition est en bonne partie imputable à l’insécurité qui persiste dans l’est du pays où des groupes armés continuent de perpétrer des atrocités qui entravent l’accès des populations à leurs champs, entraînant par ricochet une production agricole déficitaire.
Hello to all FSN Forums members and thanks to facilitators for the opportunity to comment on the GEF's forthcoming program.
The Program's website indicates: "..we must transform our agrifood systems to supply more people with healthier and nutritious food, while conserving and restoring our ecosystems and natural resources". The GEF-8 Program document (https://www.thegef.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/GEF-8_Programming_Di…) indicates that it ..."addresses the role of diets, nutrition and hunger as drivers of food system impact by promoting engagement with relevant stakeholders from across the supply chain, and aligning its mandate with other diverse platforms and programs focused on dietary shifts, and nutrition and hunger."
Given the rationale, both the TOC and RFW would need to translate the stipulated goals into actions and results. To that extent, the TOC provides inclusion of an outcome of ..."generating a critical mass of sustainably produced food" and the RFW, Pathway 3 includes Indicator 3.3. "number of people benefiting from sustainably produced food". While it is critical that GEFP focus foods are produced sustainably, one needs to remain acutely aware that those are extremely low-nutrient value foods (the energy-dense/staple foods: wheat, maize, rice, and commercial/ high-added value crops (coffee, palm oil, cacao). Their sustainable production will do much for an improved environment but will not solve the current undernutrition, including, "hidden (micronutrients) hunger", and could not provide for affordable, healthy diets, not lastly, because an increased income resulting from a more efficient agriculture usually leads to increased consumption of un-healthy, processed, industrially produced foods rather than healthy foods (Lancet GLobal Health 2015, doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(14)70381-X) and unless food environments are regulated to promote healthy foods or direct policy action is taken to combine economic development programs with policy approaches to improve diets (BMJ Global Health doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2016-000184). The foundational solution is the increased production, diversification and creation of value chains for high nutrient -content crops (beans, legumes, green& yellow vegetables, biofortified varieties) as well as eggs, small fish, etc.
With these in mind, the inclusion of provisions for an enabling environment for sustainable production of high-nutrient content plant& animal-based foods would greatly enhanced the GEFP's impact for "healthier and nutritious foods".
With thanks and kind regards, Lilia Turcan
This is a best way to transform food system in natural way.
Read attachments:
Mila Sell, Hilkka Vihinen, Galfato Gabiso & Kristina Lindström (2018) Innovation platforms: a tool to enhance smallscale farmer potential through co-creation.
Galfato Gabiso Gada (2019) Innovation Platform - As Effective Extension Approach to Introduce Rhizobia Technology in Southern Ethiopia. Hawassa University, Tabor kifle ketema, Ethiopia
La biotechnologie Lyseconcept supprime définitivement la famine dans le monde entier. 8 milliards d'humain utilisent 80 milliards de litres d'eau pour nettoyer les excréments des sanitaires. Ces 80 milliards de litre d'eau, la biotechnologieLyseconcept les nettoie jusqu'à éliminer plus de 98 % de la pollution. Le liquide rejeté est dispersé sur l'espace végétalisé du jardin potager de l'habitat individuel. il n'existe pas de circuit court plus court que celui là. Cela occasionne moins de consommation d'eau, moins d'infrastructure d'assainissement moins de rejet polluant dans les milieux hydrauliques de surface. Ce concept de traitement épuratoire biologique de l'eau usée révise tous les plans d'urbanisme en désartificialisant une grosse partie de l'habitat mondial. Toute l'eau consommée qui ne sert pas à l'arrosage d'un jardin potager, est employée à l'arrosage d'espace végétalisé commun, arbre de haute canopée pour réduire la T° intramuros des villes sous hautes chaleur ou pour l'arrosage de petites exploitations agricoles en périphéries des agglomérations.
la problématique de l'eau ne tient pas dans sa consommation mais dans l'usage qu'on en fait principalement le nettoyage ainsi que dans le défaut du nettoyage de l'eau usée qui est alors déversé dans l'environnement polluant tous les milieux aquatiques de surface.
Le sol, l'environnement, les milieux aquatiques de surface, les nappes phréatiques du sous sol, sont tous pollués, contaminés empoisonnés. L'humanité toute entière s'empoisonne lentement tous les jours en buvant de ses excréments de la veille par la faute d'un manque de traitement de nettoyage.
En
Lyseconcept biotechnology permanently eradicates famine worldwide. 8 billion people use 80 billion liters of water to clean up excrement from sanitary facilities. These 80 billion liters of water, the Lyseconcept biotechnology cleans them until more than 98% of the pollution is eliminated. The discharged liquid is dispersed on the vegetated space of the vegetable garden of the individual habitat. there is no short circuit shorter than this. This results in less water consumption, less sanitation infrastructure, less polluting discharge into surface hydraulic environments. This concept of biological treatment of wastewater is revising all urban plans by disartificializing a large part of the world's habitat. All the water consumed that is not used for watering a vegetable garden, is used for watering common green spaces, high canopy trees to reduce the intramural T° of cities in high heat or for the watering small farms on the outskirts of urban areas.
the problem of water does not lie in its consumption but in the use that is made of it mainly cleaning as well as in the lack of cleaning of the used water which is then discharged into the environment polluting all aquatic environments of surface.
The soil, the environment, the surface aquatic environments, the underground water tables, are all polluted, contaminated and poisoned. Humanity as a whole is slowly poisoning itself every day by drinking yesterday's excrement due to a lack of cleansing treatment.
Please see the following publication for an account of Inga Foundation's current Land for Life Program in Central America and an overview of the search for a sustainable alternative to slash-and-burn in the world's rain forests:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.201204
The early stages of this program were presented at a side event at CFS-44 in FAO Rome, 10th October 2017
Mike hands
Inga Foundation
Nombre del proyecto: “Produccion de granos de maíz y frijol sanos y nutritivos mediante la aplicación de una pluralidad epistémica que potencie la productividad y la relación simbiótica y armónica campesino-tierra”.
Resumen ejecutivo
El proyecto “Produccion de granos de maíz y frijol sanos y nutritivos mediante la aplicación de una pluralidad epistémica que potencie la productividad y la relación simbiótica y armónica campesino-tierra”, expone una propuesta integral nutrida por la ciencia, la tecnología e innovación de frontera para que las familias campesinas logren el derecho sostenible a la alimentación mediante la produccion y consumo de maíz, frijol y pepita de calabaza, plantas constitutivas de la milpa, que sean sanos, nutritivos y culturalmente idóneas.
La propuesta se reflexionará desde la transdisciplina y devendrá de la interpretación de los datos obtenidos de la evaluación de tecnologías aplicadas en el manejo del monocultivo de maíz versus el policultivo de la milpa, para: a) explicar los desacuerdos epistémicos entre los paradigmas productivista y agroecológico; b) las fracturas metabólicas causadas por estas dos formas de manejo; c) identificar las experiencias agroecológicas exitosas llamados Modelo Productor-Innovador (MP-I) las cuales se escalarán horizontal y verticalmente en faros agroecológicos para transferirlos a los milperos menos eficientes y, a la vez, innovarlas para potenciar la produccion de granos y d) examinar mediante estudios bromatológicos, que los granos producidos sean saludables y nutritivos.
Las derivaciones de siete estudios de caso remarcan varias regularidades empíricas del MP-I donde destaca que: el patrón tecnológico de los maiceros eficientes manejó la milpa mediante una pluralidad epistémica sistematizada en un diálogo de saberes. En este manejo se usaron tecnologías radicales (modernas) y progresivas (campesinas) creadas con racionalidades científicas distintas, con una clara supremacía de las segundas, que al integrarse potenciaron la productividad sostenible de granos del agroecosistema milpa.
Por esta razón, se puede conjeturar que la pluralidad epistémica puede resultar en una innovación tecnológica que se materializa en nuevas prácticas agrícolas, las cuales sintetizan nuevos saberes, conocimientos y praxis con capacidad de potenciar la productividad, la sostenibilidad y de recrear una relación armónica y simbiótica campesino-tierra.
Transformar sistemas alimentarios insostenibles a sostenibles en ámbitos territoriales distintos (municipal, regional, nacional o supranacional), que sean positivos para la naturaleza, resilientes y reduzcan la contaminación, exige poner en marcha políticas públicas alternativas, como el MP-I, el cual consta de cuatro etapas:
1. Cálculo del Coeficiente de Localización para identificar los territorios que tienen vocación productiva en el manejo de maíz de secano.
2. Evaluar las tecnologías aplicadas en el manejo de maíz de secano mediante el cálculo del Índice de Apropiación de Tecnologías Radicales y el Índice de Apropiación de Tecnologías Campesinas, e identificar a los milperos eficientes y sus patrones tecnológicos en cada ámbito territorial.
3. Establecer faros agroecológicos para escalar horizontal y verticalmente el MP-I. El primer escalamiento significa que los faros funcionen como vitrinas tecnológicas para mostrar in situ, y mediante el uso de otras técnicas de comunicación, las ventajas innovadoras, productivas, y de sostenibilidad que distingue al MP-I, con el fin de que sea apropiado por los milperos menos eficientes. Por su parte, el escalamiento vertical del MP-I involucra la experimentación agroecológica para dilucidar las interacciones y simbiosis recreadas por los entes bióticos y abióticos que existe a ras y abajo del suelo que radican en la biodiversidad de la milpa.
4. Compostear los recursos orgánicos originados en las ciudades para producir millones de toneladas de composta y miles de litros de bioinsumos que hay que regresar al campo, porque ahí fue donde se originaron. La elaboración y aplicación de compostas y de bioinsumos tiene un gran potencial para recuperar la salud de suelos; además, el procesamiento de estos recursos orgánicos sería una importante cadena productiva para la crear millones de empleos. Finalmente, reduciría los problemas causados por los recursos orgánicos en las ciudades: polución ambiental, creación de gas metano, obstrucción de drenajes, inundaciones, entre otros problemas.
De aplicarse el Modelo Productor-Innovador se triplicarían la producción de maíz, frijol y de otros bienes alimenticios (pepita de calabaza, alaches, flor de calabaza, entre otros) en un periodo no mayor de una década, suficiente para conseguir el derecho sostenible a la alimentación.
Las plantas constitutivas de la milpa son la base de la dieta alimenticia y nutricional campesina y son parte esencial de su biodiversidad que es un importante catalizador de mutualismos entre entes bióticos y abióticos, mediante una mayor capacidad fotosintética que eficientiza el uso de la energía solar y aumenta la conversión de compuestos inorgánicos en orgánicos y los rendimientos, así como un mayor consumo de dióxido de carbono por las plantas, menguando la emisión de este gas efecto invernadero, lo que mitiga el calentamiento del planeta.
Asimismo, la abundancia de flora y fauna que hay en el policultivo al cumplir su ciclo de vida, o antes, cuando por ejemplo, los campesinos realizan labores de cultivo, adicionan grandes cantidades de biomasa que será transformada por los microorganismos del suelo en materia orgánica y ésta en nutrientes y energía que recrean nueva vida. Además, regulan el equilibrio biológico de la fauna presente en la milpa, conservan suelo, agua y aire, y han sido un eficaz proveedor de nitrógeno.
Please find a case study on Sudan attached
This activity is now closed. Please contact [email protected] for any further information.