Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

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Prof. Dirce Marchioni

Member since
Organization: Instituto Nacional de Ciencia e Tecnologia Combate a Fome
Country: Brazil
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I am coordinating a National Institute for Science and Technology named Fight against Hunger. My background is nutrition and food systems

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    • Dear moderator

      We considered the time of our country to send the contributions, but it was closed when I tried.

      I am sending our contribution below on behalf of the National Institute of Science and Technology Fight against Hunger, Brazil.

      Best wishes

      Dirce Marchioni

       

      1.The V0 draft introduces a conceptual framework informed by key principles established in previous HLPE-FSN reports (HLPE, 2017; HLPE, 2020).

      Do you find the proposed framework effective to highlight and discuss the key issues concerning urban and peri-urban food systems?

      Yes

      Is this a useful conceptual framework to provide practical guidance for policymakers?

      Yes. However, when you give the figure (p10), there is a oversimplification in the aspects linked with each one of the dimensions. 

      Can you offer suggestions for examples to illustrate and facilitate the operationalization of the conceptual framework to address issues relevant for FSN?

      We suggest to stress that it is a system, and not a linear e compartmentalized situation.  

      2. The report adopts the broader definition of food security (proposed by the HLPE-FSN in 2020), which includes six dimensions of food security: availability, access, utilization, stability, agency and sustainability.

      Does the V0 draft cover sufficiently the implications of this broader definition in urban and peri-urban food systems?

      The dimension of agency still is not very well explained. Since that, together with sustainability these are new additions to the framework, they should be more clear

      3. Are the trends/variables/elements identified in the draft report the key ones to strengthen urban and peri-urban food systems? If not, which other elements should be considered?

      Yes

      Are there any other issues concerning urban and peri-urban food systems that have not been sufficiently covered in the draft report?

      Are topics under- or over-represented in relation to their importance

      No

      4. is there additional quantitative or qualitative data that should be included?

      Are there other references, publications, or traditional or different kind of knowledges, which should be considered?

      5. Are there any redundant facts or statements that could be eliminated from the V0 draft?

      No

      6.Could you suggest case studies and success stories from countries that were able to strengthen urban and peri-urban food systems? In particular, the HLPE-FSN would seek contributions on:

      No comments

      a) evidence-based examples of successful interventions in urban and peri-urban food systems with the principles behind what made the process work;

      b) efforts made to enhance agency in urban and peri-urban food systems;

      c) efforts made to enhance the right to food in urban and peri-urban settings;

      d) examples of circular economy and urban and peri-urban food system and climate change adaptation and mitigation, preferably beyond issues of production; and

      e) examples of national and local government collaboration on urban and peri-urban food systems.

    • These contributions were elaborated collectively by the researchers of the National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT) Fight Against Hunger Strategies and public policies for the realization of the human right to adequate food - Transdisciplinary approach to food systems with the support of Artificial Intelligence (Brazil)

       

      A. Share your comments on the objectives and proposed content of this report as outlined above.

      Do you find the proposed scope comprehensive to analyze and discuss the key issues concerning the role of urban and peri-urban food systems in achieving food security and nutrition? Are there any major gaps or omissions?

      We believe it is necessary to give more focus on the lack of coordination between the urban planning and the agriculture and environmental planning and policy design; also it could be emphasized the successful cases of urban and peri-urban food production, particularly observing what were the drivers, policies and conditions to their success in order to be evaluate the potentiality to replicate them.

      The different types of urban agriculture that may co-exist in cities and their role in food security have to be taken into account. In small towns UA is pretty different than that of in megacities, especially if one considers access to land and food distribution. In larger cities, one must consider planning to have UA within deprived areas or food deserts, and have the tools to guarantee that the produced food stays where it is necessary. In smaller cities, the limits rural/urban are less clear sometimes.

       The city of Sao Paulo developed an interesting platform where all urban farms and gardens have been identified, linking them to local markets, cooperatives and bio-food markets and other commercializations points. (https://sampamaisrural.prefeitura.sp.gov.br/l)

      B. Share good practices and successful experiences on strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems in the context of urbanization and rural transformation, including in the case of emergencies or conflicts.

      In Brazil, there are several successful projects on urban gardens:    Horta Comunitária da Lomba do Pinheiro POA, Feira Agroecológica Porto Alegre, Projeto Feira Agroecológica (UFG), Projeto Horta na Escola (Prefeitura de Goiânia), Feira do Produtor Orgânico do Parque da Água Branca, Horta FSP e FM/ USP, Projeto Inova da Horta, da Prefeitura Municipal de Jundiaí, USP Sustentabilidade

      In Brazil, the city of Jundiai, has developed a large-scale urban production  to introduce biodiverse, nutrient rich, indigenous plants to complement the school meals. In a 2 year project, 10 ton of biodiverse vegetables and tubercles were sent to 83 schools. During the pandemic, these vegetables were sent to families and hospitals. Forty-two underutilized vegetables were selected based on different criteria that could be introduced to school meals in other territories, being an  example of the feasibility of a large-scale production for “non-conventional” vegetables . (https://hortapanc.com.br/inovanahorta/)

      Projetos CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

      C. Share recent literature, case studies and data that could help answer the following questions:

      1. What are the main bottlenecks hampering the contribution of urban and peri-urban food systems to food security and nutrition?

      The use and quality of water applied in food production: there is a lack of actions to identify the current situation and to propose adequate solutions in terms of sanitation and sustainable use of water.

      Commercialisation spaces: in large cities, it is common for commercialisation spaces of more sustainable and healthy products, coming especially from the peri-urban areas, to be concentrated in central areas and areas of greater purchasing power.

      It is necessary to have a public policy either to promote, subsidize and provide technical assistance to the development of urban and peri-urban food systems, or to enhance the participation of private sectors and civil society in this kind of initiative.

      It is also important to have a legal provision to these kinds of food systems, not only for producing the food, but also providing regulation that allows its commercialization and guarantees its food safety.

      Above all, it is essential to use communication tools to provide information about the food systems, their socio-economic importance as well as the healthy attribute of this kind of food in comparison to processed food. This education strategy is also recommendable in the primary schools where kids can be taught how to seed, cultivate, harvest and consume fresh vegetables, fruits, roots and legumes.  

      bottleneck 1: One has to acknowledge that UA cannot be expected to satisfy the urban demand for staple crops like cereals and tubers. ref Opitz, I., Berges, R., Piorr, A. et al. Contributing to food security in urban areas: differences between urban agriculture and peri-urban agriculture in the Global North. Agric Hum Values 33, 341–358 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-015-9610-2

      bottleneck 2: In LMIC countries, UA can positively impact food availability and dietary diversity.

      It may provide household income, but not always enough to ensure food security. Poulsen et al, Food Policy 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2015.07.002

      bottleneck 3. Land tenure security is one of the most basic and crucial requirements of urban farming. https://doi.org/10.1h016/j.landusepol.2019.104ck

      bottleneck 4. identifying typologies of urban agriculture is necessary to create public policies ref: Urban agriculture, food security, and development policies in Jakarta: A case study of farming communities at Kalideres – Cengkareng district, West Jakarta, Land Use Policy, Volume 89 2019, 104211, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104

      2. How can urban and peri-urban food systems be transformed and made more equitable and accessible both for food system actors and in terms of food security and nutrition outcomes?

      The city of Quito has developed a plan to link urban farmers and local supply chains with great success: Support to 500 vulnerable urban, peri-urban and rural farmers yearly production of more than 960,000 kg of food products,  the project has supported more than 21,000 people, of which 84% were women

      https://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/5641

      Camanda Jennifer Chandra, Jessica Ann Diehl, Urban agriculture, food security, and development policies in Jakarta: A case study of farming communities at Kalideres – Cengkareng district, West Jakarta, Land Use Policy, Volume 89, 2019, 104211,ISSN 0264-8377,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104211

      Short channels of commercialization (varejões, for instance in Brazil), which can also be promoted by the local government, could be used to make it more accessible to urban consumers, taking the advantage of concentrating in one single place, several producers, eventually using this market point to promote the urban and peri-urban food systems to the population, allowing consumers to have a direct contact with farmers or agricultural workers, getting more information about the food they buy and its quality. The system of municipal “varejões” in Piracicaba, São Paulo state, in Brazil, is working very well and more recently, there is an initiative to organize a stamp called SELAPIR that intends to value and recognize the local producer as a food supplier to the town. This stamp has been developed in a partnership involving several institutions, including the University of São Paulo, and that was led by the Secretariat of Agriculture of the municipal government.

      3. How can urban food supply chains, formal and informal, local and global, be made more resilient to ensure food security and nutrition within urban settings?

      The involvement of communities is essential, as well as the guarantee of supplies and technical assistance by the public authorities, partners such as universities and federal institutes

      The city of Quito has developed a plan to link urban farmers and local supply chains with great success: Support to 500 vulnerable urban, peri-urban and rural farmers yearly production of more than 960,000 kg of food products,  the project has supported more than 21,000 people, of which 84% were women (https://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/5641)

      4.  What changes are needed in urban planning to better support all dimensions of food security – including support for human rights, agency and sustainability? Which are some of the measures that can strengthen the agency of local actors in urban and peri-urban food systems?

      Given the diversity of realities in Brazil, municipal policymakers are the most directly involved in dealing with urban planning to support Mayors governments. A local framework that includes production-distribution spots, with mechanisms to ensure that food reaches people, requires coordination of all departments (named: agriculture and supply, water and sanitation, education, health, social assistance, urban planning, among others) to build up a structure for production chains linked to popular retail and restaurants. Revision of urban space occupation and regulation mechanisms to inhibit real estate speculation, however, are complex actions to be faced by local managers without support from state and federal management, due to local conflicts of interest. Monitoring mechanisms can start from the improvement of existing Brazilian information systems, allied to the participation of local councils*: Cadastro Único, Sistema de Informações sobre Nascidos Vivos (SINASC), Sistema de Vigilância Alimentar e Nutricional (Sisvan), Sistema Único de Assistência Social (SUAS). * Examples: municipal councils of health, school meals, environment, social assistance.

      5. How can national and municipal governments strengthen the potential for low-carbon, inclusive, relatively self-sufficient and resilient cities and towns to drive improved food security and nutrition in the wake of climate change and other crises?

      It is essential to disseminate the technologies already available that allow for producing agricultural products in systems that are less intensive in carbon-emissions. It is also important to identify what are still the operations or activities that are more pollutant and promote studies to find alternatives to replace or adjust them. In this sense, engagement with the environmental agencies are essential in order to bring the best knowledge available to guide the transformation toward more resilient cities and towns.

      In the city of Quito, a initiative to link UA and NBS has taken place: https://oppla.eu/casestudy/23366

      The document above  provides information of 7 cases of success in Europe where UA has been integrated to green spaces governance: researchgate.net/publication/293825383_Innovative_Governance_of_Urban_Green_Spaces_-_Learning_from_18_innovative_examples_across_Europe

      Rosario is another case where urban gardens have been thought in a scenario of agroecology and reshaping of urban spaces. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-021-10253-7

      Participatory Design of Public Spaces for Urban Agriculture, Rosario, Argentina June 2009Open House International 34(2):36-49

      6. What are the most appropriate policies (and gaps in existing policies) along the rural-urban continuum to address issues of land tenure, urban expansion into farmland and the growing competition for natural resources?

      Any good policy toward a more sustainable system and therefore to guarantee a rural-urban continuum without great disputes, it is necessary  to establish strict regulation about the land tenure, and mainly to guarantee enforcement and monitoring of outcomes. Organizing a detailed database, using artificial intelligence tools to cross data of different sources, and to build georeferenced maps have become a useful tool to monitor the policy implementation and, if it is necessary, to identify needs to make adjustments in the planning.

      7. How can urban and peri-urban food systems ensure that food and nutrition needs of specific groups of people, such as migrants, the internally-displaced, children, adolescent, etc., are met?

      Check Toronto case for migrants: Bessho, A.; Terada, T.; Yokohari, M. Immigrants’ “Role Shift” for Sustainable Urban Communities: A Case Study of Toronto’s Multiethnic Community Farm. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8283. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12198283

      Check Philippines projects on school gardens, biodiversity that dec malnutrition: https://www.searca.org/pubs/briefs-notes?pid=430 

      Projects in schools, health units, prisons and social assistance spaces. In order for the actions to continue, it is important to involve communities, as well as guaranteeing supplies and technical assistance from the public authorities, partners such as universities and federal institutes.

      9. In what ways can the incorporation of climate resilient agricultural and circular economy practices in urban and peri-urban agriculture provide climate co-benefits for all and enhance climate resilience?

      Urban gardens increase plant and insect biodiversity, create microclima of better temperature and humidity. Agroecological practices create better soils, decreasing erosion with better water retention capacity, helping to mitigate floods.Composting can reduce burden to landfills, decrease methane emissionsRain water capture and storage.

      Increase in food biodiversity, use of resilient, native plants, that will support climate associated stresses

      ref: https://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/5650

      Promotion and facilitation of the consumption of in natura, organic foods of vegetable origin, produced and distributed in short chains.

      10. How can citizens be engaged and empowered to drive inclusive, transparent, participatory processes for urban transformations, ensuring synergies and complementarity with city councils?

      Citizen engagement and participatory processes occur in truly democratic governments.

      Involving people in spaces that promote education actions, through awareness-raising activities, training for participation in councils.

      11. Which experiences of urban communities to increase access to fresh food and healthy diets can inspire broader public policies?

      The Brazilian Initiative “Frente Alimenta” is an interesting project coordinated by citizens and NGOs from the urban region in Sao Paulo. From donations received during the pandemics, the project bought organic food from urban and periurban farms, invested in improving community kitchens and gave assistance to urban gardens. They connected urban farms to community kitchens. In 2022, with a budget correspondent to U$ 50,000 the group provided 29 ton of agroecological food to the kitchens, and more than 100,000 fresh food meals were provided (https://www.frentealimenta.com.br/).