Urban Food Systems to be debated at the Africities Summit
On Wednesday 18 May FAO will host a 3-hour Session during the 2022 Africities Summit in Kisumu.
The Session will focus on ‘Feeding Intermediary Cities’ and it is co-organized with several partners:
United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG); United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat); United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); Rikolto; ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability - Africa; Espace de Co production des Offres Populaires pour l'environnement et le développemente en Afrique (ENDA- ECOPOP); RUAF; CGIAR.
About the Summit
The Africities Summit is a Pan Africa conference convened by the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa’s (UCLG-A) every three years, since 1998. It brings together representatives of cities and local governments with the aim of improving the living standards of the citizens.
This year edition will take place in Kisumu from 17 to 21 May with 2 main objectives:
- Defining strategies to improve the living conditions of people at the local level.
- Contribute to the integration, unity and peace of Africa, starting from the grassroots.
Urban Food Systems in Africa
Considering that Africa has the fastest urban growth rate in the world, and 70% of the food is already consumed by urban inhabitants, close attention to food systems and their sustainable transformation is long overdue.
Currently, urban food systems are plagued by different forms of malnutrition, putting their citizens at risk also for food-related non communicable diseases. In addition to that, urban food systems are also responsible for more than 20 per cent of planet Earth’s greenhouse gas
The Role of Cities
The role of cities and local governments needs then to be prioritized, and their importance is becoming recognized also in global fora, such as the recent United Nations Food Systems Summit (UN-FSS), convened by the UN Secretary General in September 2021.
The UN-FSS was the occasion to establish a new Urban Food Systems Coalition, with the aim of promoting coherent action on urban food systems and fostering linkages between national and sub-national governments, alongside other systems such as health, social protection etc.
Therefore, it is fundamental that urban food systems are also debated at the Africities Summit.
The Session: Feeding Intermediary Cities
The 3-hours Session will take place on 18 May in Kisumu, and it will focus on the importance of achieving sustainable urban food systems for intermediary cities:
It is expected to produce concrete recommendations that will be presented in the main political session, focusing on 4 main objectives:
1. Getting urban food systems recognized as a key lever for sustainable urban development
2. Presenting the key role of intermediary cities for food system transformation
3. Showcasing the experiences of intermediary cities that have included food systems in their local plans
4. Brainstorming on key recommendations to establish urban food systems governances able to include local, regional and national governments.
The event will be held only in presence in Kisumu, upon registration.
The conclusions and recommendations from the political session will be shared at a later stage.
More info here: Africities, The most important democratic gathering in Africa