Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

English translation below

Bonjour,

Les enjeux pouvant se présenter au cours du développement d'une chaîne de valeur plus orientée ou sensible à la Nutrition c'est-à-dire capables de répondre aux défis Nutritionnels pourraient de mon point de vue être sommairement classés en deux catégories:

1. Les enjeux d'ordres quantitatifs: 

Ceux-ci mettraient en exergue les défis liés à la production des produits alimentaires ou vivriers; la disponibilité de ceux ci; leur accessibilité et enfin leur compétitivité. 

2. Les enjeux d'ordres qualitatifs: Sur ce point, l'apport en nutriments essentiels peut être considéré comme le défi majeur; ensuite les exigences sanitaire pour que le produit fini reste sain à la condemnations, parce que produit et transformé dans des conditions d'hygiène qui préserve aussi bien le producteur que void les autres maillons de la chaîne de valeur jusqu'à la table du consommateur final. Le respect de l'environnement devrait également être une préoccupation.

Ce qui permet d'envisager une saine, franche et sincère collaboration entre non seulement tous les maillons de la chaîne de valeur pour un commerce équitable garantissant la juste repartition du fruit de chaque effort, mais aussi et d'avantage les organes de contrôle de qualité et de normes sanitaire et de consommation.

Dès lors, l'aliment destiné à la consommation doit être traité au même titre qu'un médicament et les mêmes dispositions devaient lui être applicables tout en sachant faire le distingo sur la limite entre les deux.

Aussi, il ne serait pas excessif de voir des aliments au bout de la chaîne de valeur, sortir avec une itinéraire technique, une notice, etc.

Concernant les Opportunités pouvant se présenter sickies du développement d'une chaîne de valeur toujours plus orientée ou sensible à la Nutrition c'est-à-dire capables de répondre aux défis Nutritionnels, nous pouvons légitimement penser que les enjeux ci-dessus énumérés représenteraient d'importantes opportunités si et seulement si, les défis qu'ils soulèvent sont relevés.

Aussi l'amélioration de la production en quantité et en qualité, la disponibilité, l'accessibilité, et la compétitivité des produits finis seront sans contest des opportunités découlant d'une levée desdites contraintes et enjeux. 

3. Quels exemples d'approche relative aux chaînes de valeur pouvez vous organist?

Au Cameroun, des tentatives de développement des chaînes de valeur existent dans plusieurs domaines tels que:

a. L'Agriculture: latransformation des dérivés du manioc (racines ou tubercule, et feuilles) aussi bien en produit alimentaires tels que le baton de manioc, le tapioka, le couscous, la bouillie et actuellement le gouvernement s'essaie à associer la production d'amidon à grande échelle. 

De même, après avoir observé l'engouement autour des feuilles d'OKOK, une plante forestière très prisée par les bantous à qui plusieurs usages et vertus sont associés notamment laproduction d'alcool par lea inductriels de notre grand voisin le Nigeria, le gouvernement s'est lancé dans la domestication de cette plante. 

L'expériencea s'est voulue s'étendre sur d'autres spéculations telles que la banane plantin dont la farine pourrait aisément supplanter la farine de blé dont nos pays dépendent pour avoir le pain incontournable pour toutes les familles; la pomme de terre au vue de la forte demande en chips; etc.

Il faut observer ici que nos gouvernements n'enticipent pas sur la mise en place d'un cadre réglementaire. Ce n'est qu' après coup que des dispositions se prennent, malheureusement pas dans le sens de développer la production ou encourager l'émergence de la chaîne de valeur; mais d'avantage pour avoir le contrôle totale de la manne supposée ou tirer des subsits en terme de taxes. 

Dans la plupart des cas, l'argent réservé pour développer ces projets est soit détourné par les fonctionnaires en charges de coordonner lesdites initiatives, soit octroyé aux individus n'ayant aucun lien ni connaissances avec l'initiative.

3.2. Concernant le model de partenariat PPP, pour le développement des chaînes de valeur, celui est encore au stade de voeux pieux parce que l'expression semble être à la mode et son évocation tel un slogan suffit à elle seule pour justifier les incompétences notoires et la panne d'initiatives véritables à même de donner des résultats probants qui satisfont les nombreuses attentes. Ainsi les aacteurs étatiques ou publics évoquent les PPP pour faire intelligent pour des initiatives vide de sens et de contenu. Ainsi ils pourraient se dédouaner en cas d'échec évident. 

Or, cette approchec'est la solution en ce sens que le développement des chaînes de valeur ne peut se réaliser que dans un environnement balysé par la régulation dans l'optique de faciliter la saine expression concurrentielle qui garantisse l'éthique et l'équité. Mais dans un contexte d'État mafieux ou voyou comme chez nous en Afrique, pour la plupart des pays, aucune crédibilité ne peut être accordé sans vérification ni contrôle en amont.

4. Quelles sont les leçons qui peuvent en être dégagées? La première leçon est qu' un énorme potentiel existe et qu'il faut impérativement mettre les gens au travail pour définir le cadre, l'environnement et les priorités.

En suite, structurer les acteurs Non-Étatiques selon la chaîne de valeur correspondant pour les mettre en production. Et après quoi définir les normes et standares de base ainsi que les mécanismes de contrôle des paires ou une régulations flexible qui associe une société civile forte.

Le ressencement des niches et potentiels inconus ou inexploité jusqu'ici en terme de denrées forestières commestibles ainsi que deséchanges et partages de connaissances, expériences et acquis en organisant des foires gastronomiques interrégionales ou continantales. Celà va permettre la diffusion des habitudes et cultures nutritionnelles et le messenger des modes d'alimentation entre les peuples. 

La meconnaissance des environnements et usages traditionnels ou culturel est un frein à la diffusion ou la duplication des technique de développement des certaines chaînes de valeur pour des produits alimentaires spécifiques. Mais la vulgarisation des modes et coutumes alimentaires peut être un élémentsdéclencheur d'une diffusion plus rapide et de nature à enrichir l'offre quantitative et qualitative des produits alimentaires spécifiques  à forte valeur nutritionnelle. 

Si is nouriturevoyage sans visa, elle deva au moins être"vaccinée" et des études socioentropologiques favoriser également pour dégager des incidences humaines, morphologiques, développement de l'intelligence ou des capacités intellectuelles; la longévité et d'autres spéculations y relatives...

Hello

The challenges which might arise during the development of a value chain more orientated or sensitive to nutrition, that is, capable of responding to nutritional challenges could, in my view, be summarized into two classifications:

1. The quantitative challenges:

These emphasize the challenges linked to the production of food or subsistence products; their availability; their affordability and finally their competitiveness.

2. The qualitative challenges: On this point, the contribution of essential nutrients can be considered as the major challenge; followed by the requirements of cleanliness so that the final product stays free of condemnation, because the product is transformed in hygienic conditions which are as well maintained by the producer as the other links in the value chain up to the table of the final consumer. Respect for the environment should equally be a concern.

In this way, we can envisage a healthy, open and sincere collaboration between not only all the links in the value chain for a fair trade which guarantees the proper sharing out of the benefits of each contributory effort, but also, and more importantly, between the agencies for quality control and sanitary and consumption standards.

Henceforth, food destined for consumption should be treated in the same way as a medicine and the same regulations should be applied, while at the same time knowing how to set the limit between them.

Furthermore, it would not be excessive to see food emerge from the value chain with a technological itinerary, advisory notes, etc.

Concerning the opportunities, which could arise in the course of the development of a value chain more orientated or sensitive to nutrition, that is to say able to respond to nutritional challenges, we might reasonably think that the issues listed represent important opportunities, if and only if, the challenges that arise are overcome.

In addition, the improvement of production in quantity and quality, of the availability, affordability and competitivenes of the finished products, will be beyond dispute opportunities arising from the overcoming of these constraints and challenges.

3.  What examples of nutrition-sensitive value chain approaches can you share?

In Cameroon, attempts at development of value chains exist in several applications, such as:

Agriculture: the transformation of cassava derivatives (roots or tubers, and leaves), as well as food products such as the cassava stick, tapioca, couscous, porridge and, at present  the Government is trying  to organize the large scale production of starch.

Likewise, after observing the enthusiasm about OKOK [Gnetum Africanum] leaves, a forest plant much valued by the Bantu people to which many uses and benefits are associated, in particular the production of alcohol by industrialists from our large neighbor Nigeria, the Government has begun the domestication of this plant.

It is wished to extend this experience to other ventures such as the plantain, whose flour could easily replace the wheat flour on which our country depends to make bread, essential to every family; the potato, considering the high demand for chips; etc.

It is important to notice here that our governments do not put in place in advance a regulatory framework. It is only afterwards that regulations are applied, unfortunately not in the sense of production development or to encourage a value chain to emerge; but rather to take total control of the supposed godsend or to extract benefits in terms of taxes.

In the majority of cases, the funds set aside for developing these projects are either diverted by the officials in charge of coordinating the said initiatives, or awarded to individuals  having no connection with or knowledge of the initiative.

3.2 Regarding the PPP [Private –public partnership] model of partnership, for the development of value chains, this one is still at the stage of wishful thinking because the expression seems to be in fashion and its evocation such a slogan that by itself it is enough to justify notorious incompetence and the failure of true initiatives while at the same time giving convincing results which satisfy many expectations. In this way, state or public officials evoke the PPPs in order to make initiatives, void of sense and content, look sound. Thus they can clear their name in case of evident failure.

However, this approach is the solution in the sense that value chain development can only be achieved in an environment   circumscribed by regulation with a view to facilitating the healthy expression of competition that guarantees ethics and fairness. But in the context of a mafia or delinquent State like here in Africa, for the majority of countries, no credibility can be given without prior verification and audit.

4. What lessons can be learned from this? The first lesson is that there is an enormous potential and that it is essential that people are put to work to define the framework, the environment and the priorities.

Next, structure the non-government actors according to the corresponding value chain in order to make them productive. And then, to define the basic norms and standards as well as the mechanisms of peer control or a flexible regulation backed by a strong civil society.

Create an inventory of niches and unknown or until now unexploited potentials, in terms of eatable forest foods as well as exchanges and sharing of knowledge, experiences and benefits by organizing inter-regional or intercontinental food fairs. That will foster the sharing of nutritional habits and cultures and carry the message about ways of feeding between people.

Ignorance about traditional or cultural environments and practices is an obstacle to the spreading or duplication of the development techniques of certain value chains for specific food products. But popularization of eating habits and customs can be a liberating factor in a more rapid spread and likely to enrich the quantitative and qualitative offer of especific food products with strong nutritional value.

If the food travels without a visa, it should be at least “vaccinated“ and socio-anthropological studies equally given emphasis in order to expose the repercussions  on humans, morphology, development of intelligence or intellectual capabilities; longevity and other related speculations..

English translation below

Постановка COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY проблем целей устойчивого развития и инклюзив производственно-сбытовых цепочек в обеспечении продовольственной безопасности и питания воспринимается как проект социальной справедливости в мировом масштабе. С этой точки зрения и стоит оценивать и обсуждать поставленные в документе проблемы. В идеале целью такой работы ООН может быть провозглашение в будущем право каждого человека Земли на качественное и полноценное питание независимо от его доходов и экономического развития его страны.

Концепция ОППСЦ очень хорошо и подробно разработана и вполне может быть реализована при определённых условиях. Здесь, по всей вероятности, следует ввести градации мер по обеспечению питания для стран и слоёв человеческого общества в зависимости от уровня экономического и социального развития территорий и стран. Всё изложенное в этом документе воспринимается как система взаимодействия отраслей, правительств, ООН, предпринимателей и т.д. , координация которой представляется сложной с неясной эффективностью в будущем. Причина заключается в огромных различиях между странами в способности реализовывать на практике меры по продовольственной безопасности. То есть возникает вопрос: кто и в каких объёмах будет финансировать ОППСЦ? Определённые механизмы прописаны в документе, но они явно недостаточны. Где будет финансирование и хорошая организация, там будет прогресс и наоборот. Существенный прогресс, тем более гарантии качественного питания каждому человеку, особенно в экономически отсталых странах под большим вопросом.

Надо более чётко разделить проблемы питания в разных странах. Считаю, что основной проблемой является голод, недоедание, некачественная пища, отсутствие качественной питьевой воды. На решение именно этой проблемы и надо направить усилия. Переедание, больше свойственное для богатых и успешных стран («золотой миллиард») больше проблема Всемирной Организации Здравоохранения, чем CFS.

Современное мировое сообщество, существуя в цивилизации, основанной на глобализме, на тотальном извлечении прибыли из любых человеческих потребностей и ставящее в подчинённой положение социальную составляющую жизни людей мало способно предложить системное решение проблемы обеспечения продовольствием. Маловероятно, что в условиях, когда 1% населения владеет подавляющим количеством материальных ценностей, у правительств возникнет желание и возможности обеспечить остальных хотя бы приемлемым питанием.

Поэтому, системным решением будет (используя представленную в документе концепцию) переориентация ООН на усиление финансовых позиций. Идеи могут быть самые разные, одна из них (самая экзотическая) заключается в наделении ООН финансовыми функциями по эмиссии новой международной валюты, используемой для обеспечения трансграничных расчётов наряду с долларом США, евро и т.д. Денежные средства, зарабатываемые на этой деятельности и возможности по эмиссии новой валюты должны расходоваться только на уставную для ООН деятельность, в частности, финансирование ОППСЦ. Если не сделать системных ходов по глобальному финансированию ОППСЦ, то декларируемое ключевое преимущество для потребителей «(4) сокращение стоимости продуктов за счет конкуренции и расширения производственно-сбытовых цепочек, которые позволяют задействовать более отдаленные производственные регионы с большими конкурентными преимуществами» в блоке 1 мне кажутся мало достижимыми. Основная проблема, если говорить совсем просто – как сделать бедных достаточно обеспеченными, чтобы они могли бы покупать себе хорошую пищу – трудно достижима предлагаемыми методами. Мы предлагаем разработать механизм не зависящего от конкретных стран общественного финансирования ОППСЦ, тогда описанный в документе механизм может работать и достигнуть своей цели.

Definition of challenges related to sustainable development goals and inclusive value chains for food security and nutrition, that were given by the COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY, is seen as a social justice project at a global scale. The challenges stated in the document should be evaluated and discussed from this point of view. Ideally, the aim of such work of the UN can be the future proclamation of the right of each person living to a high-quality and nutritious food, regardless of the income and economic development of the country.

The NSVC concept is well-developed and detailed, and can be implemented under certain conditions. Most likely, it will require ranking of food provision measures for countries and different social groups, depending on the level of economic and social development of the territories and countries. The content of the document is perceived as a system of interactions between industries, governments, the UN, entrepreneurs, etc. Coordination of this system seems complicated and its efficiency in the future is unclear. The reason is huge differences in countries’ abilities to put food security measures into practice. Therefore, this poses the following question: who will provide funding for NSVC and in what amounts? Some mechanisms have been outlined in the document, but they’re definitely not enough. When there is funding and good management, there’d be progress, and vise versa. Significant progress and much less guarantee of high-quality foods for all, especially in economically backward countries, are doubtful.

Nutrition problems in different countries should be separated. In my opinion, the main reason is hunger, undernourishment, poor-quality food, lack of good-quality drinking water. We should devote efforts to addressing this particular challenge. Overnutrition, which is more common for rich and successful countries (the "golden billion"), is a problem within the competence of the World Health Organization, rather than of the CFS. 

The modern global community, which exists in the context of a civilization based on globalism, on total extraction of profit from any human needs and that puts the social component of people's lives in a subordinate position, is not capable of offering a comprehensive solution to the food provision challenge. Given that 1% of the population owns an overwhelming amount of material values, it is unlikely that governments will have a desire and opportunity to provide the rest of the population with an adequate food at the least.

Therefore, a comprehensive solution would be (using the concept presented in the document) retargeting of the UN to financial positions strengthening. Ideas can be the most diverse; one of them (the most exotic) is to entrust the UN with financial functions to issue the new international currency, which will be used for cross-border settlements along with the US dollar, Euro, etc. All financial resources resulted from this activity, as well as opportunities to issuing a new currency, should be spent only on the UN-mandated activities, in particular, provision of funds to NSVCs. In my opinion, if we don’t make comprehensive moves towards global financing of NSVCs, the declared key benefits for consumers (“(4) reduced food costs due to competition and longer supply chains that allow sourcing from productive zones farther afield and those with the greatest comparative advantages” in the Box 1) would be difficult to achieve. To put it simply, the main challenge – how to make poor people adequately prosperous that they could buy themselves good food – is hard to achieve using the proposed ways. We propose to develop a public financing mechanism for NSVC, which will not be country-specific, then the mechanism described in the document would be able to work and achieve its goal.

Boris Karpunin

Federal Center for Agricultural Counseling and Retraining, Russian Federation

I apologize for not following the outlined framework on providing input as I want to make general comments.

1. Before talking about value chains, we need to make sure farmers can produce crops in the first place. In many regions of Africa, the land resource base has been degraded to a point where crop production is becoming impossible. So first we may want to think more about how to build soil health for sustainable crop production.

2. Most african small holder farmers grow food crops and in some cases in agroecological zones that are not favorable for those crops. Part of the value chain concept should be to encourage farmers to grow adaptable cash crops that they would inturn sell or trade for food. With some money in thier pockets farmers will be able to buy nutrition rich foods grown elsewhere

3. Not much is being said about indigenous fruits and food plants that are adapted to local conditions. In most cases these fruits and plants are nutrient dense and should be part of the VC equation. Programs should be put in place to harness these indigenous foods not only for home consumption but for sale to other parts of the world to generate income for local people. As it is, small scale holder farmers cannot compete with well subsidized farmers in developed countries with respect to major crops such as corn, rice, and wheat. Creating a niche market will make a big difference for Africa's small holder farmers

4.  Health can be improved through producing safe food. So right from the begining, farmers should produce crops using fewer chemicals as possible. This would lead to nutrient dense and safe food.

Opportunities in Nutition Sensitive Value Chain Development:

Forming value chain actor cooperatives is key in nutrition-sensitive capacity building systems. This enables better communication strategies focused at a particular actor with niche capacity buiding techiques.

Enhancing traditional nutrition systems with geosensitive communication strategies to improve nutrition in the family, school, community and nation.

Needs assessment of geographical specific value chain and validation of knowledge based nutrition sensitive techniques in the light of changing times due to effects of climate change.

Exploring innovative ways of encouraging traditional and new nutritive information using the value chain actor as the initiator of the process

Challenges:

Resistance to change due to cross cultural differences and negative perceptions of innovation.

Branding the concept with different goals such as good nutitional values which may not necessarily mean making profit by food marketing MSMEs.

Financing nutrition-sensitive campaigns to production and aggregator value chain actors when breaking even and profit making in business is the goal and not necessarily campaigns which promote other perspectives which need more effort to convince their target audience.

Private Sector Mechanism Position Paper

January 2017

Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture

FAO defines nutrition-sensitive agriculture as a food-based approach to agricultural development that puts nutrient-dense foods, dietary diversity, and food fortification at the heart of overcoming malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. This approach stresses the multiple benefits derived from enjoying a variety of foods, recognizing the nutritional value of food for health. The overall objective of nutrition-sensitive agriculture is to promote healthy diets by better equipping food systems to deliver safe, affordable and nutritious food.

At every step, a wide range of participants in the agricultural and food value chain are working to improve nutrition and food security: from production of foods to improving storage and infrastructure, processing nutrient-dense food products and to clearly labelling nutrition facts. Improvements to the policy environment, market connectivity, land use, women’s economic empowerment, and adequate rural infrastructure also impact nutrition and health.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and translating them into nutrition-related national objectives requires inter-related approaches to agriculture, nutrition and health policies. Sustainable, effective nutrition-sensitive agricultural initiatives also depend on enabling markets to support consumers, farmers, processors, and traders.

Finally, a more diverse and productive agricultural system that best nourishes citizens will in turn accelerate broad-based, sustainable economic growth. This growth strategy must be accompanied by investments in safety nets and education, nutrition, and health programs to ensure nutrition-sensitive agriculture benefits all people.

The PSM supports the following principles that enhance nutrition-sensitive agriculture:

• Building policy environments that secure access to nutrient-dense food through sustainable production for achieving adequate, safe, nutritious, diverse, and affordable diets. Make more food available and affordable, reduce malnutrition, and support income growth through:
  1. Increasing and diversifying agricultural production;
  2. Stimulating demand for nutrient rich agricultural products
  3. Enabling the development, dissemination and adoption of technological advances;
  4. Reducing food loss and waste (for example by improving storage, transport, processing and packaging to extend shelf life and reduce spoilage); and
  5. Promoting sustainable production practices (such as conservation agriculture, genetic selection and bio-innovation, crop diversification, water management and integrated pest and nutrient management, best animal husbandry, farm management and new farming systems, such as aquaponics, hydroponics and vertical farming systems).
     
      
• Supporting farmers with agricultural extension, access to inputs, research, and other production-related productivity improvements. Encourage practices that support crop diversification and efficient livestock production systems and associated investments that reduce unit-costs of production, increase farmers’ incomes, and decrease food prices. All these efforts have positive nutrition and economic growth effects and result in lower production risks for farmers and better nutrition for both farming families and consumers.
• Integrating smallholders in value chains. Private sector actors are key partners in enabling smallholder farmers to achieve better market access by increasing the quantity and quality of their production and connecting them to local, regional and global value chains. Private operators can also support smallholders to become entrepreneurs by facilitating access to sustainable production techniques through extension, market information and financial services, and solutions to overcoming infrastructure gaps[1].
• Empowering women. Good nutrition from a woman’s pregnancy and in the early years of her child’s life sets the foundation for a lifetime[2]. Changes in food production technology that reduce demands on women’s time have been shown to improve nutrition by increasing time available for child care, food preparation, and accessing clean drinking water. They also improve the well-being of women. In turn, labor saving technological change in activities traditionally performed by women outside the food production system leaves more time available for food system activities. These include food production per se, but also better and more food processing as well as increased income generation through formal and informal food-system based employment.
• Supporting strategies on diversification, fortification and supplementation. The policy environment should recognize the nutrient-rich contributions of diverse foods, including from both plant and animal-sourced foods; as well as systems that improve or preserve the nutritional content of foods, either at the farm level (biofortification) or through marketing and processing (fortification and supplementation). Diversification of agriculture and food production is a key solution to increase availability and accessibility of a diverse and nutritious diet. When a diverse nutritious diet is not available or accessible, fortification and supplementation are key solutions to prevent nutrient deficiencies by enhancing nutrient content in foods. Nutrient deficiencies can be prevented by:
  1. Local production of nutrient-rich crops and animal-based food,
  2. Plant/animal breeding and crop diversification,
  3. Improved agronomic practice,
  4. Improved livestock management practices such as feeding to genetic potential
  5. Optimal soil fertility management and agronomic biofortification,
  6. Water conservation,
  7. Post-harvest storage, management and processing and
  8. Additional supplementation through food processing.

• Educating and informing consumers. It is essential to ensure that expanded and more diverse production and higher incomes translate into healthier diets and better nutrition, particularly for vulnerable populations. Ensuring access to nutrition information for mothers is essential in promoting good nutrition in families. Promoting marketing and advertising campaigns for food diversity can also increase demand for nutrition-sensitive food products.
• Reducing risk for agricultural investment and production. Crop insurance and catalytic investments can improve the long-term well-being of farmers and provide a stable platform for further improvements in production agriculture.
• Linking agriculture, nutrition and health communities. Effective nutrition-sensitive agriculture strategies will use a multi-sectorial approach that will build on the common expertise coming from agriculture, nutrition and health sectors.

Sources:

http://www.fao.org/about/meetings/icn2/news/news-detail/en/c/261494/

http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/02/05/000356161_20130205130807/Rendered/PDF/751020WP0Impro00Box374299B00PUBLIC0.pdf

http://www.ifad.org/story/feature/nutrition.htm

http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/agn/pdf/NutSensitiveFoodSystems_FINAL.pdf

http://www.ifpri.org/news-release/international-conference-focuses-improving-health-and-nutrition-through-agriculture

http://www.harvestplus.org/sites/default/files/R4A3_Smallholder%20Farming%20and%20Crop%20Variety%20Choice%20in%20Zambia_2015February.pdf

Choice of crops - avoiding crops that are not consumed by the grower. When such crops are chosen (e.g coffee, cotton or cocoa), develop a complex multi-tiered agricultural (agro-forestry) system that mimics the environment and facilitates nutrition security by encompassing food crops. Avoid supporting value chain entrepreneurs who restrict farmers to growing monocrops, e.g companies promoting varieties of sorghum for beer in southern africa which do not allow undersowing.

The members of RBAs would like to thank all the contributors who provided their comments so far. Some of them provoke reflections on challenges and opportunities for value chains in contributing to improvement of nutrition. As stated in the topic note and by some of you, value chains must be considered, analyzed and facilitated as one of the core components of a food system.

A couple of you stated a trade-off of a nutrition-sensitive value chain. Value chains should be not only nutrition sensitive, but also economically viable, especially for producers/farmers. We would appreciate it if you could share with us any supportive policies, institutions, and programmes that are coherent and successfully manage this trade-off.

Some of you emphasized that value chains are market-driven and sustainable interventions require private-public partnerships in improving nutrition, be it a supportive tax policy to back a viable business case. One member mentioned that staple crops are part of cost-effective value chains as he believes nutrition-sensitive value chains must be effective and cost-efficient. It would be useful to learn more about these cost-effective value chains.

We can not agree more with you regarding many challenges which exist for nutrition-sensitive value chains: for example, perishability and seasonality of some nutritious food. We are glad to see that a solution was suggested to this challenge. A short value chain / local food is very important to meet nutritional needs of local population. Some of you concurred with some recommendations of the framework: multi-sectoral approach is required by going beyond the traditional value approach (commodity and market focused) and traditional approach to nutrition programming (public sector driven). The wholeness was another main point raised: shifting from a commodity focus that addresses one value chain at a time to an approach which addresses various value chains with the aim of improving diets in a holistic way.

All in all, the consultation started-off well. We look forward to hearing from many more of you and exploring further the role of value chains for nutrition.

We strongly encourage you to use this opportunity to share your experience and lessons learnt. Your contribution is very important to us.

Members of the Working Group on Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chains of Rome-based Agencies

Dear Facilitators,

The issue you raised is very important and timely which we must share our exprience to bring any value chain aproach to be nutrition sensitive. I would like to share those opportunities and challeges on VC approaches to be nutrition sensitive. I also attached 2020 conference paper 4 on value chain for nutrition for further reference.

Challenges and opportunities in developing VC to be more nutrition sensitive.

Value chain concepts and approaches are versatile to be used to address different goals if properly designed. Since the problem of malnutrition is multifaceted, its solution is also multi-sectoral in which it needs coordination of different actors along the value chain to achieve nutritional goal of the value chain intervention. I would like to list the following opportunities to be considered while developing value chains to be nutrition sensitive:

· By its own nature agriculture value chain analysis can help to address the issue of food availability and accessibility which are pivotal steps to improvement on nutritional status of the community. The value chain approaches can answer the question of why foods are not available in a specific community and it has also potential to solve the problem by identifying the root causes for why food is not available and accessible to that specific community.

· Value chain approaches have also potential to identify why certain nutritious food are less affordable than others and propose solution to make them more affordable to vulnerable group of the community

· Value chain approaches have also a potential to identify where and how the nutrient quality of the food changes throughout the chain and how nutrient losses can be prevented

· It has also a potential to increase demand and acceptability of nutritious food for the poor because it incorporates the notion of value from consumers perspective

· Value chains do have a cross-sectoral nature which has a potential to coordinate actions and actors from farm to fork. Value chain approaches can thus be used to identify and engage the sectors that need to be involved to improve the coordination between agriculture and nutrition.

The common challenges of most value chain approaches to nutrition

· The focus of value chain so far has been on adding value in the chain to create value to the value chain actors neglecting the poor consumers

· “Value” the attention is mostly given to economic value

· The focus on single food commodity neglecting dietary diversity

· The focus on competitive markets leaves out other markets.

· Most value chain approaches do not start with explicit nutrition goal

· Nutrition problems are not clearly defined within the value chain approach

· In most value chain program, they always consider only economic value. Nutrition value is always missed.

Thanks for the timely topic, my contribution focuses on challenges related to awareness creation at various levels; policy makers, private sector, research, producers and consumers, on the benefits of a value chain.

I start my contribution on awareness creation with a question, when and where did so many people get the idea that one should throw away an old cloth each time they get a new one?

Awareness creation on production:

• Reason for food production. Like never before, we now have malnourished farmers. Did people misinterpret the message of treating agriculture as a business (agribusiness) to mean that they produce just for the market, forgetting that their family members need a balanced diet first.
• The need for new messages on the cost-effectiveness of cultivating a variety of food crops. There is a new trend whereby families opt to monocrop with the hope that returns from sales will be used to purchase other necessary food items to meet a balanced diet.
• What and how to grow? Calls for increased collaboration among policy makers, private sector, research and (rural) farmers to achieve a need-based production. For example, are the available seeds relevant to the climatic conditions and food needs of the community or market?
• Considering that women make the majority of farmers in rural areas, is the technology, e.g. machinery for land cultivation, harvesting and processing matched to the needs and capability of women or men?

Processing

• Awareness creation on the benefits of processing, especially to give the harvest a longer shelf life.
• How to process, start from known to the unknowns. The introduction of processing technologies has resulted in mass abandonment of traditional food processing methods, for unaffordable technologies. The challenge here is how to introduce a technology without making people feel that their previous practices are inferior, to be abandoned.
  • For example, I have come across women who have formed groups to grow vegetables and tomatoes for the market. Since most of their production is seasonal, based on rain, at harvest time there are thousands of them with a similar produce, forcing many to sell at very low prices, because, unlike the other group they heard of, they do not have a solar vegetable dryer. When asked how they preserved extra produce in the past, many say they have been told that the indigenous method of kitchen or direct sun drying are not hygienic enough. How do such farmers process and store the extra harvest for household consumption or to market at off-season?
• In the recent past I have noticed that whenever our youth talk about their involvement in agriculture; most are asking questions related to support to enable them to package their produce for profitable markets.
  • The need for expansion of school curricular to include all stages of value chain and food systems – otherwise we will continue to hear youth who have graduated from agricultural institutions still asking on what to do with their bumper harvest - critical, especially in rain-fed agriculture where bumper harvests go to waste.

Distribution and marketing

• The issue has been elaborated on in past sessions to include formation of cooperatives, use of information and communication technologies to learn on new markets, etc.
• The challenge is how to manage the issue of selling local at a lower price, Vs selling outside, mainly through middlemen at a comparably higher price – one of the reasons most of the nutrition-filled food is shipped, out of reach to rural consumers and the urban poor.

Consumption

• Awareness creation, especially as more and more people migration to urban centers. What food choices are they making? Are many migrants equating a higher income to over-processed and readily available meals?
• In cases where men migrate, leaving women in rural areas, do the men have enough food skills to prepare and consume balanced diets?

Thanks.

Il est important de valoriser les aliments locaux car c'est eux qui sont accessibles aux populations qui sont dans le besoin.

It is important to valorise local foods because it are these foods that are accessible to people in need.