Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

Dear all,

Please find the inputs from  the FAO Urban Food Systems PPA BE4 below. Kindly consider that the inputs include the contributions received by the FAO Green Cities and Urban Food Agenda teams.

Best regards,

Cecilia Marocchino, Urban Food Agenda Coordinator, Food Systems and Food Safety Division (ESF), FAO

Contributions to the guiding questions

Hello,

most of the issues are well covered.

Though, I would stronger emphasize the issue on renewable energies, energy supply in cities, incorporation of photovoltaics in agriculture, on small fields as agrivoltaics, or for urban gardening, with PV modules on roof tops and crops grown under it. Here also energy supply in form of biogas generated from organic waste, specifically in markets, should be included, as well as from urban/peri-urban food processing facilities. 

This should be in form of the WEFE water energy food environment approach, and be included in city governance and city planning.

Regards

Kerstin Wydra

Prof. Dr. sc. agr. habil. Kerstin Wydra

Lehrstuhl 'Pflanzenproduktion im Klimawandel' - Chair 'Plant Production and Climate Change'

Fachhochschule Erfurt - University of Applied Sciences, Germany, https://www.fh-erfurt.de/personenverzeichnis/wydra-kerstin

Member of UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS-HLPE)

Board of Directors of Solarinput e.V.

International Alliance on Solar Energy and Drinking Water

http://solarinput.de/aktivitaeten/arbeitskreise/international-alliance-for-solar-energy-and-water/

Advisory Board of ThEEN (Thüringer Erneuerbare Energien Netzwerk) https://www.theen-ev.de/de/beirat.html

Begleitforschung Agriphotovoltaik, Fraunhofer Institut für Solare Energiesysteme

Member: Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (AbL)

Estimado equipo del GANESAN,

Agradecemos su trabajo para esta consulta. La Coordinación de Agrobiodiversidad de la CONABIO (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad) en México, envía adjunto información que espera sea de utilidad en esta consulta.

Aprovecho para enviar saludos cordiales.

M. en C. Irma Angélica Hernández Velázquez.

Some comments from World Vision on a few of the questions.

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?

So far, the scope mentioned have covered most of the important urban and peri-urban food issues. However, we would like to suggest adding these components:

• Residents of urban slums are also facing serious risk of communicable diseases due to the overcrowding and poor hygienic conditions and lack of access to clean water sources. Hence, the urban slums dwellers, especially the young children, are very vulnerable to infections, and would be made worse by inadequate and unhygienic diet they consume.
• Urban dwellers rely mostly on food purchased from street vendors due to lack of space for cooking or because of busy life. Some studies estimate that five out of every six urban families in India typically spend 70% of their income on food, while in Kuala Lumpur, approximately 45–50% of total household expenditure goes to food (Zezza & Tasciotti, 2010). With unhygienic conditions, sometimes the food quality and food hygiene are below standard. On top of that, the rampant use of dangerous food additives such as coloring and preservatives make these foods a poor choice for children’s diet.

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.

• It is also common to find that few urban mothers can cook, sometimes based on the notion that ‘it’s cheaper to buy from small shop vendors, anyway, and we can get more options in smaller quantities’. It is a common sight in Jakarta, for instance, to see mothers of young babies queuing to buy baby porridge sold by street vendors every morning. They either could not cook, or feel that buying a cup of porridge costs less than 50 cents is more practical and economical. So, it is important to have work on changing the mindset of families in urban areas and at the same time teach mothers how to cook simple food, which can be done as a group session. 
• Urban and semi urban agriculture are indeed lacking support from the state actors. When they do receive support, it is mostly focusing on ceremonials activities instead of supporting a sustainable agriculture system that community can continue in long term. Most successful change agents in urban farming are people who have skills in agriculture, who were able to modify their practice to planting of vegetables and fruits in pots and containers, and able to process household food waste as compost. Yet, this skill is not common for urban dwellers. It would be good to have more community promotion and community training on doing urban farming or urban backyard gardening, with cheaper options.

The following comments are based on the article written by Onyekachukwu Akaeze and Dilip Nandwani “Urban agriculture in Asia to meet the food production challenges of urbanization: A review”, Urban Agriculture and Regional Food Systems, 18 October 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/uar2.20002

• The Pune City Corporation's City Farming Project was developed to encourage citizens to practice urban agriculture by growing vegetables and other crops on allocated land (Hallett, Hoagland, & Toner, 2016). Similar programs in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, and others have resulted in many individuals joining the ranks of urban farmers. Through these programs, farmers received assistance from the government, private agencies, and individuals.
• Establishment of numerous host ventures that specializes in training and assisting farmers on urban agriculture techniques further contributed to increasing the number of urban farmers. Examples of such ventures include- The Living Greens, iKheti, Khetify, Homecrop, Greentechlife, Squarefoot Farms, Edible Routes, City Farming, Earthoholics, Fresh and Local, and Urban Leaves etc. These organizations provide the needed guidance and directions to farmers who have chosen urban agriculture as a career or hobby.
• The Urban Horticulture Development Scheme introduced a “Do-It-Yourself” kit has enabled city dwellers to grow vegetables on open terraces of individual houses and apartment buildings. The kit contains basic materials needed to start a garden (Sahasrannaman, 2016). It was first implemented in the city of Chennai, but then also introduced to Madurai.
• Sky Green vertical farm in Singapore is example of successful in city, all year-round vegetable (lettuces and cabbages) production. Sky Greens’ vertical farming provides both an efficient and environmentally and low-carbon hydraulic water-driven urban vertical farm that reduces the amount of energy and land needed for traditional farming techniques. Within a greenhouse, the three story's-high vertical systems produce five to ten times more per unit area compared to conventional farms (Foodtank, 2013).
• Successful implementation of urban agriculture policies depends on effective partnership between government and private institutions. The synergistic efforts of Department of Agriculture (DoA) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), and key players in the agriculture sector is reported to have encouraged more urban residents to participate in urban agricultural activities in open field plots, community farms, balconies, rooftops and garden pots in vertical stands (Hui, 2011; Shanshan & Ge, 2013).

From Yue-man Yueng, “Examples of urban agriculture in Asia”, Food and Nutrition Bulletin, vol. 9, no. 2 © 1987, The United Nations University. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/156482658700900212

• Urban forestry for fruit production is rare in Asia, except in a handful of Chinese and Indian cities. The experience of Bangalore, in southern India, deserves scrutiny and possible replication. The Department of Horticulture there grows a large number of street trees, one-fourth of which bear fruit, with many providing food for animals at the same time.(Yue-man, 1987)

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 following comments are based on the article written by Onyekachukwu Akaeze and Dilip Nandwani “Urban agriculture in Asia to meet the food production challenges of urbanization: A review”, Urban Agriculture and Regional Food Systems, 18 October 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/uar2.20002

• Challenges particular to urban agriculture include a limitation in land area or spaces (Van Tuijl et al., 2018). This has resulted in higher prices to purchase, rent or lease urban spaces, thus forcing many prospective urban farmers to consider other options.
• Limitation of city plans or building codes which may prohibit the establishment of rooftop gardens at certain locations (Pfeiffer, Silva, & Colquhoun, 2015).
• The high financial, technological and infrastructural requirements to setup, operate, manage and maintain urban agriculture (such as hydroponics, aquaponics, aeroponics etc.) is beyond what most local farmer can afford (Van Tuijl et al., 2018; Dimitri, Oberholtzer, & Pressman, 2016; Van der Valk, 2012).
• Some question the ‘safety’ levels of ‘urban vegetables’. They argue that there are high chances of heavy metal pollution since the air in urban centers are often heavily polluted (Vaneker, 2014).
• Lawson (2016) reported air pollution (odor) and excess load on municipal energy grids especially in cases with livestock farms in urban centers.

Compartimos una experiencia que estamos trabajando dentro de la iniciativa AMARAL y actores claves para la contribución de aterrizar en un Programa de Política Pública para el Fomento al Programa de Seguridad Alimentaria en la capital de Puebla, México.

Saludos. 

Alma Olivia García Hernández, representante de AMARAL.

Faites part de vos commentaires sur les objectifs et le contenu proposé pour ce rapport, comme indiqué ci-dessus.

A

Estimez-vous que le champ d'application proposé est complet pour analyser et discuter des questions clés concernant le rôle des systèmes alimentaires urbains et périurbains dans la réalisation de la sécurité alimentaire et de la nutrition ? Y a-t-il des lacunes ou des omissions majeures ?

La proposition relève des points fondamentaux pour analyser et discuter le rôle des systèmes alimentaires urbains et périurbains dans la réalisation de la sécurité alimentaire. Néanmoins, une double omission -assez importante à notre avis- mérite d’être relevée. D’un côté il serait souhaitable d’expliciter le rôle des plus grands capitaux dans la configuration actuelle des systèmes alimentaires urbains. D’un autre côté il s’avère fondamental de reconnaître l’importance de l’intervention des états, notamment à travers l’implémentation de taxes, d’impôts progressifs et de programmes sociaux appliqués tant sur la production que sur le transport et la commercialisation des aliments pour rendre les systèmes alimentaires urbains et périurbains plus inclusifs, équitables et durables. Nous considérons que l’incorporation de ces deux aspects intimement liés rendrait la proposition plus complète.

B

Partager les bonnes pratiques et les expériences réussies en matière de renforcement des systèmes alimentaires urbains et périurbains dans le contexte de l'urbanisation et de la transformation rurale, y compris en cas d'urgence ou de conflit.

Les marchés et les réseaux de commerce juste qui favorisent le contact direct entre producteurs et consommateurs d’aliments.

Les champs et les potagers biologiques familiaux et communautaires dans les périphéries urbaines et même dans les centres urbains

L’agriculture syntropique dans les périphéries urbaines comme moyen de fournir des aliments et de rendre d’autres services écosystémiques, y compris la préservation de la flore et la faune locales.

C

Partager la littérature récente, les études de cas et les données qui pourraient aider à répondre aux questions suivantes :

1.            Quels sont les principaux goulets d'étranglement qui entravent la contribution des systèmes alimentaires urbains et périurbains à la sécurité alimentaire et à la nutrition ?

L’exclusion -paradoxale- de la plus part de la population urbaine des aliments locaux et bio à cause du prix. Pour les larges secteurs populaires, que dans des pays africains comme la RDC vivent sous le seuil de la pauvreté les aliments économiquement accessibles sont produits ailleurs (poulets et poisson congelés provenant de Pologne, Maroc et Chine, riz, provenant de Chine, boîte de « tomatoes », provenant aussi de Chine). Ce phénomène change les habitudes alimentaires de la population en les rendant moins saines et favorise un système de production et transport à forte émission de gaz à effet de serre. 

2.            Comment les systèmes alimentaires urbains et périurbains peuvent-ils être transformés et rendus plus équitables et accessibles à la fois pour les acteurs des systèmes alimentaires et en termes de sécurité alimentaire et de résultats nutritionnels ?

 Il est fondamental l’intervention de l’état et des politiques publiques dans la régulation de la production et le marché d’aliments. Dans ce sens,  nous trouvons opportun que les analyses macroéconomiques et historiques sur les inégalités (Cf Piketty, Thomas, Le capital au 21ème siècle, Paris, 2013 ; Capital et idéologie, Paris, 2019) ainsi que les propositions de politiques de redistribution des richesses soient appliquées à l’étude, la planification et la gestion des systèmes alimentaires. Piketty et d’autres proposent un système de taxes sur les plus hautes émissions de carbone ainsi qu’un système d’impôts progressif sur les plus gros capitaux afin de redistribuer les richesses d’une façon équitable. Ces propositions permettrait de réguler le pouvoir des grands acteurs du système alimentaire (producteurs de commodities, propriétaires de chaînes de supermarché, producteurs et importateurs de poulet, poisson congelés et riz) ainsi que de soutenir des allocations et des programmes sociaux pour les petits producteurs, producteurs familiaux, vendeurs et travailleurs des  marchés locaux, etc.

3.            Comment les chaînes d'approvisionnement alimentaire urbaines, formelles et informelles, locales et mondiales, peuvent-elles être rendues plus résilientes pour garantir la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition en milieu urbain ?

Favoriser l’approvisionnement d’aliments à partir des centres productifs les plus proches contribue efficacement à la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition. Cela s’est avéré lors de la COViD 19. Compter le moins possible, voire pas du tout, sur les denrées alimentaires importées rende les chaînes alimentaires plus résilientes. Dans ce sens, la manufacture de produits locaux représente une bonne alternative, tel que la production de farine de manioc panifiable en Afrique le preuve en remplaçant progressivement la farine de blé pour la production de pain ( Cf FAO, La fabrication d’une farine de manioc de haute qualité, Nigeria et https://www.unikin.ac.cd/index.php/atelier-sur-lutilisation-de-la-farine-de-manioc-dans-la-boulangerie-et-la-patisserie-tenu-par-la-professeure-marie-yandju-dans-la-province-du-haut-katanga/)

Par ailleurs, l’investissement en infrastructure routière, y compris l’entretien des routes de desserte agricole ainsi que la construction de voies ferrées est incontournable. Dans le contexte africain, le mauvais état des routes (moins du 10% des routes de la RDC sont praticables toute l’année ) représente un obstacle majeur pour l’évacuation des produits vivriers et donc pour l’approvisionnement des centres urbains. De même, l’agenda 2063 prévoit de relier les différents points urbains et ruraux à travers la voie ferrée, ce qui aurait des énormes bénéfices sur les chaînes d’approvisionnement d’aliments car le train s’avère l’un des moyens de transport les plus efficients, même du point de vue environnemental.

4.            Quels sont les changements nécessaires dans la planification urbaine pour mieux soutenir toutes les dimensions de la sécurité alimentaire - y compris le soutien aux droits de l'homme, à l'action et à la durabilité ? Quelles sont les mesures qui peuvent renforcer l'action des acteurs locaux dans les systèmes alimentaires urbains et périurbains ?

L’appui des marchés locaux offrant les produits locaux à des prix vraiment compétitifs accessibles grâce à un système de compensation et programmes sociaux pour les petits producteurs locaux et la régulation des supermarchés (cf. plus haut la réponse 2).

5.            Comment les gouvernements nationaux et municipaux peuvent-ils renforcer le potentiel des villes à faible émission de carbone, inclusives, relativement autosuffisantes et résilientes pour améliorer la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition dans le sillage du changement climatique et d'autres crises ?

a) Favoriser la production coopérative, biologique, agro écologique et syntropique. Cf des expériences de l’Amérique Latine :

Au niveau national :

https://espaciosustentable.com/rosario-huertas-comunitarias/

https://youtu.be/O9-awhAqezk

Au niveau municipal :

https://espaciosustentable.com/rosario-huertas-comunitarias/

b) Dans les contexte africain il est urgent d’assurer l’accès universel à l’énergie propre pour la préparation des aliments. L’utilisation de la braise par la quasi-totalité de la population urbaine cause des énormes dégâts sur le système climatique ainsi que sur la santé des personnes. Le potentiel hydroélectrique de l’Afrique en général et de la RDC en particulier se présente comme un atout et une opportunité pour donner ce pas urgent.

6.            Quelles sont les politiques les plus appropriées (et les lacunes des politiques existantes) le long du continuum rural-urbain pour traiter les questions de régime foncier, d'expansion urbaine sur les terres agricoles et de concurrence croissante pour les ressources naturelles ?

Les politiques les plus appropriés sont celles qui reconnaissent les droits des populations locales, autochtones, groupements dans le droit foncière. Une grande lacune c’est sont les droits des femmes sur l’accès à la terre et sa propriété, y compris dans le contexte périurbain.

7.            Comment les systèmes alimentaires urbains et périurbains peuvent-ils garantir la satisfaction des besoins alimentaires et nutritionnels de groupes spécifiques, tels que les migrants, les personnes déplacées à l'intérieur de leur pays, les enfants, les adolescents, etc.

Les programmes sociaux qui ne se réduisent pas a un montant d’argent mais qui incorporent la possibilité de produire et consommer d’aliments locaux représente une alternative pour garantir la sécurité alimentaire des groupes les plus vulnérables. Le programme de potager communautaires s’est réalisé dans les secteurs périurbains habité par des familles de migrants, par exemple :  https://www.argentina.gob.ar/desarrollosocial/prohuerta

8.            Quels sont les avantages et les défis potentiels des marchés territoriaux pour renforcer la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition des populations urbaines ?

Les avantages de ce genre de marché sont :

• Lien direct entre producteurs et consommateurs
• Enrichissement et renforcement des liens sociaux et communautaires
• Consommation de produits de qualité
• Maximisation du bénéfice des producteurs familiaux
• Moins d’impact environnemental négatif (déchet, chaînes de réfrigérateurs, etc)

Défis :

• Disponibilité d’espaces pour son emplacement

9.            De quelle manière l'intégration de pratiques agricoles résilientes au climat et d'économie circulaire dans l'agriculture urbaine et périurbaine peut-elle fournir des cobénéfices climatiques pour tous et renforcer la résilience climatique ?

Dans des régions de collines sableuses où les glissements de terrains et les éboulements sont de plus en plus fréquents, l’agriculture syntropique se présente comme une opportunité pour la fourniture d’aliments et au même temps pour stabiliser le terrain en incorporant les arbres Autochtones, les fruitiers et d’autres. Les services écosystémiques de ce type de culture vont de la préservation de la flore jusqu’à la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique.

Dear HLPE-FSN colleagues and facilitators,

Since 2023, Instituto Escolhas is joining efforts with the Chair Josué de Castro from the University of São Paulo to develop collective studies in the months to follow on territorial food systems, aiming to reflect on the impacts of local food production for the promotion of healthy and sustainable food environments in Brazil.

The contributions attached reflect some of the findings and recommendations collected throughout various studies and different research projects. 

Best regards,

Juliana Luiz

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/).

Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on the scope of the report.

 Further to the comments already provided I recommend expanding the scope to include Indigenous Peoples food systems in the urban and peri-urban context. These food systems largely exist outside the cash economy and hence are often over-looked yet they provide an importance source nutrition, an example of social capital and cultural connection for the growing number of Indigenous Peoples moving to urban and peri-urban areas. Additionally, urban sprawl and its impacts are affecting these food systems.

Dear HLPE colleagues,

Thank for the great opportunity to bring comments on the scope of this report.

On behalf of the FAO Green Cities Initiative team, please find attached our contribution.

Best regards