Reinforcing the climate resilience of short food supply chains for zero hunger and improved nutrition

The issue: Rapid urbanization has fuelled demand for food and basic services. This poses complex challenges for local authorities, who must ensure their constituents have access to nutritious food, clean water, clean air, sustainable energy and green areas and address conflicts of interest related to land use. The burgeoning growth of cities has prompted competition for the very land that provides vital food. A lack of effective urban and territorial development plans is resulting in unsustainable patterns of land use, overcrowded and unhealthy cities and peri-urban areas, and high vulnerability to extreme weather events and other natural disasters.

Meanwhile, cities are among the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and have an important role to play in climate-change mitigation and adaptation. Promoting sustainable food production in an urban and peri-urban context, nutritious food outlets and efficient food distribution contributes to the reduction of environmental impacts, while increasing opportunities for inclusive local supply chains and access to nutritious foods.

The action: The programme aims to reinforce sustainable food systems by promoting the preservation of agricultural land and bolstering short supply chains. The programme takes a city–region food-system approach, focusing on areas surrounding a city and its peri-urban and rural environs, connecting them through food production, processing, distribution and marketing.
Food production and supply will be reshaped in urban and peri-urban areas through:
(1) sustainable and climate-resilient food production;
(2) efficient land-use planning to promote the preservation of agricultural land;
(3) short supply chains and efficient food distribution to reduce food miles and carbon footprints;
(4) the integration of smallholders, farmers and vulnerable groups across the supply chain, increasing their participation in public procurement markets, short chains and territorial markets.

Investing in inclusive agri-food industries and services for functional and prosperous territories

The issue: Small cities and towns are home to 34 percent of the global population. The number of inhabitants is expected to grow by 50 percent to 1.85 billion by 2030. This rapid urbanization, mainly driven by demographic growth and rural-to-urban migration, is affecting the entire food system and seeing large tracts of agricultural land converted for urban development and industrial use. A significant proportion of the population in many countries is migrating to already saturated megacities and this raises concerns about the world’s ability to feed itself. Young people are increasingly reluctant to take up primary employment in agricultural production, despite youth entrants to the labour market being at an all-time high, particularly in Africa and Asia- Pacific. This makes job creation in off-farm/value-added agricultural and food activities (processing, marketing, services) essential for balanced territorial development and reducing urban sprawl. Small cities and towns can act as hubs of innovation and promote Small cities and towns can act as hubs of innovation and, thus, incentivize small and medium- sized agricultural and food enterprise creation, promoting employment and helping to interconnect rural and urban areas. A wide range of public and private partnerships is needed to help boost investment, sustain integrated regional economic development and realize sustainable and resilient food systems.

The action: The programme identifies clusters of small towns with high potential for local economic development and job creation and works to strengthen governance mechanisms to:
(1) develop profitable and sustainable off- farm value-added activities, rural services and efficient market linkages;
(2) attract investment to improve agrifood business activities;
(3) incentivize public-private partnerships to support small and medium-sized agri-food enterprises (SMEs);
(4) identify and support quality products of specific geographical origin that present an opportunity for territorial development and rural tourism;
(5) promote job-creation strategies, with a focus on women and youth, and multiplier effects within and beyond jurisdictional boundaries;
(6) consider the nutrition situation to identify and promote local products to fill the diet gap of the population.

Improving people’s access to nutritious food and green spaces

The issue:  Poorly planned urban public spaces can lead to health hazards, such as air pollution and rising temperatures. Unplanned urbanization, in particular, encroaches on green public spaces, reducing their capacity to improve air quality, mitigate urban temperatures and encourage physical activity. This, combined with poor diets, is fuelling an epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), now the leading cause of mortality worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. City lifestyle and dietary patterns are strongly influenced by the types of food available (increasingly energy-dense, processed food products), the accessibility of shops and the extent of green areas. Air pollution and rising local temperatures can increase the probability of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and fuel the spread of new pathogens. To counter these trends, food systems and the green environment need to be planned and managed in synergy to curb pollution and encourage people to consume more nutritious and safe food and be more physically active.

The action: Food The programme helps cities to improve their food and green environments via smart, targeted and integrated policies and actions to promote the links between green spaces, food systems and health, particularly NCDs. It builds on models of community change that focus on healthy eating and active living. Policies and actions are based on an assessment of green spaces, green infrastructure and food retail outlets in target cities, particularly low-income areas. Food-retail is assessed via
(1) on-site reviews of all retail outlets in a given area and
(2) geo-referencing of outlets to gauge their relative density and proximity to households.

A similar approach is taken to mapping existing and potential green public areas and infrastructure.
These assessments, plus analyses of good practices in other cities, will inform policy, planning and regulatory recommendations. Pilot actions will be implemented to:
(1) provide public spaces for the sale of nutritious foods,
(2) provide incentives to make diverse, nutritious and safe foods accessible to all and to develop zoning regulations to curb the proliferation of unhealthy food outlets,
(3) plan and develop safe and accessible green public spaces,
(4) improve the maintenance of existing public spaces,
(5) educate consumers and foster behavioural change, especially parents with school children
(6) raise awareness and promote the links between green spacesand the food environment to prevent NCDs and improve health.

Reducing food losses and waste in urban centres through sustainable and circular bioeconomy

The issue: across the developing world, population growth, urbanization and lifestyle changes are generating more demand for locally sourced food, much of which is produced by smallholders. Maintaining the quality of these foods in the rural-to-urban supply chain poses various challenges, as significant qualitative and quantitative losses can occur due to improper harvesting, handling, sorting, packaging, transport or storage management. At the other end of the food chain, too, there are multiple drivers of food waste, such as poor food planning, inadequate packaging, confusion over date marking, improper storage, and cultural practices and behaviours (such as over-sized servings). The discarding of food and packaging in landfill in and around cities has numerous negative hygiene and environmental consequences, such as disease transmission and an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Food waste is a waste of energy, money and resources that could be averted or otherwise recycled through circular and sustainable bioeconomy.

The action: The programme focuses on strategies, actions and technologies to address food loss and waste from urban centres (e.g. demand for fresh food, but inadequate cold chains and market infrastructure). It aims to mitigate negative socio-economic and environmental impacts and foster efficient food-waste and packaging management. The programme builds on FAO’s work to develop sustainable and efficient urban food systems that deliver good nutrition and food security, generating income and employment and contributing to prosperous urban–rural development.
Save Food Cities works with municipal authorities, smallholders and a wide range of actors to design, develop and implement food-loss and food waste-reduction strategies, prioritizing the reduction of losses at source, the recovery and redistribution of food, industrial usage, composting, feedstock and bioenergy. Good practices are mainstreamed into national strategies, including circular bioeconomy strategies and climate-change planning processes. Consumer educational campaigns – targeting children, in particular – are an integral component, promoting behavioural change aimed at cutting food waste at household level. The support provided will depend on context and be based on a food-system needs analysis. Where feasible, public–private partnerships will be promoted.