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Info Service on Sustainable Agriculture Local Markets and Food Chains Key to Tackling Global Hunger Crisis, Say Experts We
are pleased to highlight a new report from IPES-Food, Food From
Somewhere, which tackles the pressing issue of building resilience
in this hunger-afflicted world : Recent shocks – from COVID-19 disruptions to the 2022 spike in food prices – have exposed the deep vulnerabilities in global industrial food chains and their inability to ensure food security in a crisis-prone world. The report highlights the power of localised food systems, or ‘territorial markets,’ to build resilience. These community-based markets and food chains – from public markets and street vendors to cooperatives, from urban agriculture to online direct sales, from food hubs to community kitchens – nourish a majority of the world’s population daily, yet remain overlooked. The report provides a comprehensive overview of these diverse food webs. It documents their critical contributions to sustaining producer livelihoods, ensuring access to healthy food for the poorest populations, sustaining cultures and communities, and keeping populations fed in the face of shocks. The report urges governments to reinvest in local and regional supply infrastructures, relocalise public purchasing and food security strategies, and curb corporate capture of food systems. With
best wishes, —————— IPES-FOOD
(International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems) *** Local Markets and Food Chains Key to Tackling Global Hunger Crisis, Say Experts *** Top lines:
*** Read the IPES-Food report & summary, ‘Food From Somewhere’ and access graphics at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MtCdhLQz-9xcVp1mGq4p1SvOTamG3m3J *** 2 JULY 2024, BRUSSELS – With progress on world hunger in reverse, global food experts are today calling for an urgent shift to more localised and resilient food provision to achieve the goal of zero hunger by 2030. Nearly 30% of the world’s population are facing food insecurity, while 600 million people are projected to be facing hunger by 2030, putting the world’s ‘zero hunger’ goal further away than ever. The IPES-Food report, Food From Somewhere highlights the need for greater resilience in the face of mounting shocks. In recent times, the pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, and escalating climate shocks have led to supply chain chaos, volatile food prices, empty shelves, and a surge in hunger levels. It comes as the UN reviews stalling progress towards the global ‘zero hunger’ goal (SDG2), and ahead of the latest comprehensive hunger update from the UN (15 July). Global industrial food chains have demonstrated particular vulnerability to trade disruptions, climate impacts, and market volatility, while often undermining the livelihoods of small-scale producers, says the report. The comprehensive review reveals that localised food supply chains, or ‘territorial markets’, offer a more resilient and equitable approach to food security. These local food webs include public markets, street vendors, cooperatives, urban agriculture, and online direct sales, and rely on smaller-scale food producers and vendors serving communities. They demonstrate benefits for food security – including access to more diverse and nutritious foods, high degrees of resilience and adaptability to shocks, accessible prices, and environmental sustainability. Additionally, they support the livelihoods of millions of small-scale producers, sustain diverse food cultures, boost biodiversity, promote community cooperation, and help feed up to 70% of the world’s population while using less than one third of agricultural land and resources. While corporate chains broke down during the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘territorial markets’ quickly adapted their operations and supply methods to keep communities fed. However, these place-based food markets are penalised by trade and investment policies and agricultural subsidies, and often lack adequate infrastructure such as sanitation and storage facilities, finds the study. The IPES-Food panel calls for urgent policy shifts to increase resilience in the face of growing hunger. It identifies a series of joined-up actions for governments including:
Jennifer
Clapp, IPES-Food expert, Canada, said: Million
Belay, IPES-Food expert, Ethiopia, said: Shalmali
Guttal, IPES-Food expert, India, said: A separate global survey of urban food insecurity – which is also published on 2nd July by the High Level Panel of Experts on food security and nutrition (HLPE-FSN) of the UN Committee on World Food Security – estimates that over 3/4 of the world’s food insecure population are now in urban and peri-urban regions (1.7 billion people), and calls for targeted policies to address urban and peri-urban hunger. *** NOTES Huge volumes of fresh foods are supplied outside of corporate chains, often direct-to-consumer: In sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, small-scale and family farmers produce 80% of the food supply; while global chains account for only roughly 15-20% of total food consumption. In Dhaka, Bangladesh, over 400 markets feed more than 25 million people every day, and 95% of the city’s urban poor purchase most of their food from these fresh food markets. In Mexico open-air and traditional markets account for half of all fruit and vegetables that are sold for retail: in Kenya, Zambia, and Nicaragua, it is over 90%. Expert authors available for interview:
Shalmali Guttal, IPES-Food expert and executive director of Focus on the Global South [India – EN, HI, TH]
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