post-type: Blogs
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A message from RUAF and ICLEI Africa on World Hunger Day
Hunger knows no boundaries. It touches every facet of our societies, and makes plain the pains of poverty and inequality. Food is a strong connector, through socialising, cultural expression, community participation and interacting with nature. This is why hunger in our society impacts us all, and why we must strengthen our personal and organisational commitments…
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Standing on the threshold: COVID-19 and our food system
Author: Barbara Emanuel I recently retired as Manager of the Toronto Food Strategy and retirement has thrust me into a liminal state. The word “liminal” means being on the threshold; it is a point or place of entering or beginning, when you are no longer in your current state but haven’t fully transitioned yet to…
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Local food system responses to COVID-19: Toronto and its city region
Authors: Lori Stahlbrand (George Brown College) and Wayne Roberts (Food Systems Analyst) Toronto and its city region – known as the Greater Golden Horseshoe – is the most populous area in Canada, with nine million inhabitants. As in much of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the economy, leading to spiraling unemployment, increased food…
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How Quito’s urban and peri-urban gardens contribute to the COVID-19 response
Author: Alexandra Rodríguez, Head of the Participatory Urban Agriculture Project AGRUPAR, Economic Promotion Agency CONQUITO With the spread of COVID-19, the world is in the throes of a global health crisis that will reshape the economy, society and politics, probably permanently. There is widespread concern about the impact of the pandemic on the livelihoods and…
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City Region Food Systems to cope with COVID-19 and other pandemic emergencies
Written by: Alison Blay-Palmer, Jess Halliday, Guido Santini, Makiko Taguchi, and René van Veenhuizen This blog has been developed by RUAF Partners with FAO and is also posted at the FAO City-region food system website, where you also find a series of blogs on various city and country experiences. The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting…
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Video diaries from Nairobi: Navigating food insecurity in times of the COVID-19 pandemic
Written by Louisa Nelle, Dr. Serah Kiragu-Wissler and Dr. Sarah Ann Lise D’haen The impact of the coronavirus and government measures to curb the COVID-19 pandemic are causing unprecedented disruptions across all sectors of the economy and all segments of society in virtually every country across the world. As the pandemic and the measures…
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COVID-19: a wake-up call to rebuild our global food system
Frank Mechielsen, Programme Manager, Sustainable Diets for All at Hivos Instead of treating the COVID-19 outbreak as a stand-alone crisis, we should acknowledge that it is a symptom of something larger. Namely, the disruption and destruction of natural ecosystems and biodiversity, which has brought us much closer to wild animals – and their viruses. And…
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Cities, climate change and the food system of the majority
The 10th session of the World Urban Forum is underway, where innovative approaches to sustainable urbanisation are showing how we can achieve inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities. RUAF partners, including Hivos and FAO, are there to present ways of planning food systems in urban and peri-urban areas that emphasise systemic thinking and the importance…
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Spotlight: Urban farmers’ networks in East Africa
The urban food policy community is alert to the benefits of higher-level Food Policy Councils and city food departments, but there is less attention on organisations dealing with urban food at community level. This means there is untapped potential for sharing experiences and learning between urban farmers’ networks in different city and country contexts. Any…
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A growing menu for the urban food agenda
The regulars at the Resilient Cities congress might recall that when urban food first appeared as a topic in the congress series, it almost seemed out of place – a topic more fitting to the agricultural community than urbanists. The conversation started from the basics, emphasizing food as a system, which includes producers, consumers and many other stakeholders all along…