Statement delivered by Robert Arcidiacono, CSIPM Coordination Committee member, and the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance.
CSIPM thanks the HLPE-FSN for the preparation of this report. We will share some of the priorities that we in the Mechanism have identified as key to the CFS policy process on urban and peri-urban food systems. The process should emphasize that, in order to have healthy and sustainable food systems, the only way to achieve this is through agroecology: this is one priority policy area that should be addressed by this CFS process. The local dimension, with its endogenous potential of knowledge and know-how, resources and social interactions, can contribute to the implementation of forms of agriculture that enhance biodiversity and cope with climatic emergencies.
We need low-cost agricultural practices that focus on, and ensure rights for the access and control of natural resources, including processes that protect nature and that value, empower and maintain food producers’ autonomy and agency.
It is important to stress that for this, we need a commitment from States to promote food producers’ agency and participation in governance of food systems. They should also commit to the preservation of native seeds and to a conscious fight against the use of agrotoxics. Without this we will never achieve the unique health of our planet and our right to food. Recognizing the six dimensions of food security needs to be a guiding principle for the policy areas that will be addressed in the upcoming CFS process
Malnutrition and hidden hunger, and their relationship to ultra-processed products, must also be addressed. Without information and encouragement of food education we cannot think of conscious consumers. Food and nutrition education however should not be restricted to a narrow approach centered on individual nutrients and individual consumer choices in urban contexts. It should respect the diversity of food cultures and identities and take into account the realities and constraints shaping food practices.
We urgently need to implement Agroecological Urban Agriculture, as this not only enables the production of healthy food, but also provides meeting places for people, where community ties are strengthened, where virtuous links of cooperation are created, where a respectful relationship with nature is reestablished. These spaces also provide environmental services in peripheral areas that generally have eroded our highly impermeable soils. However, there are many challenges, including the privatisation of water, which should also be addressed in the upcoming process.
Urban and peri-urban food systems have historically received no support from local governments, and where there has been support, it has not been enough to meet the needs of the diverse and growing urban populations. Local governments should give strong support to urban and peri-urban food systems as much as they give to issues of transportation, housing and so on. Over half of the world’s population live in urban areas and are dependent on urban and peri-urban food systems for their health, wellbeing and income through food production, processing, distribution, and food waste recycling.
We call the member states to work with their local governments to support urban and peri-urban food systems through:
- Zoning-off and protecting agricultural land in and around cities from infrastructural developments that are turning cities into concrete jungles and putting them on the path of future hunger zones.
- Support women’s rights and youth agency while guaranteeing their employment and income generation
Overall, we call for creation of enabling policies to support the above stated and other related initiatives and match them up with adequate budgets for implementation. We look forward to strengthened urban and peri-urban food systems. Thank you.