Food Security - From the Global to the Local Dimension

Abstract

Food security, environmental health and quality, livelihoods and social well-being represent key outcomes of sustainable food systems. Achieving global food security is an important element of the UN Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals.

Objective

This year, the focus of the course will be on water. Water plays an essential role in food systems as a lack of water affects all food systems components and influences food security progress as one key outcomes of food systems. The world faces many water-related challenges. According to the 2020 State of Food and Agriculture report of FAO, agriculture is the world’s largest water user, accounting for more than 70% of global water withdrawals. Roughly one-sixth of the world's population lives in agricultural areas with high water constraints. Over the past 20 years, the annual amount of available freshwater resources per person has declined by more than 20%. Additionally, rising incomes and urbanization are leading to dietary changes that imply an increased demand for water-intensive foods. Understanding water-food system linkages is hence essential food security and nutrition and for a sustainable transformation of food systems as uncoordinated food and water security strategies are putting SDG (Mainly SGG 2and 6) outcomes at risk. The participants of the course will discover and explore different concepts and initiatives on water management and water governance systemic approach to implement the evidence that it generates for adapting or introducing instruments, tools, strategies, and policies from local to global scale based on findings from research projects, learnings from FAOs work on water scarcity, management and governance and through concrete case studies. Learning objectives: (i) Get to know FAO as an organization, its role function and work related to water; (ii) Deep dive into the concept of food security and food systems transformation with a special focus on the role of water in food systems, explore the link between water usage and agroecology; (iii) Explore and analyze concepts and initiatives linked to water scarcity, water management and water governance and their link to sustainable food system transformation as well as tradeoffs and synergies involved to other sectors such as fishery, forestry or energy production, explore the water food and energy nexus; (iv) Discuss these concepts and initiatives as well as ideas for sustainable food systems through improved water management and water governance with experts from FAO and eventually other Rome based agencies; (v) Explore the links and tradeoffs between water allocation, agricultural production as well as healthy diets, nutrition and nutrition sensitive value chains; (vi) Reflect about the role of different food system actors such as policy makers (both at national and local level), United-Nations Agencies like FAO, research, and other institutional players such as civil society, consumers or the private sector.

Content

Eradicating hunger and ensuring food security for all at any time is one of the key challenges of our society. The specific issues related to “food systems” will be at focus of this course. In desk research, discussions and by listening to experts, students will critically reflect and analyze the role of water in food systems. The main outcomes of sustainable food systems are food and nutrition security, environmental quality and health, including the protection of natural resources and the mitigation of climate change impacts, decent livelihoods and social wellbeing. The concept of food systems is key to understand the complex framework of actions to ensure food and nutrition security of present and future generations around the globe but also within local systems. Farmers and the related farming practices, food processors, logistics operators and retailers as well as the consumers themselves are among the key actors in any food system. Others are policy makers, public administration, research institutions, etc. The concept of food security: Availability, access, utilization and stability are generally recognized as the four dimensions of food security, combining (i) availability of food at a certain time and a certain place, (ii) individuals physical and monetary accessibility, (iii) appropriate use of the food to make sure it’s healthy and of high quality and (iv) stability of the food system, especially regarding the economic, political and environmental conditions. The High Level Panel of Experts of the Committee for Food Security (CFS) recommends in their report released in 2020 to acknowledge two further dimensions: agency, as the capacity (of individuals or groups) to make their own decisions about food production, processing, distribution and consumption, and their ability to participate in processes which shape food system policies and governance. Water is essential for food security as it directly impacts all six elements: availability, access, utilization, stability, sustainability, and agency. Effective water management and governance are crucial in mitigating the impacts of climate change, reducing food and water loss, and ensuring sustainable agricultural practices. Proper water management supports food use by maintaining the quality and safety of food. Stability and sustainability are achieved through reliable water sources and conservation practices, while agency is enhanced by empowering communities to manage their water resources effectively. The core element of the course is a three-day workshop at FAO in Rome (23.04.-25.04.2025) in which students will exchange with experts from FAO and other Rome based agencies on different topic linked to food security and sustainable food systems with a focus on water. In the course students will discuss and explore following three main aspects: (i) Exploring concepts, approaches and tools leading to a better and more holistic understanding of sustainable food systems, food and nutrition security, human and environmental health, livelihoods and social wellbeing; (ii) Reviewing and critical reflection of the role of water in food systems; (iii) Reflecting about the perspectives and roles of various food system actors such as farmers, processors, food industry, retailers, policy makers (both at national and local level), United-Nations Agencies like FAO, research institutions, and other players such as civil society, consumers on food system transformation with a focus on water.

Resources