Small Farmers For A Food System Transition Evidence From Kenya And Tanzania

This book aims at being a first rendering of the research conducted on the coattails of the SASS Project (Sustainable Agrifood Systems Strategies).The SASS Project was financed by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), and it engaged a multidisciplinary team of agronomists, microbiologists, botanists, economists, sociologists and anthropologists. The purpose of the research was to map and to analyse the local nutritional systems of three East African areas – the Arusha’s and the Iringa’s in Tanzania and the Lake Naivasha’s in Kenya – with an interdisciplinary, synergic and interactive approach.The project intends to investigate the agro-nutritional systems both from a techno-scientific and a socio-politic point of view, in order to provide a full overview of the situation by integrating the different results from all the disciplinary fields involved.

The publication aims at presenting best practices and lessons learned from two programmes implemented in Kenya and in the United Republic of Tanzania which capitalized on FAO's experience and knowledge in inclusive food systems development, targeting both the policy and institutional level and the direct support to value chain actors (i.e. SMEs). The focus of the programme was twofold, covering both the policy level (through improved inter-sectoral coordination and capacity building of institutions) and the pilot of inclusive investments strategies by small and medium agro-industries to source from small-scale producers. Four food subsectors were selected, based on their nutrition relevance in the national and local consumption patterns and on their economic potential for small-scale actors (red meat, white meat, soybean, rice, maize and edible oils).

This open access book discusses the current role of smallholders in connection with food security and poverty reduction in developing countries. It addresses the opportunities they enjoy, and the constraints they face, by analysing the availability, access to and utilization of production factors. Due to the relevance of smallholder farms, enhancing their production capacities and economic and social resilience could produce positive impacts on food security and nutrition at a number of levels. In addition to the role of small farmers as food suppliers, the book considers their role as consumers and their level of nutrition security. It investigates the link between agriculture and nutrition in order to better understand how agriculture affects human health and dietary patterns. Given the importance of smallholdings, strategies to increase their productivity are essential to improving food and nutrition security, as well as food diversity.

The driving forces of income growth, demographic shifts, globalisation and technical change have led to a reorganisation of food systems from farm to plate. The characteristics of supply chains - particularly the role of supermarkets - linking farmers have changed, from consumption and retail to wholesale, processing, procurement and production. This has had a dramatic effect on smallholder farmers, particularly in developing countries. This book presents a comprehensive framework for assessing the impacts of changing agri-food systems on smallholder farmers, recognising the importance of heterogeneity between developing countries as well as within them. The book includes a number of case studies from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe, which are used to illustrate differences in food systems' characteristics and trends. The country case studies explore impacts on the small farm sector across different countries, local contexts and farm types

Traditional and indigenous food systems have existed for centuries and were in balance with local food supplies, globally. However, between the mid 20th and early 21st century the green revolution dramatically altered food production, which in turn affected the inclusivity of traditional production systems within food systems and subsequently, traditional dietary intakes. This change was accompanied by lifestyle changes and spurred a global nutrition transition. Today the world faces a global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change. A new call to action to create food systems that nourish people and sustain the planet is needed. Traditional and indigenous food systems have long been recognized as systems that can both support good human nutrition as well as maintain a balance with nature. There is an underutilized knowledge base around traditional and indigenous food systems. This includes the knowledge of nutritious species, traditional culinary preparations, and cultural practices. Greater agricultural production of underutilized species can result in more sustainable agricultural and food systems which can also help improve livelihoods and food security. Traditional and indigenous cultural practices with respect to both land and water management, as well as culinary practices, contribute to both sustainable food production and consumption. These practices require a greater evidence base in order to be incorporated into public health nutrition initiatives related to improving dietary quality, such as food-based dietary guidelines for example. An increased focus on the importance of local, traditional, and indigenous food systems and nutrition could therefore help countries to improve human nutrition and, ideally, help mitigate the global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change. This Research Topic will focus on documenting diverse local food systems and promoting elements within them that can help improve nutrition and health – both human and planetary - in various ways including the livelihood development of knowledge holders.

The objective of this publication is multifold. First, it aims to learn from small and medium sized agrifood manufacturers about the role they play in food systems transformation in Senegal and the policy reforms required to harness their potential. Second, and more specifically, it gleans lessons from structured interviews with Senegalese rice millers, based on their day-to-day realities, highlighting the business creativity used by these firms in order to deal with difficult enabling environments. Third, the methodology adopts a food systems approach to analyze the target enterprises; cross fertilizing different disciplinary perspectives in order to develop evidence for the public sector on integrated policy making that better supports the role of small agrifood enterprises in sustainable transformation. Finally, the study shares ideas about innovations related to procurement, operations, logistics, finance, marketing and sales, human resources, and strategic partnerships. An important contribution of this work is to demonstrate the multidimensional and complex nature of the environment within which agrifood manufacturers do business, and the need for the public sector to harness their potential to reduce poverty through off-farm employment generation and to improve food security through the sustainable supply of affordable and nutritious food to domestic and export markets.

A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.

'There should be a good market for this book. The topic is very timely and a major theme of the new World Development Report 2008. The editors and contributors are world class.' Derek Byerlee, World Bank 'This is a topic of wide interest and high policy importance. The depth of coverage and excellent synthesis should ensure that the book will have a substantial market in high-level undergraduate and graduate courses in agricultural development. It will have a solid readership among development economists and policy makers as well.' Mark Rosegrant, International Food Policy Research Institute The driving forces of income growth, demographic shifts, globalization and technical change have led to a reorganization of food systems from farm to plate. The characteristics of supply chains - particularly the role of supermarkets - linking farmers have changed, from consumption and retail to wholesale, processing, procurement and production. This has had a dramatic effect on smallholder farmers, particularly in developing countries. This book presents a comprehensive framework for assessing the impacts of changing agri-food systems on smallholder farmers, recognizing the importance of heterogeneity between developing countries as well as within them. The book includes a number of case studies from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe, which are used to illustrate differences in food systems' characteristics and trends. The country case studies explore impacts on the small farm sector across different countries, local contexts and farm types. Published with FAO