Nurturing seeds of hope for better food systems
Healthy food for all that nourishes both people and the planet. This positive vision underpins IDRC-supported research around the world. Yet in practice, it is not an easy task.
The world is undergoing a period of remarkable transformation. Food systems are having to adapt and respond to artificial intelligence, climate change and economic disruptions.
“We are bombarded with images of dystopian collapse and degradation, and we know people behave based on what they expect for the future,” said Elena Bennett, a sustainability scientist at McGill University in Canada and Seeds of Good Anthropocenes initiative co-founder. “If we simply extrapolate current negative trends into the future, we run the risk of those bleak visions being self-fulfilling, of creating the very dystopias we hope to avoid.”
In response, IDRC-funded researchers are thinking ahead using a range of forward-looking approaches to identify promising innovations towards more equitable, sustainable and resilient food systems.
Research highlights
- Food systems must adapt to artificial intelligence, climate change and economic disruptions to help ensure healthy food for all that nourishes both people and the planet.
- Using strategic foresight and futures-thinking, IDRC-funded researchers in Africa are identifying a range of innovations to help promote equitable, sustainable and resilient food systems.
- They are doing this by identifying “seeds”, hopeful locally grounded solutions that are already working and could be scaled, tackling food loss and waste and establishing criteria to help make strategic foresight initiatives more impactful in driving food system transformation.
Visions of good Anthropocenes
One such example is a project that explores how to foster equitable food system transformation in Africa, led by the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. This “seeds” project brings together an international group of researchers seeking to nurture positive – and plausible – futures based on hopeful locally grounded solutions that are already working and could be scaled for humanity and the environment. They call these innovations “seeds” and have identified 24 of these in six countries — Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Zambia.
They selected the “seeds” through a creative participatory process (described in a recent journal article) that engaged farmers, activists, artists and researchers.
“All the African seeds showcase different ways that activities now on the margins might be able to advance equity within food systems,” said Reinette Biggs, co-founder of Seeds of Good Anthropocenes who co-leads the IDRC-supported research.
One “seed” project led by South African Urban Food and Farming Trust helps 1,000 urban farmers in vulnerable communities develop resilience by providing farming training, tools and connecting city gardens to markets.
Another in Kenya led by the Dabaso Creek Conservation Group works to improve the livelihoods of coastal communities through mangrove restoration, ecotourism, crab fattening and a crab restaurant. Almost half of their related profits support the Dabaso village community through initiatives like a sickness and bereavement fund.
A third in Ghana, the Food for All project, recovers and redistributes surplus edible food in the capital, Accra, and beyond. It serves around 3 million meals a year through its feeding programs.
“Such initiatives demonstrate the incredible potential of locally led solutions to foster equity, resilience and sustainability,” said Nyasha Magadzire, coordinator of the “Seeds” project. “By highlighting the impact of these initiatives, we aim to inspire more action toward transforming African food systems.”
Using foresight to stem food loss
Food waste is a global problem, with one-third of food fit for human consumption lost at production, retail and consumer levels. One billion meals a day were wasted globally in 2022, while 783 million people still go hungry. The Food Loss Research Program, a partnership between the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and IDRC, is using strategic foresight to reduce this waste.
In more than a dozen countries, researchers are engaging diverse stakeholders in foresight to evaluate food-systems trends and risks related to climate change, new technologies and labour market shifts over the next 25 years. They intend to develop future-fit approaches to reducing food loss.
From fishers and farmers in the Asia-Pacific region to food-insecure city dwellers in Africa, people all along the supply chain are preparing to get ahead of emerging threats to local food supplies.
Practical guide for impactful foresight
When presenting governments, civil society and the private sector options to transform food systems, they need sound evidence they can trust. They need future scenarios based on high-quality information and foresight to tackle complex challenges.
Towards this goal, an IDRC-supported initiative of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and Foresight4Food is drawing on past and ongoing research to develop foresight indicators to ensure that high-quality foresight methods and data guide positive change in food systems.
Based on their findings, the researchers will develop a practical guide on impactful foresight that policymakers, researchers and funders can use to pursue healthier and more equitable climate-resilient futures.
“We are confident that this initiative will help regional and national organizations harness insights from past and ongoing studies to drive food systems transformation,” said Abdulrazak Ibrahim, FARA cluster leader for institutional capacity and future scenarios.
The future may be uncertain, but initiatives like these will help plant seeds of hope for better food systems.
Contributors: Georgina Cundill Kemp, senior program specialist, and Renaud DePlaen, senior program specialist, IDRC.
Dive deeper into strategic foresight and how to think differently about the future on our dedicated web page.