Urbanisation, rural transformations and food systems: the role of small towns
This paper (PDF) by IIED and IFAD reviews evidence of the role of small towns in the ‘virtuous circle’ of rural-urban linkages, and distills the key lessons for equitable food security policy that is spatially and context specific. Small towns are an essential but often-neglected element of rural landscapes and food systems. They perform a number of essential functions, from market nodes to providers of services and goods and non-farm employment to their own population as well as that of the wider surrounding region. In demographic terms, they represent about half of the world’s urban population, and are projected to absorb much of its growth in the next decades. But the multiple and complex interconnections between rural and urban spaces, people and enterprises – and how these affect poverty and food insecurity – remain overlooked. Drawing on lessons from a set of case studies from Tanzania and other examples, this paper aims to contribute to this debate by uniting a food systems approach with an explicit focus on small towns and large villages that play a key role in food systems. The case studies presented in this paper emphasizes the critical role of governance to support equitable urbanization and rural transformations. Local authorities in small towns have a potentially key role to play.
See also the related briefing (PDF) “Why smaal towns matter: urbanisation, rural transformation and food security” by IIED.