An international meeting “Urban food policies : markets, catering, urban/rural connexions” dedicated to sharing knowledge and practices among local governments of cities and urban regions from sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, along with research and development actors.

The objective is to contribute through dialogue to a better knowledge and understanding of urban food policies in the world, their construction, modes of action and impacts.
This meeting will provide an opportunity to show that, in addition to national policies and international agreements, cities can also make a vital contribution to food security and sustainable food systems.

Beyond urban agriculture, already known and discussed further, the conference will explore three strategic levers that city and urban region governments can mobilize : markets and logistics (wholesale, retail, transportation, etc. ); catering services (school, popular restaurants, street food, etc.); the new forms of connexions between urban and rural areas (twinning, urban investment in agriculture, etc.).

This conference is organized by the UNESCO Chair on world food systems and the French research center CIRAD  together with the French Agency for Development – AFD, the FAO – Food for the cities program, the RUAF Foundation, the Regions United Organisation (ORU- Fogar),  the Mercadis and the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humankind (FPH), with the support of Agropolis Fondation, the Daniel and Nina Carasso Fondation, the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie and the Montpellier Mediterranée Métropole.