policy

During a three-day workshop in Cotonou end November 2019, all Applied Research Fund (ARF) projects of NWO-WOTRO in Benin got together. Since these projects are finished or almost finalised, it was time to take stock of their outcomes, share lessons learned, and tackle issues related to scaling-up of project results. The final report (in French) and video are now available. »

This study estimates a food demand system, including 15 major food items in Vietnam, with multiyear household survey data. As the Vietnam economy continues to grow, per capita rice consumption in both urban and rural areas and across different income groups will continue to decline, whereas demand for other high‐value products will rise. »

This special issue brings together a diverse collection of case studies from seven countries across the Global South—China, Jamaica, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda—to explore the dynamics of Africa’s urban informal food sector in comparative international context. »

This article states there are several hurdles to ensure sustainable seed production and consistent flow of improved legume varieties in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Diversification of seed sources by linking formal and informal seed systems is a fundamental tool to enhancing seed access to resource‐poor farmers especially those in remote areas. »

Globally, a transformation of the food system is needed to achieve SDG2 and other SDGs. Who gets to decide what a future food system looks like and who will take the lead are key questions in this process. These questions have hardly been addressed in the international ‘food systems’ discourse so far. Hence, a recent meeting of the Dutch Community of Practice on food systems was held that looked at food systems governance mechanisms. »

This article states that globalization of food value chains has increased the demand for greater transparency over where food is produced, how, by whom and with what effect on society and the environment. A range of new digital technologies are available to facilitate transparency, with the promise of leading the global food system to an era of ‘hyper-transparency’. Its impact on smallholder farmer inclusion, however, remains questionable »