Food systems transformation is key to achieving SDGs in Zim

Dr Joseph Tinarwo Correspondent

According to the recent Global Food Crisis report (2021), Zimbabwe is on the list of top six countries in the world experiencing food insecurities.

Food insecurity in Zimbabwe is compounded by external shocks such as Covid-19 pandemic, economic and weather-related shocks and brings the challenges of achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) to a sharper focus and scrutiny.

Moving from insecurity to development pathway and achieving SDGs require food system transformation (FST) that is locally supported.

 What is food system transformation and why is it important to achieve SDGs in Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe’s food system is confronted by a horde of challenges that is threatening the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Natural resource use is no longer sustainable and with rapid erosion of biodiversity. Extreme weather events induced by climate change is increasing the vulnerabilities of the communities in Zimbabwe while new diseases such as Covid-19 pandemic are worsening food insecurity, poverty, health and economic environment.

Combined these external shocks greatly impact people’s livelihoods.

With less than 10 years towards SDGs, Zimbabwe needs modified strategies to achieve these global targets. Food system transformation in Zimbabwe is imperative mainly because of the multiplicity of challenges confronting our food systems as well as the need to achieve SDGs.

What and why food systems transformation?

For food systems transformation to occur, it is imperative that all people should benefit from nutritious and healthy food, its production system becomes sustainable, climate resilient, and revitalise its rural areas.

The goals of food systems transformation are health, resilience, inclusiveness, sustainability and efficiency and are critical in the attainment of the SDGs.

While these five elements are key for FST, each country will have to design their strategies towards achieving SDGs in line with their policy, institutional and technological contexts. Zimbabwe is no exception.

In September 2021, United Nations convened a Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) as part of the Decade to Action to Achieve the SDGs by 2030.

The Summit launched bold new actions to deliver progress on the SDGs and resilient, healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems is central to the agenda.

Again in November 2021, UN also held a Summit on Climate Change in Glasgow and world leaders made commitments to address climate change and protect the environment.

In this context, Zimbabwe has an opportunity to design, implement and scale up strategies that are locally relevant leading to food systems transformation and achieving SDGs.

For instance, ensuring social protection, food and nutrition security, fight climate change and protecting the environment are some of the key pillars underpinning the current national blueprint, National Development Strategy 1.

FST has five key features that are essential in addressing the challenges facing both local and global food systems, as well as to achieving the SDGs:

1. In order to achieve the SDGs by 2030, food systems first need to be transformed so that they are efficient. This can be achieved, for example, by giving the private sector much-needed incentives and removing the barriers along food supply chains from production to transportation, food storage and, finally, food consumption. Opportunities exist in Zimbabwe to improve the efficiency of food markets and value chain operations.
2. Food systems need to produce healthy, nutritious, safe and affordable foods, which should be promoted to consumers. In Zimbabwe, issues related to quantity and quality of production are the basic first steps. Investment in market infrastructure, improving food safety regulations and the implementation of a quick entry point to increase access to healthy and nutritious food become vital. Nutrition education is another area with immediate benefits to the vulnerable and pregnant and lactating mothers and their children.
3. To achieve their full transformation, food systems must be inclusive of smallholder farmers as well as traditionally-excluded groups like women, youth and people with disabilities in decision-making, assisting them to form and strengthen their livelihood strategies. Building communities that are capable of identifying development needs and empowering women and youth are immediate strategies for Zimbabwe.
4. Efforts need to be put toward sustaining the environment by strengthening sub-national governance strategies and using regulations, digital technologies and innovations to conserve and protect natural resources and biodiversity.

Once again, in Zimbabwe, strengthening local capacities at the provincial levels and coordinating the efforts of multiple government ministries and departments, including agriculture, environment, forestry, irrigation (and within each of these departments, the vertical linkages between national and local programming) is essential to implement local and context-specific interventions leading to sustainable local food systems.

5. For food systems to achieve transformation, they must be resilient. This means that they must not only have the potential to bounce back swiftly from shocks, but also cushion deprived households from shocks by building their livelihood strategies. This is where Zimbabwe’s food system will initially focus, as much of the country continues to be affected by acute food insecurity resulting from frequent weather-related and external shocks.

While the UN’s call for action is clear after the UNFSS and the Climate Change Summit (COP26) the action needed at the country level requires design and implementation of specific strategies that are context specific and locally relevant.

In Zimbabwe, this requires first supporting the smallholder farmers and then build strong multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Finally, it is important to encourage various sectors such as health, agriculture, environment, social welfare, water and sanitation to work together.

Dr Joseph Tinarwo is the founder of Food and Nutrition Security Research Institute (FANSERI) and he is also a lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University [email protected]