Sustainable Food Futures

Caring for the seeds of the future during the quarantine

Making sure that the collections of beans, cassava, bananas, and forages remain alive, even during the quarantine, is an essential job of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT in order to preserve the world’s biodiversity and food safety. From its work sites in laboratories, greenhouses, and experimental fields in Palmira, Colombia, and at the University of Louvain, in Belgium, Mónica, Melissa, Madelyn, Ramiro, Javier, Jair, Wilmer, Vincent, and Bart tell us about their experience in which they take on with equal responsibility the preventive measures established by the health authorities of their countries and those of our own organization. Their mission during the confinement is to safeguard the patrimony of more than 150 nations of the world that have entrusted the Alliance with one of their most precious treasures, their seeds.

Training Heifer International on Market System Development

The Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) has been supporting Heifer International in their drive to adopt the Market System Development (MSD) approach as an intervention model within the organization, so far conducting four introductory training sessions.

Sara Rankin, the researcher from Cali who promotes urban agriculture as more than just producing food

Sara Rankin was born in Cali and she is a researcher from the Sustainable Food Systems team at CIAT. This Champion has worked towards understanding the food system in Cali to develop a municipal public policy on food safety and sovereignty that meets the specific needs of this territory, among other goals. In this process, she has been able to meet one of the hidden pearls of the food initiatives in Cali: urban orchards, which are increasingly popular.

To improve nutrition for the poorest consumers, try a market-based approach

Uganda’s newest health food craze began in the slums of Kampala. It started when a handful of women tried an unusual porridge, which is made from five grains grown in nearby hillsides, instead of their normal porridge, which is typically made from a single main ingredient like maize. Soon they began selling the new product door-to-door. Nutreal Limited, the local company that produces the porridge flour is now rushing to keep pace with demand.

How we are contributing in Asia with the Zero Draft of the Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition

Together with stakeholders from different countries in Asia, Country Coordination and Engagement Unit of Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH CCE) in Vietnam participated in CFS Regional Consultation on Food systems and Nutrition for Asia and the Pacific held in Bangkok on 25-26 July 2019 and contributed to giving feedbacks and inputs on the four chapters of the Zero Draft of the Voluntary Guidelines.

About Sustainable Food Futures

Food security is not enough to ensure a healthy future. We need new food production and distribution systems that ensure everyone has access to varied, nutritious foods produced with a minimal environmental footprint. From genes to beans to market chains to food waste, CIAT is helping shape the vision of a sustainable food system.

Contact

Mark Lundy

Mark Lundy

Senior Researcher & Theme Leader of Sustainable Food Systems

m.lundy@cgiar.org

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