Resilient Food System Tailored Shared Toolbox

his tool kit is the result of a tailored engagement approach and training process that was carried with the Resilient Food Systems (RFS) country projects based on the SHARED approach. The process was initiated with a series of consultation interviews and was followed by a set of virtual training events customized to the priorities of the country projects. Reflections by country projects provided feedback on the training as well as insights for future engagement and inclusion of the SHARED tools, methods and approaches.

This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2021 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.

Covid-19 was a canary in a mine. It exposed the vulnerabilities of 21st-century food systems but did not create them. Since then, the world has faced a “polycrisis:” a cluster of weather-related crop failures, war-induced food and energy shortages, and import dilemmas with compounding effects. Going forward, we need to plan for more sustainable and resilient food systems that improve environmental outcomes and address economic disparities. But food systems planning is a relatively new discipline and guidance is scarce. This book fills that gap. Where most food systems planning has focused on urban issues, this book takes a holistic view to include rural communities and production agriculture whose stewardship of the earth is so critical to public and environmental health, as well as to ensuring a varied and abundant food supply. Its goal is to inform planning practices and follow-up actions for a wide range of audiences—from professional planners, planning commissions, and boards to conservation districts and Cooperative Extension to the on-the-ground change-makers working to strengthen America’s food and farming systems. Embracing the fact that the U.S. is highly diverse in its people, places, and politics, the book lifts up principles and successful examples to help communities develop strategies based on their unique assets and the needs and preferences of their people.

Food Systems for an Urbanizing World is a joint report prepared by the World Bank and FAO. It aims to stimulate discussion and suggest pathways to support local and national governments, and civil society and private sector actors in their efforts to improve the performance and capacity of food systems. The report describes the diversity and ever-changing nature of food systems, with interlinked traditional, modern and informal channels that respond to different market segments and different consumer preferences. It also underscores the importance of targeting support to the type of city and food system. The task is not an easy one. Data are weak and empirical analysis is weaker. As cities’ engagement in urban food issues is relatively new, the institutions, governance mechanisms and capacities needed for effective design, implementation and delivery of this agenda must be strengthened. Finding effective ways to prioritize, mobilize and coordinate contributions from multiple sectors will be essential for achieving food system goals.

The City Region Food Systems (CRFS) programme is a global initiative of FAO and RUAF that aims to support national and local governments and local food actors to build resilient city region food systems by strengthening rural–urban linkages and improving the resilience to climate and pandemic risks. This Handbook is designed for technical staff in local and national institutions, and practitioners in cities/city regions that are implementing the city region food system (CRFS) assessment and planning process. Its purpose is to help familiarizing with the CRFS approach and key terminology, and guide the implementation of an assessment and planning following different steps and modules. The Handbook is intended to be used in conjunction with the online Toolkit, which contains supplementary explanations, how-to tools, training materials, technical examples, and workshop resources related to activities within each project module. The Toolkit can be accessed on the CRFS programme website (https://www.fao.org/in-action/food-for-cities-programme/toolkit/introduction/en/).

This working document is a collaborative effort between the Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation (WCDI) of Wageningen University and Research (WUR) and FAO under the Food and Nutrition Security Resilience Programme (FNS-REPRO). The proposed methodology will be field tested in Sudan, South Sudan and Somaliland and validated by the parties mentioned above, based on which a final document will be produced. This guide aims to contribute to FNS-REPRO’s goal to build food system resilience (FSR) in protracted crises, in order to improve food and nutrition security (FNS). It shows how to do this with learning journeys – that is, working with stakeholders to engage and learn in different ways. Learning journeys provide opportunities for stakeholders to learn from each other in an interactive and participatory way. Building FSR requires tailor-made solutions for particular contexts, commodities, systems and actor groups. This means that local knowledge and expertise must be used. There also needs to be good collaboration between everyone involved (including government, UN, NGOs, private sector, local knowledge and research organizations, and civil society at large). The learning journey process is designed to facilitate this. This guide should be used flexibly. It should be adapted to specific needs and situations; specific topics and issues of interest should be central to the learning journey. It is important to know that learning journeys can have different natures, start in different ways, and be used by different actor groups. The FSR learning journeys are designed to create a common ground of concepts, challenges and opportunities to improve practice, and to inform the wider policy environment. They deliberately include a combination of open exploration of current practice and experience, content-specific workshops, and personal assignments. The different kinds of activities enable participants to explore and perhaps shift their dominant working habits. Learning journeys are strongly shaped by their participants. To be successful, they require active participation and open sharing. This guide assumes that a learning journey would be carried out over a flexible period of time, ranging from one week to one year. Depending on the participants, different learning journey paths can be chosen, allowing to tailor-make journeys that are suitable and cover the content. Each learning journey will need to be tailored to the current practices and priorities of the target country. This includes determining which events are suitable when, and selecting the focus content. Each learning journey has a specific topic. This topic needs the buy-in) of all the participants. If the learning journey does not feel relevant, motivation and commitment will decrease. Learning journeys can be designed around a particular learning question stemming from FNS-REPRO or beyond depending on needs and interest of participants. A typical learning journey consists of six parts: 1. a context and needs assessment. This is to understand FSR within the context. It includes identifying key stakeholders who could be involved, and assessing their information and learning needs. 2. a start-up workshop during which a wider group of actors involved in FSR comes together to consider how FSR in protracted crises could be improved through specific learning aspects. 3. a “deep dive” workshop into the content. This should be done through co-creating knowledge (knowledge workshops) and workshops on tools for knowledge (the systems we use to share knowledge). Concepts like food and nutrition security, food systems, resilience or even peace building should be part of this, depending on the learning journey’s exact focus. 4. Exchange and exposure visits with assignments as well as learning from a food system resilience case study – most likely to be a FNS-REPRO element – as long as this aligns with participant interests. 5. An action plan workshop in which progress and pitfalls are shared and steps towards further operationalisation of food system resilience in protracted crises are planned 6. Product development on the basis of all findings. These products can take a wide range of shapes, depending on the exact topic of the learning journey, and can be used by actors to improve practice and policy to build FSR to address food insecurity.

Climate change presents an unprecedented challenge to the productivity and profitability of agriculture in North America. More variable weather, drought, and flooding create the most obvious damage, but hot summer nights, warmer winters, longer growing seasons, and other environmental changes have more subtle but far-reaching effects on plant and livestock growth and development. Resilient Agriculture recognizes the critical role that sustainable agriculture will play in the coming decades and beyond. The latest science on climate risk, resilience, and climate change adaptation is blended with the personal experience of farmers and ranchers to explore: The "strange changes" in weather recorded over the last decade The associated shifts in crop and livestock behavior The actions producers have taken to maintain productivity in a changing climate The climate change challenge is real and it is here now. To enjoy the sustained production of food, fiber, and fuel well into the twenty-first century, we must begin now to make changes that will enhance the adaptive capacity and resilience of North American agriculture. The rich knowledge base presented in Resilient Agriculture is poised to serve as the cornerstone of an evolving, climate-ready food system. Laura Lengnick is a researcher, policymaker, activist, educator, and farmer whose work explores the community-enhancing potential of agriculture and food systems. She directs the academic program in sustainable agriculture at Warren Wilson College and was a lead author of the report Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States: Effects and Adaptation.

The Climate Risk Toolbox (CRTB) was developed to support climate-resilient project design. The tool is an open-access resource, hosted on the Hand-in-Hand Geospatial platform, allowing users to obtain a climate risk screening and report containing climate resilient measures, crucial to strengthen project formulation at early stages. The CRTB complies with requirements of international financial institutions and can be used by development practitioners for high-level screening at an early stage of planning processes or project design. This manual is a comprehensive guidance material to support users in navigating the online tool, including all the technical specifications behind the tool. This guidance document is key to ensure transparency of data and to strengthen its application by users.

Focusing on the vulnerability and resilience to economic shocks at the household level, this book draws on extensive research activities carried out in two Melanesia countries: the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In particular, it identifies the household impacts of the recent food, fuel and economic crises. The contributors also examine resilience by identifying how households responded to these recent economic events in order to cope with their impacts. Findings indicate that households are vulnerable to a range of shocks and often struggle to cope with their impacts. Shocks are making it harder for households to meet their basic needs. Households in Melanesia are facing increasing demands for money, in particular for school fees, basic foodstuffs and customary obligations. Concurrently, there are limited domestic opportunities for formal employment. Traditional social support networks are strong and are an important form of resilience. However, there is evidence that they are disintegrating. Of particular focus are the gendered impacts. Women are found to bear a disproportionate share of the burden in adjusting to household shocks. The authors highlight key areas in which public policy and development programmes can reduce household vulnerability and increase their resilience to future economic shocks.

Our current food system has decimated rural communities and confined the choices of urban consumers. Even while America continues to ramp up farm production to astounding levels, net farm income is now lower than at the onset of the Great Depression, and one out of every eight Americans faces hunger. But a healthier and more equitable food system is possible. In Building Community Food Webs, Ken Meter shows how grassroots food and farming leaders across the U.S. are tackling these challenges by constructing civic networks. Overturning extractive economic structures, these inspired leaders are engaging low-income residents, farmers, and local organizations in their quest to build stronger communities. Community food webs strive to build health, wealth, capacity, and connection. Their essential element is building greater respect and mutual trust, so community members can more effectively empower themselves and address local challenges. Farmers and researchers may convene to improve farming practices collaboratively. Health clinics help clients grow food for themselves and attain better health. Food banks engage their customers to challenge the root causes of poverty. Municipalities invest large sums to protect farmland from development. Developers forge links among local businesses to strengthen economic trade. Leaders in communities marginalized by our current food system are charting a new path forward. Building Community Food Webs captures the essence of these efforts, underway in diverse places including Montana, Hawai‘i, Vermont, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, and Minnesota. Addressing challenges as well as opportunities, Meter offers pragmatic insights for community food leaders and other grassroots activists alike.