Food Security in an Urbanizing Society Course

INTRODUCTION

Accelerated urbanization is one of the major drivers of change in our globalized world. Countries and cities are facing enormous challenges relating to food security, agricultural systems and regional development. In striving for urban food security it becomes essential to develop resilient agricultural systems, effectively link rural and urban areas, and holistically manage food chains from production to consumption.

With growing urbanization, sustainable city-region agri-food systems are essential in ensuring food security. Food production and market systems should increasingly be integrated into a holistic, systemic and spatial manner. Urban population rely heavily on all sorts of markets for their daily food needs. These are supplied through overstressed, complex agro-logistical networks often at risk of failure. This training program focuses on how rural production and urban market systems can be integrated such that urban dwellers can be assured better access to adequate quantities of nutritious food while sustaining the viability of the production areas.

DURATION

5 days

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This course is intended for various actors in the Agriculture Extension (Agricultural extension officers, senior agricultural officials and policy makers) working with communities, in governments, funding agencies, Research organizations and non-government organizations among others for Agriculture support activities and other Development programmes.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the course, learners will:

• Be acquainted with the basic premises of the metropolitan food cluster, sub-sector and spatial planning approaches, and how these can be integrated to ensure nutritious food to all strata of rural and urban communities
• Be familiar with the technical and socio-economic aspects of urban agriculture and its contribution to sustainable agri-food systems
• Have strengthened skills to analyze their own situation and design towards more sustainable solutions
• Understand the basic premises of the metropolitan food cluster, sub-sector and spatial planning approaches, and how these can be integrated to ensure nutritious food to all strata of rural and urban communities
• Understand and intervene in complex rural-urban planning processes from an integrated, holistic and multi-stakeholder perspective
• Have strengthened skills to develop and facilitate multi-stakeholder processes in relation to food security in the urban regions