Sustainable Food Monitor

Statement for Ministerial Dialogue with Civil Society

Commission on Sustainable Development

1. Introduction of Urban Rural Linkages in Context of CSD themes: During both the Review Session of CSD 16 and the Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM) for CSD attention has been given by governments and major groups of civil society to the important linkages between urban and rural sectors to meet the Millennium Development Goals, combining economic development, social protection and environmental goals. Some of these linkages are contained in the negotiating text for CSD 17, reflecting the important role of both rural and urban local authorities in rural development, to enable access to markets for small farmers, and for securing food safety nets. Madam Chair and distinguished delegates from national governments and civil society, this theme is one of very concrete specific outcomes for policy that are felt directly on the ground. To enable a diverse and strong pattern of urban rural linkages all over the world, governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil society should work and learn together to exchange information and build international, regional, national and subnational networks, as well as create meaningful information exchange on urban-rural partnerships, across both developing countries and developed countries.

2. Why are urban rural linkages important to agricultural development in response to the food crisis? Urbanization is a worldwide trend with many implications that touch agriculture.  Of course, urban centres provide important markets for agricultural goods.  Urban market facilities should be accessible to regional and local producers to enable direct marketing to consumers and other buyers, to shorten the marketing chain, enhance product freshness, maximize farm income, encourage crop diversification and sustain rural development. This will also provide a buffer from global food system price and supply stocks. Beyond market links, we also need to acknowledge how agriculture touches upon and impacts urban centres and rural communities in a variety of important and interlinked ways - through:

- healthy eating initiatives

- school lunch programs

- food assistance programs

- community food gardens

- farmers retail and wholesale markets

Urban rural linkages will have various positive impacts:

- reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions

- use and increase local knowledge on food production and marketing

- protect valuable biodiversity in gardens and farms

- create employment opportunities

- improve the quality of life.

As food security rises in public visibility, the interests and stakes that are shared by both urban and rural communities should increasingly be considered mutually supportive as opposed to distinct, separate, or in conflict with each other.

3. Multistakeholder public food and community planning must become a priority: The path to more carbon neutral communities and wider citizen-stakeholder engagement with positive concrete changes in many communities is leading to a new horizon of farming and food systems change, where local authorities lead and energize wide cross-sections of their constituencies. In many countries and regions, communities are newly discovering their countrysides and the economic, environmental and social assets of resilient and diverse food systems. Young people who are motivated by food issues in urban areas are finding connections with their rural counterparts. Farmers who are farming with conservation practices such as organic and agroecological approaches, are becoming models. Consumers are now becoming more aware of the impact of their dietary footprint and demanding more local products that are in season. City planners have returned to thinking about food, and many researchers and decision-makers are trying to understand the meaning of their “foodshed” as well as their “watershed” and planning for their local food systems within a global context. Enabling policy recognizing urban rural partnerships can boost these developments much further than at present, for many are still uncertain about what urban rural partnership even means, or how they can be fostered.

4. The example of Eastern and Southern Africa (MDP ESA): Municipal governments are engaging with rural authorities to support farmers and build new markets with support across many sectors. In Africa, municipal authorities have recognized the value of urban and peri-urban food production.

Through the Cities Farming for Future (CFF) and From Seed to Table (FSTT) programs, MDP-ESA has been working with the Resource Centre for Urban Agriculture and Food Securities (RUAF) Foundation in partnership with African municipal authorities to encourage integration of urban agriculture in urban land use planning as a strategy for improving food security and nutrition, securing sustainable markets for urban farmers, particularly women and the youth, and promoting good environment management practices. This initiative is made possible by the Government of the Netherlands, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, and contributions from municipal governments.

5. Enabling policy and the role of local authorities in partnership with civil society : The need for an effective enabling policy environment to ensure that all major stakeholders including civil society are adequately engaged can not be over emphasized. It is important that local government with the support of central government create conditions for actors other than government to effectively participate in decision-making. Among the approaches to implement the CFF and FSTT program is the establishment of multi-stakeholders forum that give opportunities to all major stakeholders to influence policy and action on ground. To ensure that rural urban linkages are effectively established, it is important to ensure that appropriate farm-to-market infrastructure at sub-regional and sub-national levels are well capitalised with both national and international support. In addition, producer organizations that link small farmers to new market chains should be encouraged as a strategy towards creating economic integration. As seen in last weekend’s tours of the character of urban rural partnerships here in the host city of New York, vibrant markets formed through collaboration by city and state authorities with farmers, NGOs, youth, workers, women, the business and research communities can revitalize poor urban neighbourhoods while providing valuable markets for rural development.

6. The policy toolkit needed for urban rural partnerships: Enabling policy for urban rural partnerships can promote economic activity, create jobs for youth and food workers and small businesses, and bring fair prices for farmers, especially women and small farmers. Health, education, planning and other agencies of local authorities can be encouraged to coordinate more effectively with each other and with national agencies, for example in local food system networks and policy councils. Enabling policy can help mobilize investment in farm to market infrastructure through public/private partnerships. The role of public procurement, together with private investment can be an engine for comprehensive and sustainable development of the food environment in every region. The power of public purchase can be further mobilized to help create safety nets and social protection systems for the non-farming urban public, providing a degree of buffer against food supply and price shocks, while serving longer term rural economic development. In conclusion, enabling policy for urban rural partnerships as contained in the present text represents a bold step for creating food system resilience in all regions. Intergovernmental organizations, global NGOs and other major groups can readily identify opportunities and embark directly in collaboration with national governments, and begin jointly planning and implementing a wide array of urban rural partnerships, reflecting the urgency and vulnerability felt at community levels in developing and developed countries. In short, urban rural partnerships are at the heart of any sustainable “green evolution” for Africa and other regions, as called for by African civil society in Windhoek, Namibia.

In closing, Madame Chair and distinguished delegates of the CSD, you are invited to attend an especially vibrant CSD Youth and Farmers Market tomorrow between 1 and 3 pm in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza just two blocks north of the UN. New York youth and farmers engaged in bringing healthy food to low income neighbourhoods are hosting a special market for the opening day of the High Level Segment, complete with dishes prepared by young chefs from countries represented by the CSD Youth Caucus. This market is an example itself of urban rural linkages with policy support from local and national government.

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