West African food system resilience

Abstract

Background and understanding food systems resilience Regional drivers of West Africa's food systems Regional organisations Agro-pastoralism-based food systems Grains-and-legumes-based food system Rice-and-horticulture-based food systems Coastal maritime fisheries food system Tropical mixed tree and food crops systems Toward enhanced resilience of West African food systems Background and understanding Regional drivers Regional organisations Agro-pastoralism-based Grains-and-legumes-based Rice-and-horticulture Coastal maritime fisheries Tropical mixed tree and food crops systems Toward enhanced resiliencePreface COVID-19 is an extreme event that we will remember for a lifetime. But it is by no means the only shock of our time that puts global food security under pressure. Climate change, the increase in pandemics due to animal disease transfer and biodiversity loss will further increase pressure on existing food systems. Resilient, sustainable food systems, striking a balance between social, economic and environmental impacts, must be the answer. And that requires a different approach than 'producing more food'; it requires thinking in systems thinking and 'producing food in a better way'.Early 2020 the World Bank and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs approached Wageningen University and Research with the question: How resilient are West African food systems and how to strengthen their resilience? The World Bank was in the process of developing a regional programme for that purpose and expressed its interests to Wageningen University & Research to obtain evidenced-based insights that could be used during its consultations and formulation. Wageningen University & Research quickly set up a dedicated team, and invited experts from the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) and Mr. Joost Nelen to join.Diving into the world of West African food systems and their resilience does not provide one with a univocal answer to the questions raised by the World Bank. The systems prove to be very diverse and respond in very different ways to shocks such as provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas some systems show higher levels of resilience, others show important vulnerabilities to specific shocks. Income and power disparities between stakeholders in the systems, such as defined by gender differences, appear to be important, explaining why people's livelihoods are sometimes threatened, while other people have buffers and capacities to respond.

One size doesn’t fit all: regional differences in priorities for food system transformation

“…While agri-food professionals and food system experts in this study see a prominent role for increasing productivity and reducing poverty in food system transformation, the recent literature on food system transformation is more focused on strategies that improve access to healthy diets (FAO, 2020;IFAD, 2021), change consumer behaviour (Webb et al, 2020;WEF, 2020), combine technical and social innovation (Barret et al, 2020;Pereira et al, 2020;Reardon et al, 2019), increase the resilience of food systems (Béné, 2020;De Steenhuijsen et al, 2021;Savary et al, 2020) and provide more inclusive food system governance (Guijt et al, 2021;IFPRI, 2021;OECD, 2021a). These findings show that there is still a significant gap between what regional agri-food professionals prioritize as urgent strategies and what the global literature puts forward as promising intervention areas for food system transformation.…”

Food Flows and the Roles of Cities in West African Food Distribution Networks

“…Livelihoods in the agro-pastoral farming system depend largely on sorghum, some maize, pearl millet, pulses, sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry. Burkina Faso and Mali in particular have a history of irrigation zones focused on rice and vegetable production, such as the "Office du Niger" in Mali, with 100,000 ha of irrigated area (de Steenhuijsen Piters et al, 2021).…”

“Ocean Optimism” and Resilience: Learning From Women’s Responses to Disruptions Caused by COVID-19 to Small-Scale Fisheries in the Gulf of Guinea

“…Recommendations to improve fisher household resilience when confronted by disruptions include 'diversifying livelihood(s) to reduce dependency on the fishery and provide for additional sources of income and food' (Ferrer et al, 2021: 99). Diversification of income sources for small scale fisherfolk is a common practice by both men and women as a potential way out of poverty (de Steenhuijsen Piters et al, 2021;Roscher et al, 2022). However, we focus specifically on diversification by women in fisheries due to the extent to which they dominate diversification in fishing businesses (see: Gopal et al, 2020;Gustavsson, 2020).…”