Putting food systems thinking into practice

Wageningen University & Research recently published an article on Global Food Security which made use of Aidenvironment’s sector transformation framework. The research shares lessons learned from applying an integrated analytical framework for putting food systems thinking into practice.

The research addressed the need for practitioners to better capture the abstract concept of the food system and understand how the transformation process that they engage in contributes to food system outcomes. To achieve this, Wageningen University & Research adapted Aidenvironment’s sector transformation framework and integrated it in the food system framework. They applied the integrated framework in a multi-stakeholder participatory process with the specific purpose of assessing the impact of COVID-19 in the horticulture, sesame, and seed sectors across seven low- and middle-income countries.

The use of the framework created great value. It increased the understanding of sector dynamics at an early stage of the pandemic. The framework was instrumental in assessing, in a holistic manner, the impact of the crisis on the performance of sectors in contributing to food system outcomes. It also provided stakeholders with an actionable tool for analyzing and guiding the performance of practical activities within an agricultural sector.

More background, insights and lessons can be found in the article “Putting food systems thinking into practice: Integrating agricultural sectors into a multi-level analytical framework” on researchgate.net or sciencedirect.com.

Please contact Jan Willem Molenaar for more information.