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Systems thinking can guide Africa’s unique pathway to sustainable food and agriculture systems
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Systems thinking can guide Africa’s unique pathway to sustainable food and agriculture systems

  1. Newsletter Happenings In-house version 18 June 2021, No.1911 Given that most farms in Africa are in the hands of families that integrate livestock with crop production, the continent is well-poised to forge a unique path to sustainable intensification. A shared vision of circular food systems for Africa is what is needed, said Dr Andre F van Rooyen, ICRISAT’s interim Country Representative in Ethiopia. “Knowledge about the value of food and nutrition and the integration of this within education systems to induce consumer demand is paramount to drive this forward,” Dr van Rooyen added. By adopting systems thinking – wherein the behavior of complex systems is determined by the interaction among the components – we can use the interactions among agriculture, health and water for greater, more holistic and sustainable developmental impact, especially in marginal populations. For practical long- term solutions, policies for all these sectors need to be developed keeping in mind their interrelationships. Dr van Rooyen was speaking at an independent Food Systems Summit dialog (dialogs organized by individuals or organizations in the run-up to the UN Food Systems Summit) where he mentioned that Africa not transitioning to large-scale, high-input high-output form of industrialized agriculture accords it opportunities to develop very diverse and integrated market-oriented systems that may not mimic the economies of scale seen in nations with industrialized agriculture, but in scope and diversity could be uniquely pertinent to Africa. The dialog, ‘Building Resilient and Sustainable Food Systems in Africa: Mobilizing African Voices and Building Momentum for the UN Food System Summit’, was organized by the Food, Agriculture and Natural Systems thinking can guide Africa’s unique pathway to sustainable food and agriculture systems The ‘systems thinking’ approach assists in positioning technologies within larger systems, and even reconstitutes the hierarchies of value chain actors – often placing farmers at the same level as the private sector, extension and policy. Building absorptive and adaptive capacity, addressing systemic challenges and creating feedbacks from markets to build human livelihoods, dignity and pride.
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