IFAD Research Series 70: Do not Transform Food Systems on the Backs of the Rural Poor

IFAD Research Series 70 (2022)

28 Pages Posted: 2 Jun 2022 Last revised: 29 Jun 2022

See all articles by Benjamin Davis

Benjamin Davis

United Nations - Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Leslie Lipper

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

Paul Winters

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Date Written: May 17, 2022

Abstract

Even prior to COVID-19, there was a considerable push for food system transformation to achieve better nutritional and health – as well as environmental and climate change – outcomes. In 2019, several major publications focusing on transforming agricultural and food systems to achieve nutritional and climate change objectives argued for major changes in agricultural land use, production systems and dietary choices. They placed an emphasis on increasing resource use efficiency, reducing agricultural extensification and reducing consumption of meat-based products while increasing nutritionally dense foods. However, these reports fail to fully consider the impact of these measures on the livelihoods of the approximately 2.7 billion rural people who depend on small-scale food production and to propose specific measures to ensure the rural poor participate in – and benefit equitably from – food system transformation. Although the importance of inclusion in food system transformation is gaining traction, including in a recent Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability – Nature Sustainability Expert Panel Report on food system transformation, in this paper we argue that recent research, modelling and discourse on food system transformation is insufficient and that specific actions are needed to ensure that food system transformation does not take place on the backs of the rural poor.

Keywords: food system transformation, rural poor, small-scale producers, food system modelling

JEL Classification: Q01, Q18

Suggested Citation

Davis, Benjamin and Lipper, Leslie and Winters, Paul, IFAD Research Series 70: Do not Transform Food Systems on the Backs of the Rural Poor (May 17, 2022). IFAD Research Series 70 (2022), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4112089

Benjamin Davis (Contact Author)

United Nations - Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) ( email )

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
Rome, Lazio 00100
Italy

Leslie Lipper

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN ( email )

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
Rome, Lazio 00100
Italy

Paul Winters

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Via Paolo di Dono
Rome, 00142
Italy

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