Development pathways towards sustainable food systems for African cities (URAFOSYS (urban african food systems))

By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in cities. Africa will account for more than two thirds of this growth, and costs of food insecurity and malnutrition – historically considered a rural problem – will increasingly be transferred to cities. Acknowledging this challenge, this project aims to promote sustainable and nutrition-secure city food systems in Africa by developing knowledge and tools for local, national and international development planning. Therefore the objectives of the project are to:(1) Develop model(s) to link within-city food system dynamics to dynamics of the broader landscape(2) Co-develop scenarios of city food futures(3) Evaluate scenarios in terms of city food and nutrition outcomes, and equitable ecosystem benefit flows and economies across the urban, peri-urban and rural landscape(4) Identify opportunities and interventions for building sustainable food futures in local, national and international development planning, and highlight multiple co-benefits(5) Reflect on case study lessons for scaling impact elsewhere

Keywords:African cities, Urban food systems, Development planning

Disciplines:Urban and regional development