IHS is pleased to announce the completion of the tailor-made training "Building a Resilient Community Food System: Using a Living Lab and Food Systems Approach to Address the Complexity of Food and Nutrition Security in eThekwini. Designed for the Agroecology Unit of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, the training was conducted in collaboration with the Southern Africa Food Lab and funded by the Orange Knowledge Programme of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The coordinators of the project were former IHS staff Carley Pennink and Julia Skinner and IHS staff Ore Fika. The following article was written by Carley Pennink.
Background
The Agroecology Unit of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, was established in April 2010 to give impetus to the Municipality’s strategic plan for sustainable agriculture. The vision of the Agroecology programme was food sovereignty for all residents and a small-scale agriculture sector that contributes to improved health and well-being, growth of local economies and environmental sustainability. This mandate extends far beyond supporting agricultural production and embraces a more holistic, systemic approach to addressing food security.
The Unit wanted to become a knowledge leader that could connect stakeholders and their knowledge to generate a more complete picture of systemic food security issues in a context of high food insecurity and rapid climate change. To do this, the Unit knew it was crucial to strengthen relationships through increased interdepartmental cooperation and working closely with local stakeholders. A coalition of local government, local farmers, local consumers, and local non-government organisations was seen as crucial for the work of the Unit.
The view was that the transformation of the food system could not be enabled by a "filtering down" of national policies and directives to the local government level but could be sustained if local authorities engaged with stakeholders as co-creators of policy and programming.
“I was so excited to be part of such a diverse group that we are all learning from. The whole experience was a big ‘wow’ – we had no idea that they [farmers and others] had so much knowledge and how much experimenting they were trying. There is so much to learn from."
- eThekwini Health Department official
The project
The Tailor-Made Training (TMT) focused on the Inchanga area of eThekwini, using the work of the Woza Nami project as a springboard. This is a joint programme of initiatives between the Southern Africa Food Lab and the Agroecology Unit at the Inchanga Hub. Woza Nami supports the transition towards sustainable agriculture through agroecological practice, extending principles and practice to small-scale farmers (individuals and collectives). The methodologies promote genuine participatory engagement with stakeholders and actively facilitate the development of innovative responses.
This TMT was designed to “scale deep”, focusing on sustainability by engaging people's deeper values, beliefs, meanings and practices and the qualities of their relationships to bring about change. In addition, the TMT took a concrete step and used a collective, multi-actor approach to develop a strategic plan to directly influence the local food policy being developed within the municipality.
"This process was a revolution. I have never been involved in a process like this. Being in the same room as and working together with the government, other farmers, and organisations on issues and addressing these."
- Small-scale farmer
The Unit wanted to become a knowledge leader that could connect stakeholders and their knowledge to generate a more complete picture of systemic food security issues in a context of high food insecurity and rapid climate change. To do this, the Unit knew it was crucial to strengthen relationships, through increased interdepartmental cooperation, and working closely with local stakeholders. In fact, a coalition of local government, local farmers, local consumers, and local non-government organisations was seen as crucial for the work of the Unit.
Co-generating knowledge in Food and Nutrition Security (FNS)
The 8-month training programme focused on co-generating knowledge and innovative solutions in the field of Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) through the use of a living lab approach to improving collaboration between stakeholders. It took a systems approach, linking FNS to challenges of access to (arable) land and water, climate change and environmental degradation, and addressed the theme as a component of improving resilience. Furthermore, it addressed issues of food justice, gender and youth, as well as circularity. Its systemic character required a holistic understanding that connects different fields of knowledge and that considers different viewpoints.
The 30 participants comprised officials and extension officers from the Agroecology Unit, and other departments in the local government, NGOs and co-operative farmer associations from the community in Inchanga and small-scale farmers, with special focus on women and youth.
"I was very impressed to have these government officials here. They are so useful, a different group altogether from what I’m used to. They see what we see. I hope that these women are the new leaders after the 29th.”
- Small-scale farmer
Over the eight months, the three training modules were held at the Inchanga Hub, culminating in a final event on 2 August, where participants presented the final integrated strategic plan for the Hub and the outer-west region to a wider stakeholder group. The final event was well attended by a range of officials from all spheres of government across different departments, representatives of donor agencies, including the WWF Nedbank Green Trust and the DG Murray Trust who are supporting the broader work in Inchanga, academic and research partners including the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Institute of Natural Resources, and the Seriti Institute, an implementing partner and part of the TMT.
During the final presentation, thematic groups representing key components of the food system used stories of change to present their visions, objectives and strategies, with posters to highlight their key messages. A “walking journey” between key sites at the Agroecology Hub reinforced the integrated, holistic message of the training. Participants told their personal stories, and the farmers brought local products and food to the attendees. The process was vibrant and reflective of the relationships built over time together.
"This TMT has changed my life. I have learned things, discussed issues, and now have tools that I can apply in my life and work. Amazing.”
Small scale farmer
Key aspects of the training
Strengthening the expert capacity in the local municipality: Through the project, additional municipal branches were brought in to develop a broader strategy for the Hub and the municipality to support local food systems.
Building linkages and relationships between government officials, farmers, local NGOs and other local actors: Existing linkages were consolidated through the project, which draws in a range of actors within the broader metro.
Takeaways
Despite a number of challenges, climatic and political, interest and participation amongst all the participants has remained strong.
One of the clearest learnings from this process has been the transformative results of a shared process among a diverse group and the relations built. By creating the space to allow this natural collaboration to strengthen, the participants were able to navigate their own realities and translate appropriate theory and concepts into practical planning and ideas.
