This report combines the results of an exploratory country mapping commissioned by IFAD on overweight and obesity. Overweight and obesity rates across low and middle income countries (LMICs) are approaching levels found in higher-income countries, with prevalence on the rise in urban and rural areas. So far, little research has been done on the role of food systems in addressing overweight and obesity and the control of diet-related diseases in rural areas of LMICs. The country mapping covers five countries: Bolivia, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria and Zambia. For each country, available evidence on policies and intervention strategies that have the potential to prevent and/or reduce overweight and obesity were reviewed and validated in stakeholder consultations. Findings were mapped against a food systems framework, and enabling factors and barriers were identified for interventions aiming to mitigate the rising incidence of overweight and obesity. The study results show that food system-related interventions are not specific to overweight or obesity. Instead, they tap into the wider theme of making diets more healthy and nutritious. They emerge as necessary strategies to set the scene for creating non-obesogenic food supply chains. The identified intervention strategies involve different food system domains, including production strategies for improved dietary diversity, processing, changing the food environment and addressing consumer behaviour. The study concludes that there is a gap in the evidence of what works and what does not due to inadequate monitoring and data flaws relating to overweight and obesity. This is combined with a skewed focus on urban population groups, and a food and nutrition security agenda that still focuses largely on undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, which does not reflect an actionable agenda on the triple burden of malnutrition.

This report describes the process and experiences of four City Working Groups (CWGs) of four cities in the Dhaka Metropolitan area in Bangladesh in developing and using a Food systems governance self-assessment tool. The tool was based on a theoretical framework of principles for food system governance arrangements. This report covers the process of identifying and formulating ten (10) food system governance practices, the development of a self-assessment tool on these practices, and the experiences of application of the tool by CWG members. Findings show that the tool offers the opportunity for CWG members to engage in joint reflection on their contribution to food system governance and to make ‘governance’ an actionable concept. More time for reflection on the results of the self-assessment would be valuable to further strengthen the CWGs’ contribution to food system governance in their respective cities. These experiences and the tool itself can offer inspiration to similar platforms in other cities in- and outside Bangladesh on how to foster self-monitoring and learning and to strengthen their own contribution to food system governance in their respective cities.

Food systems governance for healthy and sustainable diets remains a challenge. New structures are needed to better connect food systems actors. This paper argues that existing multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) have the potential to contribute to food systems governance by facilitating linkages between actors and scales. In a non-experimental study existing MSPs (n = 89) were explored in four countries addressing food and nutrition security. A diagnostic framework was used to identify MSP's capacities to address governance principles like system-based problem framing, boundary spanning, adaptability, inclusiveness, and transformative capacity. Existing MSPs can play a role in spanning boundaries, thereby increasing adaptability and learning, but seem less promising in shifting to systems-based narratives and thus may have limited capacity to truly transform food systems.

This report is a compilation of a workshop sessions held with stakeholders engaged in a foresight and scenario develop process to develop a Dhaka Food Agenda 2041. The report describes the rationale and the different steps undertaken in the process as well as its outputs. Stakeholders have interacted and explored the Dhaka Metropolitan food system and discussed the linkages between issues in the domain of food and nutrition security, food safety, food loss and waste, fresh markets and value chains. In terms of output they have deliberated that one of the major uncertainties is the shift in diets of citizens related to the uncertainty of having thriving small and sustainable businesses versus big- companies (supermarketisation). The participants developed different scenarios and their narratives that are varying from least to most desirable situation. The workshops have led to evidence and dialogue on the needs and opportunities to aim for a sustainable and inclusive food system in Dhaka in 2041. In conclusion, the report presents the steps that will follow the scoping, mapping, analysis of drivers and trends and the scenario development feeding into the further development of the Dhaka Food Agenda 2041

The Food Systems for Healthier Diets (FSHD) program is a flagship under the A4NH CGIAR research program. It seeks to contribute to healthier diets for poor and vulnerable populations through a better understanding of food system-diet dynamics and through identifying and enabling innovations in value chains and policies. The present study aimed to systematically and methodically document, analyze, and synthesize the FSHD program’s key learnings that emerged over the course of its implementation (2017-2022). This “learning journey” captured lessons learned within and between FSHD Clusters of Activities and within and between four focal countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Vietnam). A combination of document review, interviews (with program team members, key researchers and country coordinators), an online survey (among research partners in the focal countries) and consultative workshops was used to collect these lessons. This report presents the lessons learned across nine learning questions. It provides conclusions on food systems research for healthier and sustainable diets, as well as on programming for this type of research, to help nurture future food systems research.

On food choice motives, adolescents scored quite similar to their parents, adolescents seem to perceive safe as more important than adults and health equally important.Adults seem to perceive price to be more important than adolescents.Similar to the adults, adolescents perceive rice and pulses to be most safe and milk, fish and fruits to be somewhat less safe in comparison with the other food products/categories.Foods consumed outside home were perceived as least safe.Adolescents also seemed to perceive plant based proteins and vegetables (both the leafy as the other vegetables) to be more healthy than animal based proteins.Main outcomes and implications are discussed in chapter 9. Based on the results some suggestions for interventions can be made: Consumer awareness campaigns on the point of purchase tailored at consumer motives, perceptions of health and safety, and coping strategies.Focus on main outlets and foods for the urban poor. Tailor wet markets to the poor by: 1. increasing quality and hygiene without compromising on price, 2. increasing shelf-life fresh products by looking for cheaper cold storage options on wet markets and/or community storage opportunities.Keep a good quality at the end of the day when many urban poor do their shopping. Consider specific interventions for the urban poor.The results of the Dhaka consumer study show the vulnerability of the urban poor with low consumption levels of energy dense foods, high food insecurity and part of the consumers relies on monetary and food support.Consumer campaigns and improving the food availability by chain interventions and market interventions might not be sufficient to enable them to buy an adequate healthy and safe diet. Supply chain interventions to improve freshness of food that are commonly consumed by the urban poor.Determine the most preferred cheap food products (e.g., animal sourced foods, fruit and vegetable, pulses) and focus on the value chains of those products to improve food safety.Increase availability of fresh products such as vegetables, fruits and animal sourced foods in neighbourhood stores.For example by access to cold storage, better linkages with fresh food market, and vendor training on daily supply chain management.This outlet has however clear advantages over wet markets (the proximity, the known seller and possibility to buy on loan) and a potential to increase access to fresh products.

Sense of coherence (SOC), a concept that refers to individuals' abilities to manage, comprehend, and find meaning in their lives and the world around them, has been shown to be an important predictor of health outcomes. While SOC was initially hypothesized to be static after early-adulthood, there is growing evidence that health interventions can strengthen SOC. In this study, we accordingly examined whether SOC could be strengthened among adults in the context of a physical activity intervention. This intervention, Communities on the Move, was conducted in the Netherlands, and was primarily targeted at older adults from socially vulnerable backgrounds. Four cohorts were followed for 18 months each, between 2012 and 2016. The SOC-3 questionnaire was used to collect data on SOC at baseline (T0) and after eighteen months (T3), with information on 117 participants in both of these waves. To assess the change in SOC between T0 and T3, ordered logistic regressions were performed, as well as mixed ordered logistic regressions with random intercepts for group and program location. This study found evidence that SOC significantly changed from T0 to T3. Participants with weak SOC at baseline reported a median one-point stronger SOC at T3 (on a 6-point scale), while those with moderate or strong SOC at baseline reported a median change of zero points between T0 and T3. Further, based on the results of the regression analyses, those with weaker SOC scores were most likely to have stronger SOC at T3: having a weak SOC at baseline was associated with a 76% probability of stronger SOC, and a 4% probability of weaker SOC at T3. These results indicated that SOC may be strengthened in vulnerable older adults, particularly when their SOC is initially low.

The report ‘City Region Food System Governance – Guiding principles and lessons learned from case studies around the world’ is a harvest of insights from a wealth of case studies that focus on food system governance (in its broadest sense, or focusing specifically on food policy) in an urban context. These insights are complemented by key principles as formulated in guiding documents such as policy agendas and supporting frameworks that focus on urban food governance. Together, these insights come together in five guiding principles for city region food system (CRFS) governance. These guiding principles, together with a reflection on the findings from this endeavour, provide input for a knowledge agenda and future interventions that aim to contribute to more sustainable, resilient and equitable food systems in city regions around the world.

On the 1st of October 2019 GAIN, jointly with WFP and WCDI, organised a one day workshop for the Sun Business Network in Bangladesh to i) to promote deeper and shared understanding of the pathways for improving nutrition and healthier diets through adopting a food systems lens and to contribute to environmental and social responsibility, and ii) to strengthen the capacity of SBN Bangladesh to understand, strategize and steer action to improve nutrition outcomes through adopting a food systems lens. This report summarizes the results of the presentations provided by GAIN, WFP, Light Castle Partners and WCDI, and the outputs of the group work on food system mapping.

Interdisciplinary knowledge in the agri-food domain is needed to support transitions towards resilient and sustainable urban food systems and to contribute to achieving the SDG2 Zero Hunger and SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities. This paper proposes an interdisciplinary framework to study urban food system outcomes and options for transformations in Low and Middle Income Countries in the context of changing rural-urban linkages and migration flows. The framework is a combination of a general analytical food system approach with add-ons from spatial and participatory approaches.

WCDI) organised an online Workshop through Zoom.The workshop was organized together with the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Business Network (SBN), the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the World Food Programme (WFP) as part of the Flagship on Food Systems for Healthier Diets (FS4HD), one of the IFPRI-led CGIAR programmes of Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH).This workshop was funded under the anchoring and scaling project, which seeks to find opportunities to support anchoring and scaling healthy diet

This report presents the key highlights and contributions from the conference ‘Monitoring and Evaluation for Inclusive and Sustainable Food Systems’. This conference was held on 3-4 April 2019 in Wageningen, the Netherlands and was the twelfth annual ‘M&E on the Cutting Edge’ conference. This event was organised by Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation (WCDI) in collaboration with Wageningen Economic Research and the Food & Business Knowledge Platform. This conference aimed to seek clarity in the role that monitoring and evaluation can play to support the transition toward inclusive and sustainable food systems.

Inclusive and sustainable food systems should guarantee consumers availability of, equitable access to and efficient delivery of safe and healthy food requiring interconnectedness between agro-food systems and other (health, education) systems. This requires active networking between multiple stakeholders, engaged in different parts of the food system. The objective of the study was to explore the role of platforms as mechanisms to support the scaling and anchoring of food system transformations for healthier diets. Network analysis was used to visualise relevant platforms, clustering organisations and identifying key connectors (multiple memberships). This Annex to the discussion paper Identifying Platforms for Healthier Diets covers two countries; Ethiopia and Vietnam. In Vietnam, seven CGIAR-affiliated platforms were identified, and 8 (sub)national platforms. In Ethiopia, one CGIAR affiliated platform was identified, and 15 (sub)national platforms.

This report presents the results of the second phase of the action research on the SNV TIDE School Milk Programme (SMP). The study explores the views of learners and their parents on three aspects ofschool feeding that were identified in the first phase. These areas are 1) Relation between school and home feeding, 2) (Rise of) inequality among learners and 3) Sharing food in school. Focus group interviews were held with parents and learners in three schools, split into groups based on the level of participation in the programme.