SDSN Philippines Inspires Local-Level Community Dialogues on Sustainable Food Systems
On June 25th, 2021, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Philippines together with the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and the Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan (XU), hosted an online event entitled an “ Independent Dialogue for the UN Food Systems Summit 2021: Pathways to Sustainable Food and Nutrition, Consumption and Livelihood. ” This event was organized the objective to inspire local-level community dialogues in the course of social development and social action work, and to explore new pathways for sustainable food and nutrition, consumption and livelihoods for the Philippines. Over 230 participants from academia, civil society organizations, government, and the private sector were in attendance.
This dialogue featured five experts on various subject matters related to food systems and sustainability including Dr. Cielito E. Habito, Professor of Economics at the ADMU; Dr. Roehlano M. Briones, Senior Fellow at the Philippine Institute of Development Studies; Dr. Maria Assunta C. Cuyengkeng, Chair of the SDSN Philippines Leadership Council; Dr. Larry N. Digal, Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Mindanao; and Fr. Pedro Walpole SJ, Research Director of the Environmental Science for Social Change. The event was moderated by Mr. Roel Ravanera, the XU Vice President for Social Development, and Dr. Randy Tuaño, Network Manager for SDSN Philippines.
After an overview of the state of agriculture in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and various natural calamities in the Philippines were presented, there were discussions on how to move forward from the pandemic with one speaker highlighting that because agriculture is an important segment in the nation’s economy, the rural areas are the safest places for economic recovery considering the less incidence of COVID 19. Improving the country’s state of agriculture—be it through shorter food miles, giving mind to consumer health and nutrition, or even having greater farmer shares—can help balance the nation’s economy, and possibly prevent further decline.
Next, was the discussion of the relationship between food security and nutrition. It was highlighted that it is difficult to measure level of access, and that a more practical solution would be to measure the nutritional status or intake of an individual. It was noted, however that the two are still independent of each other and should not be used interchangeably. The correlation between hunger and malnutrition was made more evident due to the pandemic. The main reasons being the lack of financial support to buy food; loss of job/income; the lack of or limited access to public transportation for food; limited access to nearby food stores; and the ageing community with no family members to purchase food for them.
The discussion that followed was on Rethinking sustainable consumption and lifestyles by Dr. Maria Assunta Cuyegkeng, who shared her insights on food sustainability as a systemic issue, and argued that with a Systems Thinking Approach, issues with food systems can be broken down to better see their interconnections. This method can also help one rethink and change one’s food consumption patterns and lifestyle by giving insight as to how much waste is produced or what sustainable consumption looks like.
Small-scale section of agriculture in the country was discussed next by Dr. Larry Digal, and Fr. Pedro Walpole with Dr. Digal stressing that in order to make the Philippine’s agriculture more equitable, it also has to be more inclusive especially in terms of rural connectivity. Fr. Walpole pointed out the need to reassess the entire system as a whole while paying attention to the small-small scale contributors. By introducing agroecology, farmers and businesses can attempt to mimic natural systems in its regenerative capability after farming and harvest.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Edgardo Valenzuela, the coordinator of the Food Security Advocate of the Overseas Filipinos’ Society for the Promotion of Economic Security, expressed that he hoped that this event can spark the curiosity in people to further contribute to dialogues such as this. One outcome from this webinar was the creation of a Facebook group for like-minded participants to continue discussions on sustainable food systems.
The recording of the dialogue can be accessed here.