Sustaining Ethiopia’s food system

The Ethiopian Food Systems (EFS) that is aligned with the UN Food System Action track has launched to come up with a game changer solution for citizens.
On the event held on Thursday July 15 at the Economic Commission of Africa Conference Hall the EFS, which targets to gain massive changes in the food systems from farming to table including different aspects, partners and sectors, synthesis report and position paper developed by the implementers, was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health.
The launch was held under the theme “Attain the Sustainable Development Goals especially end hunger, achieve food security, improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”.
To address Ethiopia’s challenges, 14 action areas have been identified which align closely to the UN Food System Summit 2021 Global Action Tracks.
The UN Food Systems Summit will be held in September 2021, and aims to transform global food systems to support the SDGs.
The EFS has gone through a process of identifying, selecting, and finalizing 22 game changer solutions which require a strong policy commitment, with an exceptionally strong unified commitment from all stakeholders.
The policy commitments that are required for the game changers are establishing a finance system, selection and timely supply of inputs and technologies to boost production and productivity, rural electrification to promote environmentally friendly and climate smart technologies, index based crop and livestock insurance as disaster risk mitigation measures, implement land reform and land administration, and introduction of land use planning.
On the initiative, 14 action areas have been identified that includes ensuring food security and ending hunger, improving access to nutritious food, making food safe, slashing food loss and waste, conserving and restoring degraded natural eco-systems, managing existing and transforming food system and sustain positive changes, increase investments in technologies for smallholder farmers and promote sustainable agriculture, eliminate worker exploitation and ensure decent work in food systems, and ensure food systems resilience.
According to Mandefro Nigusse, CEO of ATA, a game changing solution should be sustainable, actionable, scalable and impactful, “when we do these, we achieve a significant, positive and sustainable change in our food system that is what we called sustainable EFS.”
The EFS process has brought together over 120 participants from government departments, donors, multilateral organizations, NGOs, CSO & private sector and has identified key challenges for the Ethiopian food system.