The second “Food Systems Dialogue” was organized by Welthungerhilfe and co-hosted by Caritas India, Phia, RRA, NLSU, and Bhoomi ka, from 18 & 19 July in Ranchi at Hotel Chanakya BNR. The entire event was divided into two days consisting of a series of deliberations, panel discussions, and learning sharing of best practices, recommendations by the groups, and testimonies around small farm future and resilience to climate change by the smallholders from across the country.

The objective of the event was to understand the direction of the action points of “The UN Food Systems Summit 2021” and bring in experiences from other states. The Stock-taking Moment was in line with the commitment of the UN Secretary-General and will be fed to the process of the first of these Food Systems Stock-taking moments in 2023 in Rome.

Nivedita Varshneya, Country Director, Welthungerhilfe (WHH), welcomed the speakers and participants and briefed them about the objective of the event.

The event was graced by distinguished guest Fr Dr Jolly Puthenpura, AED, Caritas India, Shri. Devendra Sharma, Shir. Saryu Rai, Shree Arabina Padhee (Principal Secretary, Govt. of Orissa), Smt. Kavitha Kuruganti, Dr. A. Siddiqui (secretory Agriculture department Jharkhand), Prof. Jean Dreze, Prof. Ramesh Sharan and Ms. Sahmika Mone.

Fr Dr Jolly Puthenpura in his keynote talked about the requirement for transformation of the food system and the importance of diversified agriculture. Mr. Siddiqui said that only 20 percent of the total cultivable land is fully irrigated. Farmers cultivating the rest of the land have to depend entirely on rainwater. There is a need to bring more areas under cultivation by increasing crop intensity. The farmers should take benefit of government schemes in this direction. Economist, who is also known for the rural employment guarantee scheme NREGA, Prof. Jean Dreze said while talking about the importance of reviving the indigenous food system and cultivation practices “Tribal societies are naturally cooperative driven. And cooperative is the best option and opportunity in bringing sustainable development”.

Caritas India had organized Track IV: Advance Equitable Livelihood. Track 4 had representation from diverse groups like farmers, field staff, Program coordinators, and senior program teams from Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, and Jharkhand. Social development goals cannot be achieved without a transformation towards equitable livelihood. Policies should protect and improve the livelihood of people living in vulnerable situations by creating innovative, institutional policies and investments. The most crucial aspect of this is sustainability.

Considering the significance of advanced equitable livelihood to achieve the sustainable development goal the workshop did delve into advanced approaches and strategies for promoting equitable livelihoods in the community and making small farmers more resilient. Fr Dr Jolly Puthenpura, AED, Caritas India delivered the keynote speech. Chief guest Ms. Aruna Tirkey, Director Ajam Emba Pvt Ltd, an enthusiastic entrepreneur working for the revival and promoting the Millet cultivation and value addition to the millets, spoke about Sustainable Development and Equitable Livelihood- Millet based livelihood options. Another guest speaker Mr. Sidhharth Jaiswal, CEO (BPD-BAU) Society of Birsa Agriculture University talked about Organic Farming and Value addition for livelihood. The Track 4 group discussed the current policies on equitable livelihood, present status, and challenges that have emerged while implementation. Group shared the experiences and learnings and recommendations derived from the discussion with the Welthungerhilfe, which will be part of the larger report.

Participants from across the country including Global Program Partner from Orissa set up the stall to demonstrate indigenous food practices, nutrition, and value chain development.

The stock-taking moment was organized to build awareness and momentum toward sustainable food systems and serve as an opportunity to consolidate national and sub-national learning. It will identify emerging promising patterns and solutions across the different regions of the state. This was also an opportunity to intensify the momentum for food systems transformation.

Increasing crop intensity and crop diversification, reviving earlier food systems, ensuring eggs in mid-day meals and Aanganwadis, and promoting cooperative societies were some of the suggestions at the end of the two-day “Food System Dialogue” at Jharkhand capital Ranchi. The suggestions will be incorporated into the 2023 UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment organized by Welthungerhilife to be held in Rome between July 24 and 26.