Connecting the dots to transform food systems in South Asia: TAFSSA’s engagement strategy

Abstract

Home to one-quarter of humanity — one-fifth of whom are youth – South Asia has the world’s largest concentration of poverty and malnutrition. The Green Revolution positioned South Asia to produce one-quarter of the world's consumed food, but the region’s agrifood systems today face formidable poverty reduction, climate change adaptation and mitigation, environmental health and biodiversity challenges. Significant hurdles remain to securing an adequate and affordable supply of diverse foods necessary for sustainable healthy diets (SHDs). Social, economic, and geographic inequalities create barriers from production to consumption, disproportionately affecting the poor. Unhealthy food consumption is rising, with many nutritious foods too costly for the poor. Working across South Asia, Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA), is delivering a coordinated program of research and engagement across the food production-to-consumption continuum to improve equitable access to sustainable healthy diets, improve farmer livelihoods and resilience, and conserve land, air, and groundwater resources. One of the key objectives of TAFSSA is to develop inclusive learning platforms, public data systems and partnerships to improve the evidence base, increase data quality and accessibility, and develop integrated datasets for agrifood systems transformation. To support inclusive learning and evidence-informed transformative actions across the production-consumption continuum, TAFSSA will unfold a multistakeholder engagement strategy. This strategy aims to strengthen the evidence base for action on agrifood systems in South Asia by bringing diverse stakeholders together and actively facilitating dialogue, evidence-building, learning and consensus building. These actions are intended to move knowledge into practice across the South Asia region.