Panelists of the discussion on “How Can Food Systems Researchers, Development Specialists, and City Networks Contribute to Building More Resilient Food Systems?” during the Urban Food Systems Policy Forum last November 6, 2024 at Park-Inn Radisson, Quezon City, Philippines: (L-R) Mae Valdez-Irong, ICLEI Southeast Asia (SEA) Regional Program Manager; Dr. Julian Gonsalves, International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) Advisor; Dr. Gordon Prain, CGIAR’s Resilient Cities Initiative (RCI) Senior Advisor; Emmanuel Hugh Velasco II, Quezon City Food Security Task Force Co-chairperson; and Atty. Edmundo Bacatan, Quezon City Market Development and Administration Department (MDAD) Assistant Head. (Photo from the CGIAR Resilient Cities Initiative)

“Food systems actors and challenges transcend geographical boundaries and require holistic, collective responses. Better coordinating urban food policy and planning from local to national level is key to avoid siloed and fragmented action and to share capacities, expertise and resources,” said Mae Valdez-Irong, ICLEI Southeast Asia (SEA) Regional Program Manager, in a panel discussion at the Urban Food Systems Policy Forum. 

The Forum, held last November 6, 2024 at Park-Inn Radisson, Quezon City, Philippines, gathered local and national government officials, urban food systems experts, civil society and community leaders, and the private sector represented by urban food vendors and producers to share insights, experiences, and innovative solutions to build resilient and sustainable food systems in urban areas. 

Valdez-Irong served as a panelist in a discussion on how food systems researchers, development specialists and city networks can help cities build more resilient food systems. 

Mae Valdez-Irong, ICLEI Southeast Asia (SEA) Regional Program Manager, delivers her response on the topic, “How Can Food Systems Researchers, Development Specialists, and City Networks Contribute to Building More Resilient Food Systems?” as a panelist at the Urban Food Systems Policy Forum last November 6, 2024 at Park-Inn Radisson, Quezon City, Philippines. (Photo from the CGIAR Resilient Cities Initiative)

During the discussion, she emphasized the importance of a collaborative and coordinated approach among various sectors and cities. 

“Such approaches are particularly needed in a context of growing food insecurity and climate change, which call for coordinated management of food supply chains and emergency food planning,” she said. 

ICLEI’s CityFood

Valdez-Irong also highlighted ICLEI’s experience in facilitating city-to-city learning and collaboration, particularly in sustainable food systems through the CityFood Program. 

CityFood is a global, flagship program of ICLEI that aims to accelerate local and regional government action toward sustainable food systems transformation. It spans a number of projects and initiatives across all of ICLEI’s Regional Offices, including ICLEI SEA.  

“ICLEI’s work involves coordinating different actors—cities, academe and other development partners—to share capacities, expertise and resources that aim to catalyze food system transformation,” said Valdez-Irong. 

CityFood supports local and sub-national governments through the “Triple H Approach”: Healthy People, Healthy Climate, and Healthy Landscape. 

This approach, said Valdez-Irong, aims to address the complex challenges that the food systems present and provides guidance on how those challenges could be addressed from a city’s perspective and in a systemic and combined way. 

“CityFood wants to unlock the potential of multi-level food governance, both vertically— bringing together governments at different scales—and horizontally—involving different sectors, departments and stakeholders in food policy development to improve food system transformation in a holistic and integrated way,” she added. 

The panel discussion also included insights on how city governments like Quezon City leverage partnerships with research institutions, civil society organizations, and international networks to inform evidence-based policymaking and scale up best practices. 

Jing Castaneda-Velasco (leftmost), journalist and host of the Urban Food Systems Policy Forum, moderates the panel discussion on “How Can Food Systems Researchers, Development Specialists, and City Networks Contribute to Building More Resilient Food Systems?” last November 6, 2024 at Park-Inn Radisson, Quezon City, Philippines, with the following panelists: (seated, L-R) Mae Valdez-Irong, ICLEI Southeast Asia (SEA) Regional Program Manager; Dr. Julian Gonsalves, International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) Advisor; Dr. Gordon Prain, CGIAR’s Resilient Cities Initiative (RCI) Senior Advisor; Emmanuel Hugh Velasco II, Quezon City Food Security Task Force Co-chairperson; and Atty. Edmundo Bacatan, Quezon City Market Development and Administration Department (MDAD) Assistant Head. (Photo from the CGIAR Resilient Cities Initiative)

Resilient, sustainable food systems in urban areas 

Organized through a partnership between the Quezon City Local Government Unit (LGU) and CGIAR’s Resilient Cities Initiative (RCI), the Forum aimed to explore ways to strengthen urban food systems by fostering multi-sectoral collaboration and innovative approaches and served as a platform for dialogue on best practices and supportive policies that will help create more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive urban food systems in the Philippines. 

The Urban Food Systems Policy Forum included discussions on the following key topics: the vital role of food vendors in the urban food system and the transformative impact of capacity-building programs that aim to enhance their skills and livelihoods; the role of urban farming in food security, community resilience, and sustainable livelihoods; and the essential role of policy and partnerships in strengthening urban food systems. 

Through the Forum, the Quezon City LGU and CGIAR RCI also shared learnings from their food system initiatives, such as the Vendor Business School program and urban community garden. 

The CGIAR Resilient Cities research initiative is an international urban agri-food system research network that seeks to harness the dynamism of urban societies and economies to catalyze technological, institutional, and social change. 

The Quezon City LGU, a member of ICLEI, has actively pursued initiatives to enhance food systems and urban food production, and address the challenges of food security and economic development in the city. 

Participants of the Urban Food Systems Policy Forum last November 6, 2024 at Park-Inn Radisson, Quezon City, Philippines. (Photo from the Quezon City Government Facebook page)