This conference is organized by the UNESCO Chair on world food systems and the French research center CIRAD together with the French Agency for Development (AFD), the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humankind (FPH), the FAO – Food for the cities program, the RUAF Foundation, the International Sustainability Unit (Part of The Prince of Wales’ Charitable Foundation), the Regions United Organisation (ORU- Fogar) and the Mercadis (Montpellier wholesale market), with the support of Agropolis Fondation, the Daniel and Nina Carasso Fondation, the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, the CIHEAM-IAMM and the Montpellier Mediterranée Métropole.
It will gather local governments of cities and urban regions from sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, along with research and development actors.
Through knowledge sharing, this meeting will provide an opportunity to show that, in addition to national policies and international agreements, cities can also make a vital contribution to food security and sustainable food systems with the implementation of urban food policies.
The conference will explore three strategic levers that city and urban region governments can mobilize : markets and logistics (wholesale, retail, transportation, etc. ); catering services (school, popular restaurants, street food, etc.); the new forms of connexions between urban and rural areas (twinning, urban investment in agriculture, etc.).