Food Systems Security

Effective climate action and reimagined agricultural systems will entail the establishment of clear goals and the sustained coordination of actors across multiple domains. A values-led approach to politics and security in the perspective of 2030 or 2050 should give an overriding priority to sharing the primary goods of life while also accepting a longer-term responsibility to promote the ecological and climatic conditions on which life depends. In relation to food security, we need ‘holistic’ or ‘systems thinking,’ taking into account cultural, economic, ecological, nutritional, financial, technological and other factors. The full report on our Centre's project on resilience in global food systems is available at this link.
 

Our engaged research relating to Colombia suggests that at the heart of the Agreement lies its vision of rural reform and a more inclusive society, as reflected in section 1 on comprehensive rural reform and section 6.2 on the Ethnic Chapter. It could be said that the 'macro' of the UN Sustainable Development Goals inspires the 'micro' of the peace process.

The Centre is currently leading a two-year research project in Malawi:

The project is based in villages in the Phalombe and Mulanje district in the south of the country. Since 2017, Face-to-Face (F2F) has enabled thousands of families to achieve greater food security through the development of kitchen gardens at household level (‘victory gardens’).  The cyclone in 2023 and the drought in 2024 (and in previous years) make this work more urgent. The F2F project respects the principles of regenerative agriculture – creating close-to-home year-round gardens that grow diverse vegetables at no cost, using organic compost and manure, to provide nutrition/food and generate a small income/savings, without destroying soil quality.  In support of this work, the Jesuit Centre for Ecology and Development (JCED), Malawi, is managing a new system of data collection, working closely with village and faith leaders. This fits into JCED's broader mission of integral ecology and empowering vulnerable communities for sustainable livelihoods.  The Centre for Religion, Human Values, and International Relations is overseeing the field research, analysing the results, and connecting with a wider range of stakeholders (including Irish Aid, public authorities, churches and faith communities, NGOs, and universities), with a view to understanding the broader context and producing a publication or publications that can be used for the purposes of advocacy.