World Environmental Health Day 2018: Promoting Sustainable Food Production through Eco-Inclusive Entrepreneurship

Strengthening Sustainable Food Systems

Sustainable food systems are not only essential for providing nutrition to healthy populations, but also for ensuring that future generations will be able to utilise food resources efficiently. Given the increasing importance of the provision of food sustainably and safely, this year’s World Environmental Health Day is centred around the theme “Global Food Safety and Sustainability”.

Numerous eco-inclusive enterprises across the globe aim to strengthen sustainable food systems by preserving their local ecosystems, managing land and resources sustainably, and minimising waste and environmental damage. They are also focused on increasing the productivity of their food systems, leading to better nutrition and stronger revenue streams for their communities.

Given the rising importance of creating and managing sustainable food systems, this year’s World Environmental Health Day sheds a spotlight on the importance of “Global Food Safety and Sustainability”. Celebrated on 26 September 2018, the event served as an opportunity to renew commitments to food sustainably across private and public sectors and to review the progress that has been made to secure sustainable, affordable nutrition globally. 

SEED Award Winners Dedicated to Sustainable Food Production

SEED is showcasing exemplary eco-inclusive enterprises and celebrating their solutions for sustainable agriculture on this year’s World Environmental Health Day.

SEED-supported enterprises in the sustainable agriculture sector offer a variety of innovative solutions, ranging from the cultivation of indigenous and nutritious crops to the delivery of real-time market insights and training services to smallholder farmers. In doing so, they are also enabling their communities to adapt to changes in food production resulting from phenomena such as environmental changes, emerging pathogens, or antimicrobial resistance.

With an exciting array of value-added products and services, these eco-inclusive enterprises have all capitalised on the SEED network to create positive social, environmental, and economic impacts in their communities through innovative solutions for sustainable agriculture. To celebrate their efforts, SEED is using this year’s World Environmental Health Day to showcase some exemplary SEED-supported enterprises working for better nutrition and more secure food systems.

Unique Quality Product Enterprise

2016 SAG-SEED Award Winner | Tamale, Ghana

Unique Quality Product Enterprise trains marginalised women suppliers in agronomic practices to farm Fonio, an indigenous grain that has low water requirements and can withstand adverse weather conditions. The enterprise dries, de-husks, packages, stores and markets Fonio cereal products for household consumption.

Tii Ki Komi Cassava Commercial Growers

2016 SAG-SEED Award Winner | Lamwo district, Uganda

Tii Ki Komi Cassava Commercial Growers (TCCG) sources fresh cassava from local farmers and processes them into chips, flour and peels of highly competitive price and quality. The company provides training on agronomic practices to enhance cassava post-harvest handling and production of organic manure.

Peacock Seeds

2015 SEED Africa Award | Malawi

Peacock Seeds supports climate change adaptability and food security in Malawi by producing and supplying smallholder farms with drought-tolerant, disease-resistant and yield-improved legume and maize seeds. By supporting farms in crop improvement, they also help generate income security for farmers.

Ongoing Support for Sustainable Food Production by Eco-Inclusive Enterprises

At SEED, we believe in supporting entrepreneurial approaches to generate positive eco-inclusive impacts. The small and growing enterprises that we work with are at the forefront of strengthening regional, sustainable food systems.

Capitalising on the momentum that SEED has built up for sustainable agriculture, workbooks on “Agricultural Product Processing” will be featured at two upcoming SEED Replicator Workshops on 22 November 2018 in Lilongwe, Malawi and on 27 November 2018 in Mumbai, India. Entrepreneurs will be instructed on the processing of indigenous natural resources into value-added products to tackle social, environmental and ecological challenges within the local context. Entrepreneurs – especially women and youth – are encouraged to apply before the deadlines on 11 November 2018 and 14 November 2018, respectively.