The ‘Resilience of the UK Food System in a Global Context’ (GFS FSR) research programme has today released a Programme Report, outlining multiple approaches to enhancing resilience.
The Report contains general recommendations as well as tailored messages for a range of stakeholders in government, agri-food businesses, NGOs, and investment and research sectors.
The major research Programme, launched in 2016 by the Global Food Security programme, comprised 13 interdisciplinary research projects research-based in UK institutions. Summarising five years of research, the report also contains messages based on findings by each of the 13 Projects and focused on specific stakeholders. These messages are intended to lead to further exploration and actions by those aiming to enhance food system resilience.
Key messages from the report
- Discussions on how to enhance food system resilience need to be framed by the answers to four key questions:
- Where do we need to increase resilience?
- What do we need to build resilience against
- From whose perspective is enhanced resilience needed?
- Over what time period is enhanced resilience needed?
There are three strategies for enhancing resilience – the ‘3R’s.
- Robustness: aim to resist disruption to existing food system outcomes
- Recovery: aim to return to existing food system outcomes after disruption
- Reorientation: aim to accept alternative food system outcomes before or after disruption
All three strategies require adapting food system activities.The full report can be viewed at www.foodsystemresilienceuk.org/fsr-messages