Ask Ag About... How Food Systems Need to Adapt as Populations Shift and Grow

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As urbanization continues to skyrocket in cities across the globe, the role of rural agricultural production to feed urban populations becomes increasingly difficult.

Join this month’s Ask Ag online chat as our experts answer your questions about the strategies being used to adopt food systems to suit the changing dynamics that surround global food supply and demand.  

Some guiding questions include:

• How can technology be adapted to develop agricultural capacity to ensure that smallholder farmers are meeting the needs of growing urban populations?
• What actions can urban residents take to ensure they are food secure?
• What linkages must be established to connect rural smallholders with supply chain actors in urban markets? How can these linkages be replicated or scaled in new markets?
• How can urban agriculture supplement food supply from rural areas? What policy constraints, legal issues, or environmental issues (i.e. pollution) prevent urban agriculture from being more productive? 

To learn more about this topic, the 2017 Cracking the Nut conference will take an in-depth look at the transformation of food systems, the linkages between rural and urban markets, and how smallholder farmers are responding to changing food preferences and needs. For more information on the event, or to register, click here.