An ever-increasing global population necessitates robust agri-food systems to ensure accessibility for all to safe and nutritious foods. However, food systems across the world face the triple challenge of providing food security and nutrition, supporting the livelihoods of workers along the supply chain, and contributing to the environmental sustainability. The agri-food system reflects all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and encompasses the entire food cycle - from production, to consumption and disposal – and involves activities and industries including agri-food farming, processing, and distribution, to non-food sectors such as forestry, fibre, and biofuel production.
The major environmental resources to consider for scientific and praxis are material, soil, biota, water, climate, and space. Indigenous populations face unique challenges, such as limited access to resources, exclusion from formal markets, and the erosion of traditional knowledge systems. As indigenous contributions to science and policy remain marginalised, there is the need for more culturally sensitive research for management, while acknowledging the differences in priorities of agri-food systems transformations in distinct regions.
This thesis seeks to evaluate the interconnections between climate, biota, soil, and water resources and the resilience capacities of agri-food systems, along their associated value chains, and the roles of key actors in indigenous communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This project is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) through its Development-related Post-graduate Program (EPOS).
